Churchill's Rogue: The Rogues Trilogy Part 1

by John Righten

December 1937. Winston Churchill asks a former adversary, Sean Ryan, for his help to save a woman and her son. Ryan agrees to help, but on his own terms. They, and other refugees, are being hunted by a specially formed SS unit, the Alpha Wolves. They are led by Major Krak, a psychopath, known by his enemies – he has no friends – as Cerberus
Ryan encounters a formidable woman, Lenka, and other ‘rogues’ who have their own personal reasons for helping those trying to escape their Nazi pursuers. The rogues were born of struggle. Each forged in the flames of the Irish or Spanish Civil Wars, the Great Depression or the Russian Revolution we learn how each fought, suffered or lost those they loved.
The rogues join forces, despite their bitter rivalries, in a desperate race to save as many families as they can. But, for each of the rogues the cost of the struggle comes at a terribly high price. Meanwhile, Churchill stands alone, ridiculed by governments, desperate to appease the evil stealing towards them.
Thus begins the story, leading up to the outbreak of war, of the men and woman who dare to challenge the Nazis. Churchill’s Rogue is the first in a rousing trilogy, followed by The Gathering Storm and Darkest Hour, which chronicle the bloody encounters between the rogues and Cerberus’s executioners.

417 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 29, 2013

About the author

John has delivered medical aid to orphanages and hospitals across the globe, including Romania during the revolution, South America, Bosnia during the war and now into the Ukraine. His first novel, 'The Benevolence of Rogues', tells of the characters he encountered during his many dangerous missions, particularly his humanitarian work, where he enlisted unlikely support from those he calls 'benevolent rogues'. These men and women used their wit and guile to deliver medical aid and help save lives.
John has also written The Rogues Trilogy, a rousing adventure set in the two years leading up to WWII, starting with the first of a trilogy, 'Churchill's Rogue', followed by 'The Gathering Storm' and 'The Darkest Hour'.
His second trilogy, The Lochran Trilogy, is a 1960s based thriller based on an assassination attempt on Sir Winston Churchill - a man who the world knows is already dying.
His third trilogy is the 1990s epic, The Lenka Trilogy. The first novel in the series, 'Heartbreak' was followed by 'Resilience' and 'Reflection'.
In 2016, 'Churchill's Rogue' was shortlisted for the inaugural Wilbur Smith adventure awards. In 2020 'Heartbreak' won the Page Turner Audio Award, and in 2023 The Englander has been shortlisted for the prestigious Killer Nashville Claymore Award.
His adventures continue. He rode a British Army motorbike across India to support several children's charities, and he recently worked in a mental health facility in Manhattan.
To learn more visit http://rightensrogues.co.uk/
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Reviews

[John]

My Kindle version was full of formatting and other errors. The novel was interesting but the characters rather exaggerated. There was a lot of vicarious violence. As a doctor I found it very frustrating as the medical details were often laughable. For example one feels a neck pulse in the Carotid artery and not the "jugular" which is a pulseless pair of veins, the external and internal jugulars. The injuries suffered by Sean towards the end were incompatible with life, let alone allowing him to drag himself up a mountainside. And the intense cold would NOT have reduced bleeding but would have increased it. If authors intend to make medical issues an integral factor in their stories they should get them right. For me seeing so many errors makes me wonder how much of the other non-medical "facts" in the novel I could trust.

[osmtsn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I was bit scared in the beginning, I thought what the hell I'm about to read but then I started to enjoy it and like it as Sean is such a strange and lovable character, sometimes scary, mostly wry, and deadly.

(I loved the mention of Nicholas Winton :))

[Vykki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It had characters that pulled you into the story and kept you reading. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author. I won this book on good reads.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Smart Thriller

This book is not for the squeamish. The violence and damage done to bodies are graphically described. That said, for an action novel, the characters are multidimensional and well developed. The only reason I didn't give the book more stars is its desperate need of a good editor. The numerous grammatical and punctuation issues disrupt the flow of the story. Despite these shortcomings, I highly recommend the book.

[Cindy Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly done

I loved that I was plunged deeply into the story from the first and I didn't come up for air until the end. By that point I was glad it was over so I may start anew with the next bit. I WILL be reading the rest of this story!

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

First time reading this author and I was mesmerized. The story, dripping with history, takes you on a ride from page one. I read it straight through. The characters were amazing, as rich & full as the story. I can’t wait to read more

[Margaret Wray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book to read of WW11. Strong characters and the story was really good. A few sad moments but overall it was an engrossing read. May gave to follow up on the others in the series.

[Michael Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great yarn with lots of action

The story has a lot of what I like in a read, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it. The only drawback is the poor proofreading, while it didn’t detract from the pleasure of the book it did jar at times.

[Paul Cobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Historical Fiction!

This book was an excellent work of historical fiction set in the final years leading up to World War II. It dealt with aspects of the war that don’t generally get talked about. It was gritty and action packed.

[John Flick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rogues

A very intriguing novel which should leave the reader with the trials and tribulations leading up to WWII. Look forward to reading the next two parts of the trilogy.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing

I enjoyed reading this very much! The storyline was quite broad but well done. Four stars is because of the poor editing.

[Marjie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Story

The book would be so much betterand more enjoyable to read if it was proofread again and the many grammatical issues were fixed.