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The Devil's Breath
Metropolitan Police Sergeant Xavier Baxter’s life has just ended — and has just begun. Presumed dead by everyone who knows him, he’s been involuntarily recruited into a secret government organisation calling itself The Attic.
Now Xavier is part of a ground-breaking experiment into augmented intelligence. A crack team of geniuses have given him incredible mind-expanding abilities. But is he in control of his own head anymore?
Before he has a chance to find out, The Attic throws him into an investigation, the likes of which he has never known. Someone inside MI6 is turning British agents over to the Russians, and Xavier must discover who.
Time and a hidden enemy are against him as he races to prove his worth before The Attic ends its experiment — and Xavier’s life.
Now Xavier is part of a ground-breaking experiment into augmented intelligence. A crack team of geniuses have given him incredible mind-expanding abilities. But is he in control of his own head anymore?
Before he has a chance to find out, The Attic throws him into an investigation, the likes of which he has never known. Someone inside MI6 is turning British agents over to the Russians, and Xavier must discover who.
Time and a hidden enemy are against him as he races to prove his worth before The Attic ends its experiment — and Xavier’s life.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 12, 2018
About the author
Harry Dayle
29 books20 followersBritish chap Harry Dayle lives with his domesticated animals and undomesticated wife and daughter in the middle of rural France. When he’s not writing in his secret woodland retreat, Harry spends his days battling entropy.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 2, 2019
Interesting and catchy reading material..
The plot and the characters were interesting and I hope soon there will be another book in the series and we will learn more about Xavier and the Attic.
The plot and the characters were interesting and I hope soon there will be another book in the series and we will learn more about Xavier and the Attic.
December 12, 2018
"... if you hear the gunshot, you're still alive."
But DS Xavier Baxter didn't hear the gunshot. Essentially dead after trying to protect his partner during an arrest gone wrong, Xavier is involuntarily given a second chance at life and is "reborn into a strange new world." MI16, also referred to as "the Attic," is essentially Britain's "scientific intelligence" agency, and they have been working on a top secret augmented intelligence project. Xavier's near-death state is a perfect opportunity for the Attic to finally take their project to the application stage. Rather reluctantly at first, Xavier moves forward with training and accepting a gravely important investigation within MI6 to figure out why agents keep inexplicably defecting to Russia. But not only is he under pressure to save the Attic from being defunded, Xavier also finds himself trying to identify and apprehend a hidden enemy.
This story isn't a typical thriller for me, as I tend to like psychological suspense novels, but I wad pleasantly surprised by how quickly I read and became immersed in the plot. Most of the credit for this goes to the superb writing. The dialogue was believable, and even comical at times, while the telling of events moved along at a brisk pace. Because of this pace, the story never felt stale or slow-moving, especially once the final climax comes to a head.
The only aspect that the writing was missing was a better description of the characters. I felt this was lacking, except perhaps in the case of Xavier. I wish the writer would have delved more into the characters. It appears that this is a first in a series, though, and we will learn more in the following books.
I will be interested in reading more novels involving Xavier and the Attic, so I do hope more are to come. Overall, I'd recommend this book to readers who enjoy thrillers, especially if you are interested in technology and espionage. It was certainly an exciting and exceptionally readable book.
** Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for providing me a copy of this book to read and review.**
But DS Xavier Baxter didn't hear the gunshot. Essentially dead after trying to protect his partner during an arrest gone wrong, Xavier is involuntarily given a second chance at life and is "reborn into a strange new world." MI16, also referred to as "the Attic," is essentially Britain's "scientific intelligence" agency, and they have been working on a top secret augmented intelligence project. Xavier's near-death state is a perfect opportunity for the Attic to finally take their project to the application stage. Rather reluctantly at first, Xavier moves forward with training and accepting a gravely important investigation within MI6 to figure out why agents keep inexplicably defecting to Russia. But not only is he under pressure to save the Attic from being defunded, Xavier also finds himself trying to identify and apprehend a hidden enemy.
This story isn't a typical thriller for me, as I tend to like psychological suspense novels, but I wad pleasantly surprised by how quickly I read and became immersed in the plot. Most of the credit for this goes to the superb writing. The dialogue was believable, and even comical at times, while the telling of events moved along at a brisk pace. Because of this pace, the story never felt stale or slow-moving, especially once the final climax comes to a head.
The only aspect that the writing was missing was a better description of the characters. I felt this was lacking, except perhaps in the case of Xavier. I wish the writer would have delved more into the characters. It appears that this is a first in a series, though, and we will learn more in the following books.
I will be interested in reading more novels involving Xavier and the Attic, so I do hope more are to come. Overall, I'd recommend this book to readers who enjoy thrillers, especially if you are interested in technology and espionage. It was certainly an exciting and exceptionally readable book.
** Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for providing me a copy of this book to read and review.**
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews