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Conquest
A new series from Richard Wake, the historical thriller author with a quarter-million books sold!
Henri La Rue is a family man in Paris in the late 1950s, a man who manages the day-to-day of the family business, with all of the accompanying complications and headaches. An uncle who is still his titular boss, a wife whom he butts heads with, a son who is a bit of a knucklehead, a daughter he never sees, employees who don’t always listen — Henri La Rue is an everyman in many ways, like you or me or the man next door.
That is, if you or me or the man next door ran whorehouses and casinos, and put out money on the street as a loan shark. That is, if you or me or the man next door broke the legs of the recalcitrant or murdered rivals, enemies, really anybody who got in the La Rue family’s way.
Conquest is the first installment of the La Rue family crime thriller series. When a rival crime family in a neighboring Paris arrondissement suffers a loss, Henri decides to make a move into their territory, valuable because of the presence of two train stations within its boundaries. Operated properly — that is, after paying off the correct people, including the police — a train station through which so many consumer goods pass can be a goldmine for a Paris gang. Henri wants the goldmine, both of them.
But when he takes them both, the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l’Est, a third rival gang becomes involved, and the resulting war threatens to destroy not only the La Rue family but everything that the La Rues have built up over the years.
Conquest, originally published in installments on the Kindle Vella platform, is the first book in the series by Richard Wake, author of the successful Alex Kovacs spy thriller series. He’s also written a series whose protagonist, Peter Ritter, is an East Berlin murder detective at the time of the building of the Berlin Wall. Readers have been generous in their praise of Wake’s books. One recently said, “I have read all 12 books in this series as well as all the Ritter books Richard Wake has written, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Wake is an excellent writer and I find Alex Kovacs' character to be very interesting. I enjoy all the quips and blunt humor. Looking forward to the next in the series!”
There will be more coming soon from Alex Kovacs. But in the meantime, Henri La Rue adds another multifaceted lead character to the works of Richard Wake.
Pick up Conquest today — you won’t be disappointed!
Henri La Rue is a family man in Paris in the late 1950s, a man who manages the day-to-day of the family business, with all of the accompanying complications and headaches. An uncle who is still his titular boss, a wife whom he butts heads with, a son who is a bit of a knucklehead, a daughter he never sees, employees who don’t always listen — Henri La Rue is an everyman in many ways, like you or me or the man next door.
That is, if you or me or the man next door ran whorehouses and casinos, and put out money on the street as a loan shark. That is, if you or me or the man next door broke the legs of the recalcitrant or murdered rivals, enemies, really anybody who got in the La Rue family’s way.
Conquest is the first installment of the La Rue family crime thriller series. When a rival crime family in a neighboring Paris arrondissement suffers a loss, Henri decides to make a move into their territory, valuable because of the presence of two train stations within its boundaries. Operated properly — that is, after paying off the correct people, including the police — a train station through which so many consumer goods pass can be a goldmine for a Paris gang. Henri wants the goldmine, both of them.
But when he takes them both, the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l’Est, a third rival gang becomes involved, and the resulting war threatens to destroy not only the La Rue family but everything that the La Rues have built up over the years.
Conquest, originally published in installments on the Kindle Vella platform, is the first book in the series by Richard Wake, author of the successful Alex Kovacs spy thriller series. He’s also written a series whose protagonist, Peter Ritter, is an East Berlin murder detective at the time of the building of the Berlin Wall. Readers have been generous in their praise of Wake’s books. One recently said, “I have read all 12 books in this series as well as all the Ritter books Richard Wake has written, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Wake is an excellent writer and I find Alex Kovacs' character to be very interesting. I enjoy all the quips and blunt humor. Looking forward to the next in the series!”
There will be more coming soon from Alex Kovacs. But in the meantime, Henri La Rue adds another multifaceted lead character to the works of Richard Wake.
Pick up Conquest today — you won’t be disappointed!
290 pages, Paperback
Published July 13, 2023
101 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Richard Wake
30 books101 followersRichard Wake's first career was as a newspaper reporter, columnist, and editor. Writing fiction was always an aspiration, especially historical fiction set in Europe during the inter-war period, and now it has become a reality.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 26, 2023
Interesting book
I wish I had so history of this book. I had heard of course of Italian Crime Families but, I had not thought of French Crime Families. It a bit raw but, has a good story line. Richard is a master storyteller with his own unique style. If you like this kind of stuff you will love this book.
I wish I had so history of this book. I had heard of course of Italian Crime Families but, I had not thought of French Crime Families. It a bit raw but, has a good story line. Richard is a master storyteller with his own unique style. If you like this kind of stuff you will love this book.
August 25, 2024
I have read all three - thus far - of Richard Wake's La Rue family crime series: Conquest, Power and Rivals. A great delight! A mob family saga, set in France, with whiffs of The Godfather and Goodfellas, but a unique cast of characters. Wake is a great storyteller and a fine writer. I highly recommend everything he writes for lovers of the espionage and crime genres.
September 7, 2024
Crime families in France... or any other location
I like Paris, therefore I like the setting for this story of crime families and their developmental challenges. Maybe because I read a number of Alex Kovacs stories first, some of this book seemed familiar. Glad to know the crime families had tried to help with the Resistance in Europe. Not sure I will read book 2.
I like Paris, therefore I like the setting for this story of crime families and their developmental challenges. Maybe because I read a number of Alex Kovacs stories first, some of this book seemed familiar. Glad to know the crime families had tried to help with the Resistance in Europe. Not sure I will read book 2.
May 14, 2024
dissapointed
Seeing the author with another book I eagerly ordered, but “Conquest” is nowhere as intriguing.
No really evil people like Nazis.
Seeing the author with another book I eagerly ordered, but “Conquest” is nowhere as intriguing.
No really evil people like Nazis.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews