Last Updated on November 1, 2022 by ADMIN-TOM
Walking Away from Midnight
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Shots in the Dark
The drive of two hundred kilometres from Paris was going to take over three hours, mainly in the dark. But the Fordhams weren’t bothered with that, it was good to be so far away from the Embassy that nobody was tempted to take the drive on official business.
Albert changed down a gear as the old Humber Snipe struggled to maintain speed on the meandering tiny country lanes that led to the Midnight Lake.
“You know, we really should have stayed at our posts,” Armel said from the passenger seat, stifling a yawn at the same time.
“There are many things I should have done in my life, yet here I am, still alive and kicking. Besides, we both have permission from our superiors.”
“Yes, but…”
“Yes, but nothing. We need a break and I need to make sure my stupid error hasn’t caused me more grief to come.”
Armel smiled at the seriousness of her husband’s face.
If it’s not by the book, you think it’s wrong.
“It will be fine, my dear. Don’t worry so much.”
Albert snatched a glance at his wife. “You do know what I’m talking about? Enigma?”
“Yes, I know. The German code machine.”
“I trusted it in the hands of Basil, and what did the fool do? Stop halfway to the lake, go to a bar and have a few too many aperitifs and then attempt to drive on. There is only so much a Military Attaché can do for an idiot over a long distance. Luckily, I persuaded the Sûreté to keep him in overnight. At least the diplomatic bag would have been safe.”
As the word safe left Albert’s lips, a crack and hole appeared in the Humber’s windscreen.
“Get down!” Albert shouted as he shifted down a gear and then stepped on the accelerator.
“What?”
“Get down!” Albert shouted once more, grabbing Armel’s shoulder, and pushing down with his right hand. “The car behind!” Someone is shooting at us!”
Armel didn’t need telling twice and kept as low as she could. Albert shrugged himself low and took evasive action.
The change of gear hadn’t made a whole lot of difference to the car’s speed, but that and weaving left and right across the narrow country lane would seriously hamper anyone trying to hit them with gunfire. Albert looked in the rear-view mirror and could make out a car following them. The muffled sound of machine gun fire belied the track of bullets hitting the car’s forward nearside fender.
“Oh, oh,” was all Albert could say as more bullets ripped into the rear of the Humber.
Armel screamed.
Copyright © Tom Kane 2022
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Synopsis
A young Magda Asparov travels alone from her home in Ukraine to America, to marry Matthew Turner, an unscrupulous American businessman. It’s an arranged marriage and part of the dowry is land in America the Asparovs own. But this parcel of land holds a secret only Turner is aware of. It has a huge reservoir of oil beneath it.
Magda’s journey is cut-short when her ship, the Titanic, hits an iceberg & sinks.
Magda is rescued by another ship, captained by Richard Blackmore.
In the ship’s sickbay, it’s discovered the survivor has lost her memory. The crew of the rescue ship give the survivor a name, Maggie, to use until her memory returns. But as the ship sails to New York a new personality in Maggie takes hold, stifling Magda in the process.
On reaching New York, Maggie accepts Captain Blackmore’s offer of help and occupies Blackmore’s guest room in his apartment. But over time, the couple fall in love.
Meanwhile, Matthew Turner feels Magda is still alive and has unleashed his henchman, William Harker, a crook, con artist, money shark and murderer. Turner hates to feel his investment has slipped through his fingers and is keen to track Magda down and keep alive his hopes of cashing in on her oil field. Harker is told to find any trace of Magda among the survivors arriving in New York.
Harker discovers Magda is alive but is unaware of who she is. Harker makes his plans to snatch Magda away from Blackmore. Leaving Blackmore as collateral damage and his life in ruins.
Reviews
“This one has it all – mystery, corruption, murder, kidnapping, love, revenge. Don’t plan to read it as a stand alone. You’ll definitely want the next books in the trilogy because the ending of book one is a cliff hanger. I couldn’t put this book down although I became so worried about the fate of Blackmore I had to regroup myself. Tom Kane did one helluva job writing this set.”
“This book has everything Romance, Murder, Mystery which automatically hooks you to the story.”
“Set against the backdrop of early 20th century America, an incredible story of love, loss, injustice, perseverance, mental illness & heartbreak.”
“A fictional romp through history, full of well-written twists & turns.
An arranged marriage, tragic love story & a bad guy you’ll love to hate.”
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MAILING LISTTom Kane is an independent author, making a living from book sales. Please visit his Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/thetomkanecollection
