X for Extortion: 14 Manchester Square

The Seventh of December #2

by Garrick Jones

After returning from a secret mission in occupied France for His Royal Highness, George, the Duke of Kent, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Haupner is looking forward to a cup of tea, a hot bath, and the sleepy head of his American lover, Major Henry Reiter on his shoulder when he wakes up the next morning.

However, along with items Tommy has recovered for the duke, he has also discovered a secret stash of documents, which, when opened, prove to be a poisoned chalice. Tommy and Shorty find themselves caught up in a dangerous web of lies, enemy agents, assassins, and traitors. In an effort to save the reputations of not only their friends, but men and women high in both society and in the government, they themselves become victims of I.K.S., a former World War One international extortion ring, which has risen, phoenix-like, from the ashes of bomb-devastated London.

Genres: Historical

380 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2021

About the author

From the outback to the opera.

After a thirty year career as a professional opera singer, performing as a soloist in opera houses and in concert halls all over the world, I took up a position as lecturer in music in Australia in 1999, at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music, which is now part of CQUniversity.

Brought up in Australia, between the bush and the beaches of the Eastern suburbs, I retired in 2015 and now live in the tropics, writing, gardening, and finally finding time to enjoy life and to re-establish a connection with who I am after a very busy career on the stage and as an academic.

I write mostly historical gay fiction. The stories are always about relationships and the inner workings of men; sometimes my fellas get down to the nitty-gritty, sometimes it's up to you, the reader, to fill in the blanks.

Every book is story driven; spies, detectives, murders, epic dramas, there's something for everyone. I also love to write about my country and the things that make us Aussies and our history different from the rest of the world.

I'm research driven. I always try to do my best to give the reader a sense of what life was like for my main characters in the world they live in.

Reviews

[PaperMoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable and thoroughly researched intrigue from the author; reads like a rollicking Biggles adventure with heavy Frasier/Miles Crane overtones. There's a little less 'action' compared to The Seventh of December but readers really should read that before this as there's a huge number of continuing characters as well as some plot-lines. I'm looking forward to catching up with Tommy, Henry, Smiley and the whole crew in the next book of the series (and hoping to see more of Michael and Rhys being featured). 4.5 stars.

[BevS · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up from me. Another well-researched banger of a book from Garrick.

Our two heroes, Tommy 🇦🇺 and Shorty 🇺🇸, are still coupled up. Not as much Resistance action in wartime Europe in this one, most of the story revolves around the extortion/blackmail threats received by certain members of the 'aristocracy' in London...which is a continuation of one of the storylines in the previous story in this series The Seventh of December and of course, trying to track down who X and the other gang members are. I really liked the new characters that were introduced into the storyline, Gladys was as efficient as ever, and Tommy, Shorty and the rest of the gang really need to find the disgusting piece of garbage involved in the child pornography photographs...but surely it's just a matter of time. Oh, and I loved the two rings...

[Max Paley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This and its companion piece, “The Seventh of December” (read that first) are so well written, so chock full of WWII ambience, suspense and wonderfully full faceted characters as well as a certain old world grace and expansiveness of style.

That the main characters are gay comes of Garrick Jones being true to himself and people like me.

However, I have to admit, a bit sadly, that if they weren’t, writing of this quality and scale would have propelled the author to the kind of fame and wealth that were enjoyed by the likes of Frederick Forsythe and Jack Higgins.

That Jones also laces in wonderfully insightful and knowledgeable threads of music and food adds immeasurably to the delight of reading them

[Rochon Sylvie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sequel almost to the minute of the first book, so you get right into the action. The events are mostly in London this time and are set in 1941 pre-entry of the United States into the war. The presence of more US soldiers creates great banters using Aussie, British and American dialects! It is a fun book with lots of twists and turns! I would not go back to live in London in 1941 but would love to be part of this group!

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a thrilling and touching read! So much going on and you truly feel you are right in the middle of the action. The characters are so full of life you feel like you have known them for years.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed quite a few of GJ's 'gay' books and found them most readable and ergo enjoyable.
This one was a tad too long but I still enjoyed the tale !

[Ulysses Dietz · Rating 5 out of 5]

X for Extortion, 14 Manchester Square (Seventh of December book 2)
BY Garrick Jones
IndieMosh Books, 2021
Five stars

The second in the Seventh of December series is every bit as fascinating and compellihg as the first was. Garrick Jones has woven a vivid tapestry of history and fiction, centering it on the clandestine wartime romance between Australian Tommy Haupner and American Heinrich Reiter.

While the plot revolves around a suitably dark and byzantine blackmail plot—the beginnings of which appeared in the first book—two strong themes that intertwine through the story are the necessary secrecy of Tommy and Henry’s relationship, and the profound influence of German culture among the English elite. The fact that both Tommy and Henry have German ethnic roots and speak fluent German simply underscores this important truth.

The seventh of December is the date that marks the true beginning of Tommy and Henry’s romance. Its second, historical significance will come into play in this book. However intriguing the extortion story is, and how important it is to the overall action, Jones looks closely personalities and relationships throughout his narrative. The people really matter in this, and not just the main protagonists.

There is a moment in the book, a party, at which most of the British Royal Family is present, that is both completely believable and entirely surreal. Tommy Haupner—whose life changes dramatically in this book—is at the center of everything. Everyone knows him as an internationally celebrated violinist; some of them know his work for the Crown; a small circle of family and friends understand his real relationship with the tall, handsome American officer known fondly as Shorty. It is a brilliant moment, mixing anxiety and happiness; a confluence of cultural, social, and political realities.

Tommy Haupner is a remarkable character, and the dark wartime setting—toward the end of the London Blitz—is the perfect backdrop to help us understand him in all his complexity. I am not a particular fan of war stories—too upsetting, and parts of this book are very dark; but Jones has created a group of characters the reader can really hold onto, root for, care about.

The story ends with a clear understanding that it is not finished, leaving the reader hungry to find out what comes next. And, by the way, 14 Manchester Square is a real place. Look it up.