What do you think?
Rate this book
Credence
Credence, the sequel to Misdirection, is the second novel in a series of international crime thrillers by Martin Link.
Suddenly, 'SITE LOCKDOWN' flashes on every single screen in GCHQ.
“Alpha team leader. Can you see what they’re up to?”
“No.” There’s a brief pause. What comes next is totally unexpected.
I can’t hear anything but I feel a sudden, ferocious earache, an incapacitating headache and nausea, and I crumple to the floor.
In this James-Bond-meets-real-world thriller, MI5 man Lucas Norton once again finds himself caught up in a high-stakes assault when a sniper in a powerboat takes a pot-shot at his family. Could it be linked to the daring raid carried out at GCHQ, where thieves evade the world’s tightest security to steal top secret ultra-high-tech equipment from under his nose?
Lucas’s first case (Misdirection) culminated in him, and the FBI, losing $48m from an international heist. Now he and his crack team over at GCHQ have only a few days to figure out what the stolen tech can do and where the thieves have gone. It’s a search that takes them from London’s secret underground railway to a disused WW2 bunker, the FBI’s Black Hawk launch bay, the US Embassy and the very heart of MI5.
Can Lucas’s team stop a brilliantly executed plot to hold the populations of London and New York to ransom?
Credence will have you trying to outsmart the world’s most advanced intelligence services – and the criminals who are one step ahead of them.
Suddenly, 'SITE LOCKDOWN' flashes on every single screen in GCHQ.
“Alpha team leader. Can you see what they’re up to?”
“No.” There’s a brief pause. What comes next is totally unexpected.
I can’t hear anything but I feel a sudden, ferocious earache, an incapacitating headache and nausea, and I crumple to the floor.
In this James-Bond-meets-real-world thriller, MI5 man Lucas Norton once again finds himself caught up in a high-stakes assault when a sniper in a powerboat takes a pot-shot at his family. Could it be linked to the daring raid carried out at GCHQ, where thieves evade the world’s tightest security to steal top secret ultra-high-tech equipment from under his nose?
Lucas’s first case (Misdirection) culminated in him, and the FBI, losing $48m from an international heist. Now he and his crack team over at GCHQ have only a few days to figure out what the stolen tech can do and where the thieves have gone. It’s a search that takes them from London’s secret underground railway to a disused WW2 bunker, the FBI’s Black Hawk launch bay, the US Embassy and the very heart of MI5.
Can Lucas’s team stop a brilliantly executed plot to hold the populations of London and New York to ransom?
Credence will have you trying to outsmart the world’s most advanced intelligence services – and the criminals who are one step ahead of them.
252 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2017
447 people want to read
About the author
Martin Link
3 books54 followersI have been involved in security at very high levels, including security for buildings, cash centres, and huge blue-chip companies. During my nineteen-year career with the post office, I earned a BA in technology from the Open University, where I studied analogue and digital electronics as well as materials science. The premise of something being "unstealable" is perplexing to me.
Misdirection is my first book in a series of international crime novels. It follows MI5 agent Lucas Norton as he chases down high-tech criminals while dealing with life's everyday problems at home. I see my protagonist as a modern-day Bond, except that he is someone with whom the reader can identify as a regular person.
I love crime thrillers and stories with a heist, and similar plots have always held a particular fascination for me. So when I finally pursued my lifelong interest in writing, this was a natural fit for me.
Misdirection is my first book in a series of international crime novels. It follows MI5 agent Lucas Norton as he chases down high-tech criminals while dealing with life's everyday problems at home. I see my protagonist as a modern-day Bond, except that he is someone with whom the reader can identify as a regular person.
I love crime thrillers and stories with a heist, and similar plots have always held a particular fascination for me. So when I finally pursued my lifelong interest in writing, this was a natural fit for me.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 7, 2017
Martin Link’s ‘relatable James Bond’ character Lucas Norton is back, and as full of humour and irrelevant titbits as ever.
I enjoyed reading and reviewing (http://thebookonmydesk.uk/post/Martin...) Link’s first novel of the series ‘Misdirection’, with its clever plot and down-to-earth characters, and was looking forward to doing the same with Credence.
And it almost hit the mark. The humour was there in spades; the many conversations between co-worker bringing levity to tense situations must be based on real life interactions, there are too many different personalities bouncing around to have been created from one mind! (and this is very much a compliment!).
As someone who is usually put off books with lots of tech and gadgets, the human side of Norton’s character, with his tense marriage and rocky home situation, kept me reading on even when certain paragraphs left me baffled (“[interpolating] a double-duplex analysis” anyone?!). I particularly enjoyed how certain scenes insinuated things happening under the surface and left lots open for potential future storylines in the next few books.
Speaking of the technical side of Link’s books, the amount of detail and knowledge of top secret MI5 procedures is as impressive as ever. Knowing Link’s background, I imagine a lot of this at least partly reflects the real-world, and if not then it is still a very interesting and fleshed-out universe to read about.
However, unlike Misdirection, the plot of Credence seemed a little all over the place, with the actual threat introduced very late and wrapped up extremely quickly. The solution, while having some logic, left a few holes.
Overall I’d still recommend this book if you enjoyed Misdirection, especially as it seems to set up future profession and personal conflicts for Norton in the future. I very much look forward to seeing these pay off!
I enjoyed reading and reviewing (http://thebookonmydesk.uk/post/Martin...) Link’s first novel of the series ‘Misdirection’, with its clever plot and down-to-earth characters, and was looking forward to doing the same with Credence.
And it almost hit the mark. The humour was there in spades; the many conversations between co-worker bringing levity to tense situations must be based on real life interactions, there are too many different personalities bouncing around to have been created from one mind! (and this is very much a compliment!).
