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Tweed & Co. #22
Blood Storm
Tweed and his dynamic team face one of their biggest challenges yet. Not even the most sophisticated security systems nor the most experienced counter-terrorist czars can stand up to a force that threatens the whole of Europe. Tweed rarely experiences fear or doubt, but is almost overwhelmed when he has to make a seemingly impossible decision about one of his own team. Loyalties are tested to the limit in this topical, fast-paced, highly tense new thriller from Colin Forbes.
303 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
2 people are currently reading
180 people want to read
About the author
Colin Forbes
157 books117 followersRaymond Harold Sawkins was a British novelist, who mainly published under the pseudonym Colin Forbes, but also as Richard Raine, Jay Bernard and Harold English. He only published three of his first books under his own name.Sawkins wrote over 40 books, mostly as Colin Forbes. He was most famous for his long-running series of thriller novels in which the principal character is Tweed, Deputy Director of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Sawkins attended The Lower School of John Lyon in Harrow, London. At the age of 16 he started work as a sub-editor with a magazine and book publishing company. He served with the British Army in North Africa and the Middle East during World War II. Before his demobilization he was attached to the Army Newspaper Unit in Rome. On his return to civilian life he joined a publishing and printing company, commuting to London for 20 years, until he became successful enough to be a full-time novelist.
Sawkins was married to a Scots-Canadian, Jane Robertson (born 31 March 1925, died 1993). Together they had one daughter, Janet.Sawkins died of a heart attack on August 23, 2006.
Sawkins was often quoted as personally visiting every location he features in his books to aid the authenticity of the writing. As a result, there is detailed description of the places where the action in his books takes place.
Fury (1995) was inspired by the courage of his wife before she died, and he set it apart from his other novels “because of the strong emotion and sense of loss that runs through it”.
Just one of Forbes' novels was made into a film: Avalanche Express, directed by Mark Robson and starring Lee Marvin and Robert Shaw, which was released in 1979 to generally poor reviews.
Sawkins attended The Lower School of John Lyon in Harrow, London. At the age of 16 he started work as a sub-editor with a magazine and book publishing company. He served with the British Army in North Africa and the Middle East during World War II. Before his demobilization he was attached to the Army Newspaper Unit in Rome. On his return to civilian life he joined a publishing and printing company, commuting to London for 20 years, until he became successful enough to be a full-time novelist.
Sawkins was married to a Scots-Canadian, Jane Robertson (born 31 March 1925, died 1993). Together they had one daughter, Janet.Sawkins died of a heart attack on August 23, 2006.
Sawkins was often quoted as personally visiting every location he features in his books to aid the authenticity of the writing. As a result, there is detailed description of the places where the action in his books takes place.
Fury (1995) was inspired by the courage of his wife before she died, and he set it apart from his other novels “because of the strong emotion and sense of loss that runs through it”.
Just one of Forbes' novels was made into a film: Avalanche Express, directed by Mark Robson and starring Lee Marvin and Robert Shaw, which was released in 1979 to generally poor reviews.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 14, 2023
The plots are becoming quite ridiculous and the antagonists increasingly stupid.
The stories are still interesting, but the characters are becoming predictable and Tweed's team are always going to succeed.
In this story, it was noticeable that all the women were beautiful, apart from a street person, and their clothing and looks described in detail.
I shan't be reading any more of these for a few years.
The stories are still interesting, but the characters are becoming predictable and Tweed's team are always going to succeed.
In this story, it was noticeable that all the women were beautiful, apart from a street person, and their clothing and looks described in detail.
I shan't be reading any more of these for a few years.
September 1, 2011
Well i am a die hard Colin Forbes or should i say Tweed(the central character) and team fan. Any review i write would be biased since i naturally enjoy any Tweed book and have tried to hunt down and read each and every one available...
January 4, 2019
Ludicrous plot, unbelievable characters, totally implausible events.
September 10, 2016
Easy to read, but a very flat story line. I know Forbes/Sawkins only wrote another two books before he died, yet recently they've lacked the vigour and foreign-based intrigue of previous novels. Tweed and his team are now simply coppers with guns who have an awful lot of luck, and whose basic and dated trade-craft is never outdone.
