Moonlight Shadows

by Paul Anthony

When Conor is betrayed, he spends the night hidden in the bracken surrounded by security forces hunting him down. As moonlight shadows flicker, he realises who is responsible. With his unit destroyed, Conor sets out for revenge. But dark unspoken forces are at work and the track goes cold. A decade later, Pegasus, a discredited British Intelligence Agent, produces a mysterious piece of computer software and demands reinstatement. The enigmatic software, carried in a memory stick, threatens to destabilise the world’s economy should it fall into the wrong hands. Assured of peace, desperate to be home to be near her loved ones, Pegasus returns only to find herself plunged into a world where he who holds the software holds the future of the world in their hands. A breathtaking international chase involving terrorists, spies and criminals ensues with greed, corruption, dishonesty and mistrust, uncovered in the most powerful of places as the need to secure an enigmatic memory stick dominates proceedings, twists, and conspires to destroy the human relationships that so many take for granted. Only Davies King, a chess playing, barfly of a detective, and his trusty team, seem capable of bringing sanity to the lawless corruption threatening the very fabric of a cyberspace driven society. But all the men and women of power can be trusted with such responsibilities, can’t they? Or is one of their number a traitor to his country, a traitor to his calling..... A traitor of the worst kind. And there’s only one traitor.... Isn’t there? Paul Anthony builds tension into every page. His characters are so real you will feel as if you know them, and believe me, some you will never want to know... A cracking read... Pauline Livingstone, Editor and Book Critic.

302 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 18, 2012

About the author

Paul has written 7 full length fictional novels - crime fiction - plus a collection of poetry, a book of short stories, a non-fiction self help book regarding an authorship, and a children's fantasy book which was co-written with Meg Johnston. These books are in both print and Kindle. Four books make up the Boyd detective series and three are in the Davies King series. They are all stand alone books. In the past he has been published by a Vanity House and a Traditional Publishing House. He is currently an independent self publishing author with a store front on the 'Lulu' website as well as amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. He has written over 20 screenplays for both television and film either on his own, or with the award winning screenwriter, Nick Gordon. Our author is also a writer for Broowaha: an online newspaper based in America, but he is also a Linkedin Influencer where many of his articles, memoirs, short stories and non fiction articles appear. Paul Anthony is the pseudonym of a man born in Southport, Lancashire. The son of a soldier, he settled in Carlisle before joining the Police as a Cadet. Joining Cumbria police at the age of 19, he served throughout Cumbria. As a detective, he served in Cumbria CID, the Regional Crime Squad in Manchester, the Special Branch, the anti-terrorist branch, and other national agencies in the UK. He is the holder of an Honours Degree in Economics and Social Sciences, a Diploma in Management and a Diploma in Office Management. Paul is also a supporter of the Dyslexia Foundation UK who selected 'The Fragile Peace' to be the first book in their audio library. He is also a keen promoter of 'United Artistes', a casting agency operating from Carlisle, Cumbria, providing supporting artists (extras) for the television and film industries working in the Midlands, the north of England, and the whole of Scotland. The agency specialises in providing ex armed services and police personnel with 'specific' military and police skills required by film and television production companies. His blogsite and further details of his books can be found at paulanthonys.blogspot.com When not writing, Paul Anthony enjoys reading a wide range of works, reviewing same, and playing guitar badly. His favourite genre to read is 'non-fiction' and 'thrillers'. He also enjoys running, kettlebells, athletics, keeping fit, pilates, walking the Cumbrian Fells, dining out and dining in, keeping Koi carp, and following politics, economics and social sciences. He is married and has three adult children and five grandchildren. He is a member of the Independent Authors Network and a former winner of the featured authors contest. Paul is also a member of the League of Writers and a former featured author at the the 'Books Without Borders' event in Yonkers, New York, and a featured author at the Frankfurt Book Fayre.

Reviews

[Martin Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Anthony has brought together his vast experience in counter-terrorist policework in this fast-moving, five-star novel.

[Scott Whitmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of a genre-mix, part international espionage thriller and part crime mystery, Moonlight Shadows by Paul Anthony (@PaulAnthonysPen) features interesting and well-drawn characters, exciting bursts of action, multiple storylines, and more than a few well-placed plot twists.

The story begins during "The Troubles" in Ireland as an active service unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army heads into the borderlands separating the Republic from the British-controlled northern counties. From there the reader is swept up into a world of international intrigue in Japan and Amsterdam as well as common-sense policing in London and the English seaside town of Crillsea.

The plots come together soon enough, and along the way the reader gets to spend plenty of time with Detective Chief Inspector Davies King, newly promoted but saddled with a green and ambitious "political" type. Joining the chess-playing Davies are most of the wonderful cast of characters introduced in The Conchenta Conundrum (my review of this 5-star novel) including the proper and ultra-efficient office manager Claudia, who is — as everyone who works there knows — the glue that keeps the Crillsea "nick" running, as well as Archie, a Crillsea fixture not afraid to add a pint or two to the tab of DCI King.

Other returning notables include larger-than-life Detective Chief Superintendent "Big Al" Jessop, Detective Sergeant Ted "Barney" Barnes — whose days in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) prove very useful — and Detective Inspector Annie Rock, who I hope Mr. Anthony finds a larger role for in the future as her confidence and competence made her a favorite of mine. The new faces to the mix include
a stone-cold Irish killer and plenty of shadowy intelligence types more used to lying than telling the truth.

Those familiar with Mr. Anthony's biography, which includes stints as a detective in local, regional and national police agencies in the United Kingdom, including the Special Branch (now known as Counter-Terrorism Command), will take special interest in the "behind the scenes" aspect of this story. When DCS Big Al Jessop puts an operation in motion to nab some robbers in London or a PIRA Active Service Unit's movements in the Republic are monitored, there is a sense of utter authenticity to the proceedings; no extra drama needed.

Finally, as I've noted before I'm an Anglophile so the settings and dialogue were just the icing on a very tasty and satisfying treat of a story. The next DCI Davies King book is already out, so I'm adding Behead the Serpent to my To Read List straightaway, sure I am.

For more information on Paul Anthony and his books, visit his blog: paulanthonys.blogspot.co.uk. Of particular note is his post "The Inspiration Behind Moonlight Shadows" which includes photos of some scenes from the book.