Counterfeit!

Suzanne Jones #1

by Elizabeth Ducie

Fake medicine kills. No-one is safe.

Regulator Suzanne Jones’ mission to stop counterfeiting in Africa becomes personal. But her investigations bring danger ever closer. In Uganda a factory burns; Suzanne’s friend goes missing; and in Swaziland and Zambia, children die.

Who is supplying the fake drugs? What is the Eastern European connection? Can Suzanne stop the counterfeiters before more people die?

(From the author of the prize-winning novel, Gorgito’s Ice Rink)

268 pages, Paperback

First published July 16, 2016

About the author

I was born and brought up in Birmingham. As a teenager, I won a holiday to France, Spain and Portugal for writing essays and poetry in a newspaper competition. Despite this promising start in the literary world, I took scientific qualifications and spent more than thirty years as a manufacturing consultant, technical writer and small business owner, publishing a number of pharmaceutical text books and editing a technical journal along the way. I returned to creative writing in 2006 and since then, I have written short stories and poetry for competitions — and have had a few wins, several honourable mentions and some short-listing. I am also published in several anthologies.

Under the Chudleigh Phoenix Publications imprint, I have published four solo collections of short stories and co-authored another two. I also write and lecture on business skills for writers running their own small business. My debut novel, Gorgito’s Ice Rink, which was published in 2014, was Runner Up in Writing Magazine's 2015 Self-Published Book of the Year Awards. In August 2018, it received a Chill With A Book Award. My second novel, Counterfeit!, was published in 2016. It is the first in a series of international thrillers. It came third in the Literature Works 2015 First Page Writing Prize. The second in the series, Deception!, came out in September 2017, and Corruption! came a year later. The fourth and final part of the series will be published in September 2024. In the meantime, I have written the Coombesford Chronicles, a series of cosy crime, set in and English village.

Having left Birmingham to study in London, I lived for more than twenty years in Wilmington, Kent. In 2007, I moved to the South West of England, where I live with my husband, Michael, in a converted granary sited picturesquely on the banks of, and occasionally within the path of, a small stream. In 2012 I graduated from Exeter University with an MA in Creative Writing and closed down my technical consultancy in order to concentrate full-time on my writing.

I was editor of the Chudleigh Phoenix Community Magazine, a monthly online newsletter for fourteen years, finishing in 2023. I am a member of the Chudleigh Writers' Circle and was one of the organisers of the annual Chudleigh Literary Festival which ran from 2011 to 2019. I was Director of the Exeter Literary Festival for 2020 and 2021. I am also a member of Exeter Writers, South Hams Authors' Network, Teignmouth Writers and the Women in Publishing community in the US. I spend far too much time on Facebook and Twitter, but have met some wonderful members of the writing community as a result.

When I am not writing, I am a keen reader and singer. I also enjoy live theatre of any kind, share with my husband a love of fine dining, and am a real sucker for the kind of country house hotel where you can kick off your shoes and curl up with a book in front of a log fire.

I would like you to believe I am also a keen walker, enjoying the beauties of Dartmoor and the South Devon coastline—but, as a writer, I'm good at making things up.

Reviews

[Lance Greenfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-crafted and very believable tale of deceipt and intrigue. The pace is good and is maintained throughout. I love the characters, who continue to reveal hidden secrets from first to last. As Suzanne seeks the truth, she, and the reader, wonder whom she can trust and whom she cannot. There are plenty of surprises.

I enjoyed the whole story and the conclusion, which leaves itself open to many possible paths for the next instalment.

[Tom Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the light writing style of Counterfeit! and found the main protagonist, Suzanne, quite believable. Coming from the comfy (rather boring) world of regulators she has maintained a clear sense of purpose that her seniors appear to lack and she holds her metal even when unaccountable events begin happening around her. Even in situations where hysterics might have been understandable she maintains a certain domestic calmness. The forces of evil are (temporarily, at least) driven off before the end. There are a couple of loose ends which clearly offer lead-ins to follow-ups, either about Suzanne or her sister Charlie.

[Georgia Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been wanting to get to read a book by Elizabeth Ducie for a long time. I knew she had a new book coming out and knowing I couldn’t start mid-series (for only chaos can come out of that) I had to get cracking on Counterfeit first, and I was so glad I did.

Suzanne Jones is on a mission to stop the counterfeiting of medicines in Africa. Through the story we meet the people she works for in the UK and the team that helps her in Africa as well as her sister, Charlie. Suzanne puts herself in danger as she tries to get to the source of the fake drugs and people die around her as the net tightens in this well written thriller. Ducie keeps the reader guessing throughout and I was as surprised as the characters with one particular twist in the tale.

Ducie is an accomplished story teller and gains your confidence in her writing very quickly. I liked her characters and their relationships. Her knowledge of Africa, and the pharmaceuticals industry, is clear as the settings and technical detail all feels very real. This novel is well paced throughout and there is a terrific ending which finishes this book perfectly while setting it up for the next in the series. Highly recommended.

[Peter Whittle]

This is a compelling thriller set in the world of phony pharmaceutical drugs. The plot is tightly woven and Elizabeth Ducie keeps up the pace throughout.

[Bena Roberts]

My review is for Corruption - part 3 of this book series and will be published on 30th September

[Andy Beskers · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were parts of this book that made me doubt if the author has been to Africa at all. The author also refers to Proteas (the flowers) and spelt it "Proteus". A bit of research goes a long way. An Afrikaner named Hawkins..hmm. I'm South African so the lack of research just stood out like a sore thumb for me.

All in all it's a nice read. The characters are believable. The ending seemed rushed and I was a bit disappointed by it.

[Graham Knight]

Enjoyable

A nice easy going thriller with lots of intrigue. It kept me engaged without being too taxing. I liked the African themes.