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November 8, 2015It was sort of ok, though not one of his better ones - every Colin Forbes book makes me smile, I know they are far fetched, and the writing isn't brilliant either but somehow they keep me reading to the end, so they must have something!! For all their cheesiness they are addictive.
May 20, 2017
This will be the last of the series I read. I know they have always been outdated but the lack of use of technology by the characters plus the same plodding storylines has become tooooooo far outdated.
October 8, 2011
It reads like the script for a low-budget, direct-to-video movie. Starring Van Damme, most likely. Waste of time and paper.
December 11, 2016
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September 5, 2021
I didn't mind this novel. It's the first Colin Forbes I've read, and I bought a handful a few months back at a book fair. I'll definitely get around to reading the rest, and know I'll be able to pass them on.
The plot is simple, and reminds me a bit of a mix of James Bond and Mission Impossible, just without flash gadgetry. There isn't really any gadgetry to speak of, which surprised me a bit. You would think a spy/action novel would have some gadgets the heroes or villains get to play with. That was the only thing I expected of this that didn't come to be. Shame.
All in all, it was a quick and fun read. For some reason, I imagined a lot of posh accents from the characters, and the character Tweed makes me picture him in tweed.
If you want an escape for a few hours, then I think this will do the trick. Don't expect a masterpiece, but just go along for the ride and bring along your impeccable manners (you'll fit right in with Tweed & Co).
The plot is simple, and reminds me a bit of a mix of James Bond and Mission Impossible, just without flash gadgetry. There isn't really any gadgetry to speak of, which surprised me a bit. You would think a spy/action novel would have some gadgets the heroes or villains get to play with. That was the only thing I expected of this that didn't come to be. Shame.
All in all, it was a quick and fun read. For some reason, I imagined a lot of posh accents from the characters, and the character Tweed makes me picture him in tweed.
If you want an escape for a few hours, then I think this will do the trick. Don't expect a masterpiece, but just go along for the ride and bring along your impeccable manners (you'll fit right in with Tweed & Co).
November 14, 2022
This wasn't terrible, but it was great either. It was distinctly average.
I felt that Forbes was writing on autopilot in this book and the plot was pretty thin and the characters not well formed. The writing was pretty formulaic and lacked sparkle.
There was enough excitement and interest generated to keep me reading and it wasn't a terrible read considering I read it quickly, but it's not a story that will linger long in the memory.
A so so thriller, but nothing special. I wouldn't recommend, but nor is it up there with the worst books I've read, but this wasn't one of Forbes's best.
I felt that Forbes was writing on autopilot in this book and the plot was pretty thin and the characters not well formed. The writing was pretty formulaic and lacked sparkle.
There was enough excitement and interest generated to keep me reading and it wasn't a terrible read considering I read it quickly, but it's not a story that will linger long in the memory.
A so so thriller, but nothing special. I wouldn't recommend, but nor is it up there with the worst books I've read, but this wasn't one of Forbes's best.
January 16, 2020
Ludicrous. The plot had more holes in it than a sieve. The writing was stilted and the characters one dimensional, and that is being generous. I realise it was published in 2004, but there was very little use of modern technology, or even a basic understanding of modern law enforcement methodology. Sorry I can't be more generous.
November 18, 2021
I have recently gotten into reading Colin Forbes books this being by second, I wish to continue reading more in the future. This book is about Tweed and his team, they work for the SIS. The plot was very well structured and fit well together which all the loose ends joining together at the end. I cannot say how pleased and exhilarated I am with this novel a pure legend, Colin Forbes.
July 17, 2017
Usual good read from this author.
March 25, 2020
This is terrible, you can drive a truck through all the holes in this plot. I had forgotten how wonderfully adept the “hero’s” are & how the “villians” are so inept ........
June 28, 2021
As with all of his Tweed books this is an enjoyable plot and a page turning read.
February 1, 2021
An enjoyable enough story but not up to the standards of previous Tweed & Co novels. Whilst to some extent the Tweed & Co stories have always been a tad formulaic (at least you know what to expect) this just felt like a repeat of several other plots and very little in the way of activities that SIS would traditionally get involved in.
We had another attempt by ‘not nice’ politicians to merge security services into an umbrella organisation that has more in common with the old KGB that British policing. Tweed of course to the prime mover against the proposal. There is another subplot of attempting to frame Tweed for a vicious murder in to remove him from the game. When this fails we have the ‘let’s kidnap /torture Paula’ as this will destabilise Tweed. When this fails we move on to the simply ‘kill him’. As has become predictable we have serial killer that only Tweed seems to be able to hunt down successfully. We also have the team darting here and there seemingly bringing wanton death and destruction down on the perceived enemies with even less regard for due process than normal and with no comeback.
However the element of a cross country plot and the jaunts is across Europe that normally are a staple of these novels is missing and I for one think it is the poorer for it. I know there are only two books remaining in the series and hope these revert to the standards of the earlier books rather than this one.
We had another attempt by ‘not nice’ politicians to merge security services into an umbrella organisation that has more in common with the old KGB that British policing. Tweed of course to the prime mover against the proposal. There is another subplot of attempting to frame Tweed for a vicious murder in to remove him from the game. When this fails we have the ‘let’s kidnap /torture Paula’ as this will destabilise Tweed. When this fails we move on to the simply ‘kill him’. As has become predictable we have serial killer that only Tweed seems to be able to hunt down successfully. We also have the team darting here and there seemingly bringing wanton death and destruction down on the perceived enemies with even less regard for due process than normal and with no comeback.
However the element of a cross country plot and the jaunts is across Europe that normally are a staple of these novels is missing and I for one think it is the poorer for it. I know there are only two books remaining in the series and hope these revert to the standards of the earlier books rather than this one.
January 26, 2011
I read this book.. one or two years ago, my mom gave it to me when I had absolutely nothing to read.. my bookshelf was empty and I needed something to read, and I ended up reading "Blood Storm" by Colin Forbes. Actually, at first she gave me a thriller of Nora Roberts, but I never really got into it, and I like this book much better. I never really read that much thrillers, except maybe some YA thrillers, but this one I liked. Very much.
"Blood Storm", the original title is so much better, I read the Swedish copy and the title was "the Psychopath", in Swedish though. Anyway, I really liked this book, it was exciting, a lot of blood and mysteries to solve. Great! And guns, I love me some guns! :D (I watch a lot of action movies xD)
Great characters, great plot - read it for god's sake! (not that I believe in God)Colin Forbes, the man's a genious! Too bad he's dead, he was a really good writer.
"Blood Storm", the original title is so much better, I read the Swedish copy and the title was "the Psychopath", in Swedish though. Anyway, I really liked this book, it was exciting, a lot of blood and mysteries to solve. Great! And guns, I love me some guns! :D (I watch a lot of action movies xD)
Great characters, great plot - read it for god's sake! (not that I believe in God)Colin Forbes, the man's a genious! Too bad he's dead, he was a really good writer.
January 27, 2014
I have recently gotten into reading Colin Forbes books this being by second, I wish to continue reading more in the future. This book is about Tweed and his team, they work for the SIS. The plot was very well structured and fit well together which all the loose ends joining together at the end. I cannot say how pleased and exhilarated I am with this novel a pure legend, Colin Forbes.
August 12, 2011
Got about 5 chapters through when i suddenly realised that i've read it before!
It still kept me entertained and despite my previous read i still couldn't figure out the ending.
It still kept me entertained and despite my previous read i still couldn't figure out the ending.
March 22, 2020
I've always been a Forbes fan but this is pretty poor. The writing is stilted and the characterisation almost non-existent.
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September 29, 2018The two big themes in the story were: 1. the mystery of the murders, and 2. turning society into a police state. In the end there was no interesting connection between the two - it just turned out that one of the brothers planning the police state also happened to be the murderer.
The story very much ended in mid air with quite a few issues unresolved. The characters on the "Good guys" team were well drawn, but everyone else was pretty 2D. The pace of the story was a bit slow and lacked direction at times.
A much more interesting alternative ending would have been if somewho Coral and the Parrot were somehow responsible for the murders.
The story very much ended in mid air with quite a few issues unresolved. The characters on the "Good guys" team were well drawn, but everyone else was pretty 2D. The pace of the story was a bit slow and lacked direction at times.
A much more interesting alternative ending would have been if somewho Coral and the Parrot were somehow responsible for the murders.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews