When a bomb goes off in Scheherazade's, a posh department store in Baghdad, leaving nearly 200 people dead or wounded, the authorities and the police think that it is just another routine case of it's type and appoint Captain Ali Allawi of the National Police to head the investigation. He has no clues to go on and no organisation claims responsibility, but one sharp-eyed member of his team notices something on the CCTV surveillance footage that is unusual - baffling even. Then they notice other discrepancies that lead Captain Allawi to suspect that they are facing a new, unimaginable type of threat. However, none of these clues make sense. He seeks help from Interpol, but they do not seem to have any other cases with data matching his, so he puts up a flag on the Interpol computer that he wants to be informed of any bombings with criteria matching those of his. Soon, five more cases are reported around the world and six police forces join to hunt for those responsible for the atrocities. The story takes place in Baghdad, Iraq; Marseille, France; Essen, Germany; Belfast, Ireland; New York, USA; London, England; Los Boliches, Spain; St. David's, Barry and Cardiff, Wales and and many other towns and cities around the world, including in South Africa and Thailand.
Owen Jones, Amazon Best-Selling Author from Barry, Wales, has lived in several countries and travelled in many more. While studying Russian in the USSR in the '70's, he hobnobbed with spies on a regular basis; in Suriname, he got caught up in the 1982 coup; and while a company director, he joined the crew of four as the galley slave to sail, from Barry to Gibraltar, a home-made concrete yacht, which was almost rammed by a Russian oil tanker and an American aircraft carrier. “I am a Celt, and we are romantic”, he said when asked about his writing style, “and I firmly believe in reincarnation, Karma and Fate, so, sayings like 'Do unto another...', and 'What goes round comes around' are central to my life and reflected in my work. I write about what I see, or think I see, or dream... and, in the end it is all the same really”. He speaks seven languages and is learning Thai, since he lives in Thailand with his Thai wife of seventeen years. His first novel, Daddy's Hobby is from the seven-part series 'Behind The Smile: The Story of Lek, a Bar Girl in Pattaya', but his largest collection is 'The Megan Series', twenty-three novelettes on the psychic development of a teenage girl, the subtitle of which, 'A Spirit Guide, A Ghost Tiger and One Scary Mother!' sums them up nicely. He has written fifty novels and novelettes, including: Dead Centre; Andropov's Cuckoo; Fate Twister; The Disallowed (a philosophical comedy); Tiger Lily of Bangkok; and A Night in Annwn (Annwn being the ancient Welsh word for Heaven). Many have been translated into foreign languages and narrated into audio books. Owen Jones writes stories set in Wales, Spain and Thailand, where he now lives. He is a life-long Spiritualist, and this belief is interwoven, in a very realistic way, into many of his books and storylines. If you like a touch of the 'supernatural', try his books He sums his life up thus: “Born in the Land of Song, Living in the Land of Smiles”.
This book is part of the 'How to...' series of 125 manuals by Owen Jones. The whole series can be found on Megan Publishing Services at: http://meganpublishingservices.com
When I read Owen Jones’ take on the vampire myth, ‘The Disallowed’, one of the things I enjoyed most about it was how he took such a tried and tested meme and gave it new interest and a freshness that is so lacking in vamp novels today. Well, he’s done it again in his latest offering ‘Dead Centre’. Two ex-Special Ops soldiers decide to set up in business but follow a different tack than many others of their ilk. Instead of offering Executive Protection services, security consultancy or basic mercenary skills, these two come up with a completely unique ‘product’ that attracts equally original clients. Jones tells the tale from the point of view of the ex-SAS men rather than the loose coalition of International Law Enforcement that sets out to curtail the success of their ‘product’ (sorry, NO SPOILERS here folks) and that in itself is also a refreshing change. Here you could say that the protagonists of the tale are the antagonists, yet a certain sympathy evolves toward them as we are allowed to see the reasoning behind the deadly service they provide. The novel will expose the reader to a moral ambiguity that may be uncomfortable for many, but that should not put you off; Owen Jones handles the issue with impeccable taste and does not lose sight of the narrative in the process. Definitely one to recommend to readers who enjoy the works of Andy McNab, Chris Ryan and Stephen Leather.