Shot on Location

by Helen Nielsen

The filming of an American movie set on location in Greece becomes the stage for a far more sinister production in this unputdownable political suspense. Rich and famous movie directors like Harry Avery don’t ordinarily disappear—especially when on a routine flight in a private plane seeking location shots for another film. Yet why was Avery flying so close to the Albanian border? Why had his hitherto reliable plane crashed so unpredictably? And why—once the rescue party reached the spot in the Greek mountains—wasn’t his body found among the wreckage?Brad Smith, back in Los Angeles after active duty in Vietnam, is determined to find Avery. Brad has his own scores to settle with the millionaire director, for not only has Avery stolen some of his original TV scripts, written just before he left for the service, he has also stolen his girlfriend, the now famous actress, Rhona Avery.Upon arrival in Greece, Brad soon realizes that Avery’s ominous disappearance has far greater implication than he anticipated. Soon he is caught up in a dangerous web of plot and counterplot as eh discovers he is not alone in the the beautiful actress he once loved seems to have more on her mind than wifely devotion in her frantic search; the CIA as well as the undercover agents of another world power are equally determined to find the missing director. And each, for different reasons, is desperate to track him down first.No one knows better than Helen Nielsen how to keep a complex plot going at a faster-than-the-eye-can-see pace. Danger, intrigue and the guessable conclusion—hallmarks of Miss Nielsen’s suspenses—are evidenced yet again.

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2012

About the author

Helen Nielsen was author of mysteries and television scripts for such television dramas as "Perry Mason" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".
She studied journalism, art and aeronautical drafting at various schools, including the Chicago Art Institute. Before her writing career, she worked as a draftsman during World War II and contributed to the designs of B-36 and P-80 aircraft. Her stories were often set in Laguna Beach and Oceanside, California where she lived for 60 years.
Some of her novels were reprinted by Black Lizard, including "Detour" and "Sing Me a Murder".

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fine espionage adventure novel that takes place in the midst of the Cold War. Brad Smith was a hayseed from Iowa trying to make it in Hollywood. He fell in love with a knockout, but when he returned from Vietnam, she and his Hollywood scripts had been stolen by Harry Avery, who was now a world famous producer and who had just disappeared after a small plane crash on the Greek-Albanian border. Desperate to win her back and get credit for his stolen ideas, Smith flies to Athens and somehow gets caught up in a revolution brewing against a brutal dictatorship and a struggle between secret agents. Throw in a wealthy producer and his wife and there's quite a story with all kinds of wild twists and turns. It's a story of a young innocent caught in a web of intrigue.
Be forewarned that it's a little confusing in the beginning what exactly the book is about since it cuts Back and forth between two seemingly unconnected stories. However, if you persevere, you will find how it all tied together.