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Blackline
While vacationing in Camden, Maine, former SAS trooper Jack Tate is accused of a high profile assassination. Hours later, after another shooting, the Camden PD reluctantly realise that Tate is the wrong man.
Upon finally returning to his hotel, Tate overhears a group of guests speaking Russian. They seem to be discussing a military mission, but who are they and what is the event they mention?
With his suspicions rising and unable to sleep, Tate tries to call a contact—but the power goes out...
BLACKLINE is the first Jack Tate Perseid Collapse Kindle Worlds novella.
About the author:
ALEX SHAW is a member of the International Thriller Writers organisation and the Crime Writers Association. He is the author of the Aidan Snow SAS thrillers (COLD BLOOD, COLD BLACK and COLD EAST) and the Delta Force Vampire series of novels.
Upon finally returning to his hotel, Tate overhears a group of guests speaking Russian. They seem to be discussing a military mission, but who are they and what is the event they mention?
With his suspicions rising and unable to sleep, Tate tries to call a contact—but the power goes out...
BLACKLINE is the first Jack Tate Perseid Collapse Kindle Worlds novella.
About the author:
ALEX SHAW is a member of the International Thriller Writers organisation and the Crime Writers Association. He is the author of the Aidan Snow SAS thrillers (COLD BLOOD, COLD BLACK and COLD EAST) and the Delta Force Vampire series of novels.
91 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2015
1 person is currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Alex Shaw
22 books164 followersALEX SHAW B.A.(Hons), P.G.C.E. spent the second half of the 1990s in Kyiv, Ukraine, teaching Drama and running his own business consultancy before being head-hunted for a division of Siemens. The next few years saw him doing business for the company across the former USSR, the Middle East, and Africa.
Alex is an active member of the ITW (The International Thriller Writers organisation) and the CWA (the Crime Writers Association). He is the author of the #1 International Kindle Bestselling 'Aidan Snow SAS thrillers' HETMAN & COLD BLACK and the new DELTA FORCE VAMPIRE series of books. His writing has also been published in the thriller anthologies DEATH TOLL, DEATH TOLL 2 and ACTION PULSE POUNDING TALES 2 alongside International Bestselling authors Stephen Leather and Matt Hilton. DANGEROUS, DEADLY, ELITE - The third Aidan Snow Thriller will be available in October 2014.
COLD BLACK is commercially published by ENDEAVOUR PRESS.
Alex, his wife and their two sons divide their time between homes in Kyiv, Ukraine and Worthing, England. Alex can be contacted via his website www.alexwshaw.com You can also follow Alex on twitter: @alexshawhetman
Alex is an active member of the ITW (The International Thriller Writers organisation) and the CWA (the Crime Writers Association). He is the author of the #1 International Kindle Bestselling 'Aidan Snow SAS thrillers' HETMAN & COLD BLACK and the new DELTA FORCE VAMPIRE series of books. His writing has also been published in the thriller anthologies DEATH TOLL, DEATH TOLL 2 and ACTION PULSE POUNDING TALES 2 alongside International Bestselling authors Stephen Leather and Matt Hilton. DANGEROUS, DEADLY, ELITE - The third Aidan Snow Thriller will be available in October 2014.
COLD BLACK is commercially published by ENDEAVOUR PRESS.
Alex, his wife and their two sons divide their time between homes in Kyiv, Ukraine and Worthing, England. Alex can be contacted via his website www.alexwshaw.com You can also follow Alex on twitter: @alexshawhetman
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 3, 2015
Jack Tate is on holiday, taking some time out in Camden, Maine. He hasn’t been in the country long before he’s taken into custody for a crime he didn’t commit. A local dignitary has been assassinated and Tate fits the description. The local police chief, Donoghue, can’t get the charges to stick however and soon Tate is back on the streets.
But Tate isn’t what he at first seems. He’s actually MI6 and ex-SAS. When he checks into his hotel he’s immediately suspicious of several fellow guests – Russians.
Then the US is attacked by an EMP bomb, knocking out everything electronic. At the same time a tsunami hits Boston, causing huge loss of life. It seems to Tate as if the Russians are in the middle of it all…
Alex Shaw writes taut, fast moving military thrillers. You know exactly what you’re going to get when you pick up one of his books – entertainment at pace. Blackline is no exception. Shaw gets through a lot in a relatively short space of time. There’s intrigue from the first page with the assassination of a retired Senator and the mystery of Tate’s identity.
He gradually builds a relationship with the cops who at first had distrusted him, something that strengthens when the EMP hits and knocks out almost every car, cell phone, television etc.
Tate’s investigations reveal a conspiracy against the US. Unfortunately the novella ends before everything is revealed, presumably this will occur in a follow up. It’s a shame, it would have been good to have seen it closed out.
Tate is a believable character. Tough, yet not over the top. Donoghue is a useful foil. A local cop. Solid and dependable. There’s also Sara, owner of the hotel Tate is booked into. She’s strong willed and sassy. More than a match for Tate.
The one element that needed a suspension of disbelief was the tsunami that hit Boston at the same time as the EMP blast – this was caused by a meteorite strike that no one spotted. Later in the novella it’s explained why, but for a period it was a large question in my mind. Could that really happen?
This aside, Blackline is another entertaining thriller from the pen of Shaw and I look forward to part two.
**Originally reviewed for Books & Pals blog. May have received free review copy.**
But Tate isn’t what he at first seems. He’s actually MI6 and ex-SAS. When he checks into his hotel he’s immediately suspicious of several fellow guests – Russians.
Then the US is attacked by an EMP bomb, knocking out everything electronic. At the same time a tsunami hits Boston, causing huge loss of life. It seems to Tate as if the Russians are in the middle of it all…
Alex Shaw writes taut, fast moving military thrillers. You know exactly what you’re going to get when you pick up one of his books – entertainment at pace. Blackline is no exception. Shaw gets through a lot in a relatively short space of time. There’s intrigue from the first page with the assassination of a retired Senator and the mystery of Tate’s identity.
He gradually builds a relationship with the cops who at first had distrusted him, something that strengthens when the EMP hits and knocks out almost every car, cell phone, television etc.
Tate’s investigations reveal a conspiracy against the US. Unfortunately the novella ends before everything is revealed, presumably this will occur in a follow up. It’s a shame, it would have been good to have seen it closed out.
Tate is a believable character. Tough, yet not over the top. Donoghue is a useful foil. A local cop. Solid and dependable. There’s also Sara, owner of the hotel Tate is booked into. She’s strong willed and sassy. More than a match for Tate.
The one element that needed a suspension of disbelief was the tsunami that hit Boston at the same time as the EMP blast – this was caused by a meteorite strike that no one spotted. Later in the novella it’s explained why, but for a period it was a large question in my mind. Could that really happen?
This aside, Blackline is another entertaining thriller from the pen of Shaw and I look forward to part two.
**Originally reviewed for Books & Pals blog. May have received free review copy.**
November 26, 2020
I'm an Alex Shaw fan, so I was delighted to receive "Blackline" and "Redline" as a gift (with no strings attached). Within the Perseid Collapse world, Shaw creates a spy/SAS/terrorist/intrigue plot in his signature style. There's plenty of action and a smart hero trying to ferret out who and what is behind the mayhem.
I always get a kick out of seeing familiar characters pop up in unexpected places, and a few of Shaw's baddies from the Aidan Snow series put in an effectively evil appearance here. Jack Tate, though, is a new hero. He's just the sort of tough, resourceful, skilled, knowledgeable SAS guy you want to have vacationing in your little tourist town when the EMP hits the fan.
There is action galore, of course. In "Blackline," Tate clashes with the local cops right at the get-go, then partners with them to stop the bad guys who are wreaking more and more havoc in their town. After a cliffhanger ending, the story is picked up in "Redline."
I haven't read much in the Perseid Collapse Kindle World series. No problem. Shaw did a superb job of sprinkling in enough detail to establish the big picture, while concentrating on the local characters and action. And it made perfect sense that we readers, along with the characters, would have only partial information about the overall situation, because of the EMP-created communications breakdown.
Bottom line: 5-star entertainment in a novella-length book.
I always get a kick out of seeing familiar characters pop up in unexpected places, and a few of Shaw's baddies from the Aidan Snow series put in an effectively evil appearance here. Jack Tate, though, is a new hero. He's just the sort of tough, resourceful, skilled, knowledgeable SAS guy you want to have vacationing in your little tourist town when the EMP hits the fan.
There is action galore, of course. In "Blackline," Tate clashes with the local cops right at the get-go, then partners with them to stop the bad guys who are wreaking more and more havoc in their town. After a cliffhanger ending, the story is picked up in "Redline."
I haven't read much in the Perseid Collapse Kindle World series. No problem. Shaw did a superb job of sprinkling in enough detail to establish the big picture, while concentrating on the local characters and action. And it made perfect sense that we readers, along with the characters, would have only partial information about the overall situation, because of the EMP-created communications breakdown.
Bottom line: 5-star entertainment in a novella-length book.
April 23, 2015
A great addition to The Perseid Collapse Series from an award winning author
Yes, Alex Shaw is a known author of international political thrillers. Bringing his talent for fast paced intrigue to Konkoly's Perseid series is a given. In Blackline we quickly learn there is more to the story than previously revealed. While on holiday in Camden, Maine, Jack Tate, a British SAS agent with an unusual command of the Russian language, hear a conversation that piques his interest. Hours later the conversation will come to mean something to Tate as it becomes clear that America has come under attack behind the phenomenon of a meteorite striking the Atlantic just off the coast of Maine. Are the Russian men somehow involved in the attack and did the have anything to do with the murders of three Camden residents shortly before the attack?
If you are a fan of The Perseid Collapse Series you will be pleased with Blackline. It fits right in and Alex writes an exciting story.
Yes, Alex Shaw is a known author of international political thrillers. Bringing his talent for fast paced intrigue to Konkoly's Perseid series is a given. In Blackline we quickly learn there is more to the story than previously revealed. While on holiday in Camden, Maine, Jack Tate, a British SAS agent with an unusual command of the Russian language, hear a conversation that piques his interest. Hours later the conversation will come to mean something to Tate as it becomes clear that America has come under attack behind the phenomenon of a meteorite striking the Atlantic just off the coast of Maine. Are the Russian men somehow involved in the attack and did the have anything to do with the murders of three Camden residents shortly before the attack?
If you are a fan of The Perseid Collapse Series you will be pleased with Blackline. It fits right in and Alex writes an exciting story.
December 18, 2015
Alex Shaw has done a fantastic job by adding information and characters to The Perseid Collapse series. Jack Tate is a fish out of water by being a British citizen in the U.S. when the SHTF. His intelligence, dedication to truth, and good will towards the Americans make for a very intense read! The action is documented (and non-stop) by the hours before and after the Event. Definitely an intriguing compliment to the story that started the series! Very well written!
February 4, 2016
Backline Alex Shaw
One of the books in the Perseid Collapse series. Tate, former SAS and now SIS, is on an actual vacation in the USA. A EMP device has been activated on the east coast by the Russians and Chinese. Tate is unknowingly at first thrust into this scenario as a suspect in an assassinations. Then he becomes a willing partner to capture the Russian suspects. A top notch short action thriller! Enjoyed immensely!
One of the books in the Perseid Collapse series. Tate, former SAS and now SIS, is on an actual vacation in the USA. A EMP device has been activated on the east coast by the Russians and Chinese. Tate is unknowingly at first thrust into this scenario as a suspect in an assassinations. Then he becomes a willing partner to capture the Russian suspects. A top notch short action thriller! Enjoyed immensely!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews