Charlie Cooper is sent to Prague to investigate - and eliminate - the leader of a group of far right hooligans guilty of the murder of an Interpol agent. Cooper is on his final warning and is expected to get in and out with minimal fuss, leaving just the body of his target in his wake.
But then Cooper meets a young man who has fallen under the spell of the group's charismatic leader... will he be able to ignore his conscience and follow his orders, or will he complicate matters by trying to get the young man to safety first?
Mark Dawson was born in Lowestoft and grew up in Manchester and Chicago. He has worked as a lawyer and currently works in the London film industry. His first books, "The Art of Falling Apart" and "Subpoena Colada" have been published in multiple languages.
He is currently writing two series. Soho Noir is set in the West End of London between 1940 and 1970. The first book in the series, "The Black Mile", deals with the (real life but little known) serial killer who operated in the area during the Blitz. "The Imposter" traces the journey of a criminal family (think The Sopranos in austerity London and you'd be on the right track).
The John Milton series features a disgruntled special agent who aims to help people to make amends for the terrible things that he has done. Mark, as a child of the 80s, will freely admit that he watched a lot of The Equalizer in his youth.
This was a short story in the fairly new Charlie Cooper series. Charlie is given an assignment that was supposed to be relatively easy - he is to assassinate the leader of a neo-nazi type group.
In the course of doing his investigation into the group, he ends up befriending a young man who is part of the group, but who seems as if he really, really wants a way out. Charlie uses him to get critical information to help with his intended job, but things get complicated when Interpol gets involved and when Charlie begins to feel a bit protective of the young kid. Unfortunately, there are consequences to that.
As always, Mr. Dawson creates a wonderful and interesting storyline which held my interest the entire way through. I listened to most of this on audio and David Thorpe did his usual great job with the narration.
This book delivered Mark's usual fast-paced, geographically-diverse plot which I enjoyed but didn't love. If AI ever developed a generic "action-thriller" programme ([perhaps AI already has!) it would, I suspect, pretty much follow this novel; little character development, less depth of motivation but saved from homologous dreariness by the all-action nature of the book.
It seemed to me as though Dead of Winter had been rushed (to meet a publication date, mayhap?) and the proof-readers had missed a number of points, the biggest schoolboy howler being that, for 5 Chapters, a central-casting villain, named Antononin had driven a blue BMW. Not just any blue BMW but an "electric-blue" BMW! So why, at the beginning of Chapter 24 had Antononin's car morphed into a blue Mercedes? Many BMW owners must dream of their car morphing into a Mercedes (revealing brand snobbery here!) but such a glaring inconsistency has no pace in a novel which has, at its heart, granular detail and product placement! As a retired solicitor, this error leapt off the page and so, Mark, if you want to try out my proof-reading prowess, then just drop me an email! Seriously, this book was a good romp through the snow and concluded with the "goodies" and "baddies" getting, pretty much what was due to them!
After going rogue in the last book, Charlie is trying to repair his relationship with the Group and with Control. This takes the form of removing a Brown Shirt wannabe in Prague, and failure is not an option if Charlie wants to remain with the Group. We need to remember these books are written in the past at a time when John Milton was still Number One, so I spend time looking for Easter eggs to see how Mark intends to tie it all together. This book felt like it was just dropping a couple of hints without much character development. We see Charlie becoming less enamored of the collateral cost of his profession, how that will develop is the main question. I can't wait to see how Dawson gets everything worked out.
Cooper is an incredible assassin because he can blend in with his surroundings and knows how to use people to complete his tasks. He is also a very thoughtful person. This is an action-filled, fast-paced thriller that you do not want to miss, and it is definitely an unputdownable book! Mark Dawson is an awesome author who knows how to keep the reader's attention to see what will happen next! Happy reading! ☺️
I personally don’t like spoiling stories for readers by giving them a brief synopsis of a book, I prefer to let them have the enjoyment you get from reading it themselves and let them interpret the story there own way by becoming absorbed in it. What I will say is that if you are a fan of Mark’s John Milton books, then the Charlie Cooper collection is just for you. Happy reading.
Charlie Cooper in Prague ... A Step Up, Not Yet Back to the Heights of Books 1 & 2
3 / 5 ⭐️
The fourth Charlie Cooper novella is a definite improvement over the third but still doesn’t quite reach the heights of the first two. Cooper feels more focused and capable again, which makes the story more engaging. However, the supporting characters feel a bit flat and lack the depth to make them truly memorable. That said, the overall story is solid and keeps you invested throughout.
Group 15 sent an agent to infiltrate a Euro White First Group
This group has political ambition, their methods came first with a steel pipe then with flying fists. They'd already killed an Interpol agent trying to infiltrate them as one of their own. Control knew they needed another legend, they needed a chameleon. They needed Charlie Cooper.
Mark Dawson is a great thriller writer and these Charlie Cooper books are all classic Dawson. I started out reading his John Milton books (if you haven’t read those you MUST) and now the Cooper books. All are good thrillers and fun reading. Highly recommend anything Mark Dawson writes!
Mark Dawson has done it again, Dead Of Winter is a great short story about Charlie Cooper. The storyline is current and fast paced. Charlie is similar to Joh Milton, maybe a bit for subdued and underestimated but just as efficient in getting the job done.
When you have read every book so far by Mark Dawson, it is good that new books from New characters are available. This was a good and tense read and Charlie is growing on me. Read on...
I like the Charlie Cooper character so much. Smart, but not Superman. Prague is a great place to set this story in, and the plot wasn’t too deep, which kept the plot moving along quickly.
An enjoyable short story in the Charlie Cooper series. Well crafted with a good range of characters and plenty of action.Looking forward to reading more in the series.
This was another fast roller-coaster of a read, with short chapters and non stop action, all the things we expect from a Mark Dawson read these realy are superb thrillers. Highly recommended.
I love the Cooper books. I didn’t think I’d like the short-form novels, but they are the perfect read for a break from other series. Now, just need Cooper and Milton to meet up 🫢
Very good…just to prove me taking notice…Antonin left the gym with Cooper in a Mercedes but arrived in a BMW ! Look. Forward to the next instalment of Cooper
Charlie Cooper # 4 this time in Prague. Fast paced group 15 reads. He's no John Milton but the same genre and style that we've come to love and expect from Mr Dawson.
Another excellent story involving Charlie copper. If you enjoy the John Milton series you will also enjoy this series. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Not a bad story but nothing like Milton. This looks like something written in a couple of days, maybe couple of weeks. Not really interesting, a bit choppy and boring
Great, easy read short story. Nice amount of dialogue, balanced with enough descriptive narrative to envisage the surrounding scenery and locale easily.