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Balmoral Kill: A 1930s Spy Thriller
“Sean Miller - a rogue of the first water; a former Army sniper, he seems unable to stay out of a fight.”
Sean Miller’s fighting a guerrilla war in Spain when he’s called back to Britain. His task? To seek out an assassin as dangerous as himself. A sniper whose deadly aim could plunge the world into war. As the shadow of the Nazis falls across Europe, a sinister conspiracy plots a secret war closer to home. Miller’s pursuit leads from the menacing alleys of London’s East End to the lonely mountains of Scotland. A duel to the death where there can be only one victor in the Balmoral Kill.
A fast-paced action thriller by the author of Dangerous Game and the William Quest adventures
Sean Miller’s fighting a guerrilla war in Spain when he’s called back to Britain. His task? To seek out an assassin as dangerous as himself. A sniper whose deadly aim could plunge the world into war. As the shadow of the Nazis falls across Europe, a sinister conspiracy plots a secret war closer to home. Miller’s pursuit leads from the menacing alleys of London’s East End to the lonely mountains of Scotland. A duel to the death where there can be only one victor in the Balmoral Kill.
A fast-paced action thriller by the author of Dangerous Game and the William Quest adventures
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 26, 2014
12 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
John Bainbridge
23 books79 followersJohn Bainbridge is the author of the thrillers. The Shadow Of William Quest, Deadly Quest and Dark Shadow, set in the Victorian underworld of the 1850s and Balmoral Kill and Dangerous Game - Golden Age style spy thrillers set in the 1930s.
John has written four historical novels in the series The Chronicles of Robin Hood: Loxley, Wolfshead, Villain and Legend. These take the legendary outlaw back to a gritty medieval reality.
A countryside access campaigner, John also writes non-fiction books about walking in the British countryside, Rambling - Some Thoughts on Country Walking, The Compleat Trespasser, Footloose in Devon, Footloose with George Borrow, and a memoir, Wayfarer's Dole.
He is currently writing a prequel to the William Quest novels.
John's wife, Anne Bainbridge, writes historical detective fiction, the Inspector Abbs Victorian Mysteries and the 1930s-set Inspector Chance Mysteries. Anne's novels were first published under John's name.
John blogs at:
www.johnbainbridgewriter.wordpress.com
www.walktheoldways.wordpress.com
John has written four historical novels in the series The Chronicles of Robin Hood: Loxley, Wolfshead, Villain and Legend. These take the legendary outlaw back to a gritty medieval reality.
A countryside access campaigner, John also writes non-fiction books about walking in the British countryside, Rambling - Some Thoughts on Country Walking, The Compleat Trespasser, Footloose in Devon, Footloose with George Borrow, and a memoir, Wayfarer's Dole.
He is currently writing a prequel to the William Quest novels.
John's wife, Anne Bainbridge, writes historical detective fiction, the Inspector Abbs Victorian Mysteries and the 1930s-set Inspector Chance Mysteries. Anne's novels were first published under John's name.
John blogs at:
www.johnbainbridgewriter.wordpress.com
www.walktheoldways.wordpress.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 3, 2017
A wonderful thriller, 5*.
March 17, 2015
John Bainbridge's "Balmoral Kill: A Sean Miller Adventure" reads like a Hitchcock movie; it's got moody, dark streets; a villain worthy of the name; shadowy conspirators and an ordinary man thrust into an extraordinary event.
Bainbridge has captured both the tone and the feel of Great Britain in the Thirties when the UK was still an empire but only just. His narrative sweeps the reader from the mean streets of London's poorest neighborhoods to the homes of the privileged few; from the craggy hills of Scotland to the offices of the men who are trying desperately to hold the country together at a time when fascism, communism and socialism threaten to overwhelm its democratic traditions and break it apart at the seams.
Sean Miller is the main character of this well-written, fast-paced novel. He is a rogue of the first water; a former Army sniper, he seems unable to stay out of a fight. He could be a Red or maybe he's an anarchist... even he isn't sure.
He is a fascinating character to be sure but, to me, the most interesting one in the book is Billy Stanton - an overweight, out-of-shape King's Messenger who finds himself fighting for his very life as he first fetches and then accompanies Miller on a mission that, if successful, might just allow the country to live to fight another day. It is to Bainbridge's credit that he can take a secondary character like Stanton and portray him in such a convincing and sympathetic fashion that I kept hoping he wouldn't be killed somewhere along the line.
I won't spoil it for you so if you want to know whether Stanton survives or not you're going to have to read the book.
Bainbridge's prose is electric and his scene setting is so well done that you can almost smell the peat and the heather when the action shifts from London to Scotland. The plot is not all that complicated, though it seems so at first because of the way Bainbridge tells the story. It is only after you've put the book down for the final time that you realize how straightforward the plot really is and that is also a tribute to Bainbridge's writing style.
All in all, a very satisfying book and one that I highly recommend.
Bainbridge has captured both the tone and the feel of Great Britain in the Thirties when the UK was still an empire but only just. His narrative sweeps the reader from the mean streets of London's poorest neighborhoods to the homes of the privileged few; from the craggy hills of Scotland to the offices of the men who are trying desperately to hold the country together at a time when fascism, communism and socialism threaten to overwhelm its democratic traditions and break it apart at the seams.
Sean Miller is the main character of this well-written, fast-paced novel. He is a rogue of the first water; a former Army sniper, he seems unable to stay out of a fight. He could be a Red or maybe he's an anarchist... even he isn't sure.
He is a fascinating character to be sure but, to me, the most interesting one in the book is Billy Stanton - an overweight, out-of-shape King's Messenger who finds himself fighting for his very life as he first fetches and then accompanies Miller on a mission that, if successful, might just allow the country to live to fight another day. It is to Bainbridge's credit that he can take a secondary character like Stanton and portray him in such a convincing and sympathetic fashion that I kept hoping he wouldn't be killed somewhere along the line.
I won't spoil it for you so if you want to know whether Stanton survives or not you're going to have to read the book.
Bainbridge's prose is electric and his scene setting is so well done that you can almost smell the peat and the heather when the action shifts from London to Scotland. The plot is not all that complicated, though it seems so at first because of the way Bainbridge tells the story. It is only after you've put the book down for the final time that you realize how straightforward the plot really is and that is also a tribute to Bainbridge's writing style.
All in all, a very satisfying book and one that I highly recommend.
March 5, 2015
A proper old fashioned nostalgic detective thriller, they don’t make em like this any more! John Buchan and Agatha Christie come to mind. Set between the wars this highly probable story could have quite easily been lifted from declassified top secret documents at the public records office in Kew, a daunting prospect had the perpetrators of the plot realized their intentions. John Bainbridge weaves a tale expertly mixing fact and fiction, painting a detailed backdrop that takes the reader from a nervous pre war London, to the civil war in Spain and up to the Cairngorms in Scotland with deft description. Expertly researched and drawn from his own experience as a country walker and (in his own words) a trespasser, John places you perfectly in the picture.
His hero’s and villains are totally believable, the protagonists are endearing, and they will leave the reader wanting further plots and exploits to grapple with.
A long read, but thoroughly enjoyable boy’s own stuff, and as far as my limited grasp of English could tell, error free, hurrah!
His hero’s and villains are totally believable, the protagonists are endearing, and they will leave the reader wanting further plots and exploits to grapple with.
A long read, but thoroughly enjoyable boy’s own stuff, and as far as my limited grasp of English could tell, error free, hurrah!
maybe
January 7, 2015Read article from English Historical Fiction
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews