Facades

by Alastair MacNeill

Rachel Walker was an experienced bodyguard with Scotland Yard’s elite Specialist Protection Branch until the death of a five year old girl on her watch sent her into a spiral of depression and guilt. But now, six months later, and with her confidence still fragile she wants to start afresh in the private sector. The chance comes when she’s offered the job of minding Kira Stepashin, the daughter of a wealthy Russian couple who’s coming to London to celebrate her twenty-first birthday. But within hours of her arrival in London, Kira learns that her father has died back home. Kira immediately goes to ground, leaving Rachel baffled and disturbed by her abrupt disappearance. But when Kira’s mother flies in from Moscow the following day with news that her late husband had a contract out on their daughter, Rachel finds herself in a desperate race against time to try and find her before the assassin does. But the more Rachel unravels about the Stepashin family, the more she realizes that both mother and daughter may be harbouring secret agendas of their own. And with time fast running out before the assassin strikes, Rachel doesn’t know who she can trust any more…

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 7, 2015

About the author

Alastair MacNeill was born in Greenock, Scotland in 1960. His family emigrated to South Africa when he was six, settling in the coastal city of East London.

He returned to the United Kingdom in 1985 hoping to pursue a career as a writer. He submitted a manuscript to HarperCollins Publishers and, on the strength of it, was offered the chance to write a novel based on an outline by the late Alistair MacLean. He eventually wrote seven novels based on MacLean synopses and has also written five novels under his own name.

He lives in Sheffield.