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| Photo courtesy of Rowena |
Frank Westworth shares several characteristics with his literary
anti-hero, JJ Stoner: they both play mean blues guitar and ride Harley-Davidson
motorcycles. Unlike Stoner, Frank hasn't deliberately killed anyone. Frank
lives in Cornwall in the UK, with his guitars, motorcycles, partner and cat.
A new action-packed quick thriller out on 14 September. FIFTH
COLUMNIST features covert
operative JJ Stoner, who uses sharp blades and blunt instruments to discreetly
solve problems for the British government.
A bent copper is
compromising national security and needs to be swiftly neutralised, but none of
the evidence will stand up in court. That’s exactly why men like Stoner operate
in the shadows, ready to terminate the target once an identity is confirmed…
SNEAK PREVIEW! Here’s what happens when our military man
meets the forces of law and order:-
‘Jack,’ announced the lady policeman, the
DCI, and offered her hand to the upright man with the military bearing. He took
it, squeezed it softly and released it.
‘Detective Chief Inspector,’
he said, after a pause.
‘No need for the formality,
sergeant.’ She gestured at the chair vacated by the man from upstairs. ‘If
we’re going to work together, we need to get along together.’ She smiled. ‘I’m
Jack. Short for Jackie, short for Jacqueline.’ She looked up, smiling some more
and waited.
‘Sarge,’ said the hard
military man, slowly and politely. ‘Short for Sergeant. Short for Colour
Sergeant.’ He may have smiled, though only a detective could have been certain.
‘No Christian name, sergeant?’
‘Not a Christian, ma’am. Jack.
Shout ‘Sarge’ loudly and if I’m in earshot I’ll be there for you. Shout it into
a radio, and I’ll be there, fast as possible. That’s how I work with others.
You call, I come.’
She leaned her chair backwards
onto just two of its four legs. ‘What do your friends call you, Sarge? I prefer
to work with colleagues as friends if it’s possible. Teamwork is always best.
So what do they call you, your friends?’
‘No idea. Nothing generous,
that’s for certain.’
‘So you’re always so formal?’
‘You’re extremely attractive,’
he said, holding her eyes with his own. ‘For an older woman. Ma’am.’
She shrugged. ‘Good to know.
OK. As the pompous jerk tried to tell you, we have a problem, a police
problem.’
‘Ma’am,’ he acknowledged.
‘We’re going out to dinner
this evening. It’s formal, so you’ll need a smart suit, a club tie, bow tie,
something like that, and a full set of table manners. Can you do that?’
‘I have a few regimental ties,
ma’am, a full dress Number One uniform, if that’s what’s required. I would need
a haircut for that. Number Twos also, less need for the haircut.’
‘Civilian, please. That OK?
Don’t shave. Look stubbly. Can the forces of disorder do stubbly as well as
fully formal?’
‘I’m a master of disguise,
ma’am. I could probably impersonate a human, given enough time to practice a
little.’ He paused. ‘The dinner.’
‘You have a concern?’
‘If I’m to perform a duty
beyond standing around like an over-muscled oaf, I need some background. All
successful missions succeed because those involved – preferably just the good
guys – have all the available information about the situation.’
‘And there I was, thinking you
were just a hired gun.’ She smiled. He did not.
‘You want a gun, ma’am, I’ll
bring one. I need to know the situation before selecting the weapon.’ He
cracked the smallest of smiles. ‘An RPG is hard to hide in a tux, ma’am. No
matter how pleased I may be to see you.’
She was quiet for a small
while. Stood. Even standing, she found it hard to look down on the seated
sergeant. He was a big man. And hard with it.
‘Fully tooled, ma’am.’ No
trace of a smile.
* * * *
If you like the sound of that then you'll be pleased to know that you can pick up a copy via the links below:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
While you're at it why not check out Frank's other books here.
If you still want to know more about either the man himself or his books then just use the links below:
Website
Blog
Goodreads
I'd like to say a big thank you to Rowena for getting in touch with me on Frank's behalf and for letting me share a short extract from Fifth Columnist. It sounds like a great read! If you've read any of Frank's books please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts or even better leave a short review for Frank on Amazon or Goodreads, I'm sure he'd really appreciate it. 😉
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