As someone who is usually put off books with lots of tech and gadgets, the human side of Norton’s character, with his tense marriage and rocky home situation, kept me reading on even when certain paragraphs left me baffled (“[interpolating] a double-duplex analysis” anyone?!). I particularly enjoyed how certain scenes insinuated things happening under the surface and left lots open for potential future storylines in the next few books.
Speaking of the technical side of Link’s books, the amount of detail and knowledge of top secret MI5 procedures is as impressive as ever. Knowing Link’s background, I imagine a lot of this at least partly reflects the real-world, and if not then it is still a very interesting and fleshed-out universe to read about.
However, unlike Misdirection, the plot of Credence seemed a little all over the place, with the actual threat introduced very late and wrapped up extremely quickly. The solution, while having some logic, left a few holes.
Overall I’d still recommend this book if you enjoyed Misdirection, especially as it seems to set up future profession and personal conflicts for Norton in the future. I very much look forward to seeing these pay off!
March 15, 2019
Credence is the second book in what is currently a trilogy, following on from the superb Misdirection. The author has created a hi-tech, yet believable, world, in which the likeable hero of the tale, Lucas Norton, finds himself in another thrilling adventure. This series is a must-read for fans of spy / police thrillers; fast-paced, witty, and highly entertaining.
May 29, 2017
sadly this book did not engage me as much as misdirection did. the story was not as strong and because i know the area i felt there was too much local knowledge in it.
September 2, 2018
I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the first novel in this series, Misdirection. However, this follow up fell short of the mark for me. I couldn't understand some of the characters' behaviours -- for instance, in the beginning of the book, Lucas' wife is shot [a graze wound] while he, his wife and his daughter were walking their dog. Her reaction is completely understandable -- shock, fear and anger. However, Lucas' reaction, at least initially, seemed very non-plussed by the event and he even leaves his family to go off on a work conference. Seems an odd choice, especially given the fact that Lucas and his wife were having marital issues which Lucas wanted very strongly to resolve and given the fact that but for the poor aim of the gunman or just plain luck, either she or Lucas could have been dead -- it would seem more logical for Lucas to stay home. Most of all, I was disappointed how the shooting was resolved -- it almost seemed like what was the point of it as no one seemed to learn anything from it.
As for the case, it really didn't grab me and I did not feel very vested in it. It seemed that without the genius of Coops, nothing would have been solved.
On the plus side, the wit from the first novel are still present in the second and the interactions between the Lucas and his colleagues were frequently humorous and well written.
I will probably read the next book in this series.
I really enjoyed the first novel in this series, Misdirection. However, this follow up fell short of the mark for me. I couldn't understand some of the characters' behaviours -- for instance, in the beginning of the book, Lucas' wife is shot [a graze wound] while he, his wife and his daughter were walking their dog. Her reaction is completely understandable -- shock, fear and anger. However, Lucas' reaction, at least initially, seemed very non-plussed by the event and he even leaves his family to go off on a work conference. Seems an odd choice, especially given the fact that Lucas and his wife were having marital issues which Lucas wanted very strongly to resolve and given the fact that but for the poor aim of the gunman or just plain luck, either she or Lucas could have been dead -- it would seem more logical for Lucas to stay home. Most of all, I was disappointed how the shooting was resolved -- it almost seemed like what was the point of it as no one seemed to learn anything from it.
As for the case, it really didn't grab me and I did not feel very vested in it. It seemed that without the genius of Coops, nothing would have been solved.
On the plus side, the wit from the first novel are still present in the second and the interactions between the Lucas and his colleagues were frequently humorous and well written.
I will probably read the next book in this series.
September 30, 2018
This is the second audiobook I've listened to by Martin Link. The first was Misdirection, where I was introduced to Lucas Norton, MI5 agent. Lucas is on vacation from the events of Misdirection, relaxing with his family when, while walking the dogs with his wife and daughter, a sniper opens fire.
At the same time, when Lucas goes back to work, there's another international incident waiting for him to prevent. He is at a conference with a few of his colleagues when the instructor disappears. Of course, there's an immediate lockdown and it's up to Lucas, Suzie, and Coops to save the world again. This time it's stolen nano-technology that they are up against. With the help of the FBI and a trip across the pond, again, Lucas must figure out where the thieves are planning to use the technology, why, and how to stop them. Add to that, a bit of family drama, culminates in another fine story.
Another interesting listen, Chris MacDonnell is a fine narrator. I'm enjoying his voice and delivery.
At the same time, when Lucas goes back to work, there's another international incident waiting for him to prevent. He is at a conference with a few of his colleagues when the instructor disappears. Of course, there's an immediate lockdown and it's up to Lucas, Suzie, and Coops to save the world again. This time it's stolen nano-technology that they are up against. With the help of the FBI and a trip across the pond, again, Lucas must figure out where the thieves are planning to use the technology, why, and how to stop them. Add to that, a bit of family drama, culminates in another fine story.
Another interesting listen, Chris MacDonnell is a fine narrator. I'm enjoying his voice and delivery.
January 10, 2019
This was as as enjoyable to me as the first book in the series. I thought that the characters were well developed, the plot line was interesting, and there were some humorous parts. The issues Lucas has with his marriage and family left continue in this book and we are left with somewhat of a cliffhanger with respect to this. I dohave to reluctantly admit that some of the technical stuff was a bit above my head, but for the most part I got it. I listened to this on audio and the narration was fine; I enjoy listening to the differences between British and American English.
February 14, 2019
A very good follow-up to the first book. I would have rather see a new Nemesis, but well done. This one taking place almost entirely in the United States, but fun to see them all work together and see them solve a crime of missing money that disappeared in a magic act on the road while driving.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews