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Under Eden: Part 1: The Ebola Conspiracy
A Lone Wolf Journalist Targeted for Assassination. A Global Network of Billionaires Footing the Bill. But Gar Hart has a Gun, and Won't Go Quietly into the Night...
Readers say: "Masterful suspense...terrifying action...beautifully written and veined with dark humor...could this be true crime?"
"Gar Hart...twisting the tail of a leviathan as submerged as le Carré's dark webs. Author Mark Furness crackles out fire and ice in a wry voice, piles on inventive and ingenious mysteries, body-slams action, and bleeds characters as damaged and compromised as any Child, Connelly or Grisham." Tom Flood, winner of the Miles Franklin Award, Australia's equivalent of the US Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the UK Booker Prize.
The Ebola Conspiracy, Book 1 of the Under Eden trilogy, begins with Hart scaling the fortress walls of a politically powerful network of international business leaders.
Blackmailers, mind-benders, and assassins also have their snouts in the trough of what Hart dubs 'The Ebola Network'. But there's a nastier catch.
Hart has children. And now they too are in the crosshairs.
Ride with a maverick journalist on a spell-binding adventure from the Australian outback to some of the world's most colourful cities as he cracks open a sinister underworld of the ultra-rich.
Author Mark Furness was a foreign correspondent in the US, the UK, Australia, and East Asia. Reviewers say, "He clearly knows his stuff." Mark claims his novel is a work of fiction.
Readers say: "Masterful suspense...terrifying action...beautifully written and veined with dark humor...could this be true crime?"
"Gar Hart...twisting the tail of a leviathan as submerged as le Carré's dark webs. Author Mark Furness crackles out fire and ice in a wry voice, piles on inventive and ingenious mysteries, body-slams action, and bleeds characters as damaged and compromised as any Child, Connelly or Grisham." Tom Flood, winner of the Miles Franklin Award, Australia's equivalent of the US Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the UK Booker Prize.
The Ebola Conspiracy, Book 1 of the Under Eden trilogy, begins with Hart scaling the fortress walls of a politically powerful network of international business leaders.
Blackmailers, mind-benders, and assassins also have their snouts in the trough of what Hart dubs 'The Ebola Network'. But there's a nastier catch.
Hart has children. And now they too are in the crosshairs.
Ride with a maverick journalist on a spell-binding adventure from the Australian outback to some of the world's most colourful cities as he cracks open a sinister underworld of the ultra-rich.
Author Mark Furness was a foreign correspondent in the US, the UK, Australia, and East Asia. Reviewers say, "He clearly knows his stuff." Mark claims his novel is a work of fiction.
Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2022
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8 people want to read
About the author
Mark Furness
18 books12 followersHi. I'm a bestselling author of thrillers, mysteries, and dark comedy crime. I live in Sydney, Australia.
Before writing fiction, I worked as a foreign correspondent in the US, the UK, Australia, and East Asia. I draw on these experiences to inform my crime stories which often feature journalists.
My major novel featuring journalists is the international conspiracy thriller, Under Eden. While fiction, this three-part series has many parallels with the real and deadly world in which investigative journalists operate.
Unlike Gar, I did not carry a gun on the job. But there were occasions when that type of defence would have been handy. I might have gone in harder on my subject matter, as Gar does. Ha.
In creating my story, I considered the real perils faced by contemporary investigative journalists.
In Putin's Russia, the Communist Party's China, and the Kim family's North Korea, there is little dissent from the local media. Dictators who control the dark forces of the State are rarely sleepless about internal criticism.
External criticism is another matter. The Saudi Arabian regime, unhappy about its King and Prince being accused of corruption by dissident journalist and The Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, lured him to the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey, where he was literally butchered a couple of years ago.
The Saudi's make Donald Trump's signature cry of 'Fake News' look like a soft approach to dealing with media critics.
But for plenty of powerful people, murder or 'disappearance' remain the ultimate methods to shut up journalists.
Of course, not all journalists are saints.
I've met a few who have taken a rich man's coin to publish good things about their subjects and ignore the dark. And there are others in the mould of the late American publisher Arthur Kasherman who portrayed himself as a "vice crusader" publishing fearless exposés about corruption and gangster rule. Others, however, called him a blackmailer who threatened to write defamatory articles about them if they didn't pay him off. Kasherman owned his own press, so he had a free hand to say whatever he wanted. Until he was shot dead while dining out.
If you read my stories, you'll find they're all veined with gritty, dark humour.
I can't be sure of the source of this. But as a 21-year-old, I flew a hang-glider into high voltage wires, sustaining electrical burns which left me hospitalized and in rehabilitation for over a year. My body still bears a few physical scars, but I believe my brain fully recovered. This belief is disputed by some of my friends and family members.
Most recently, I published, Justice Machine, Book #1 of a dark comedy crime thriller series titled Firefly Electrics. The books feature suburban electricians, Lennie and Joe, and a cockatoo named Rawcus, who fight on behalf of society's underdogs against corrupt elites of the Establishment.
The British Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger competition long-listed my international conspiracy thriller, with the working title FBEyes. It is a follow-on to Under Eden in which journalists uncover corruption at the high-tech frontier of the global arms industry. FBEyes is also slated for publication in late 2020.
You can learn more at: markfurnesswriter.com
All the best, Mark
Before writing fiction, I worked as a foreign correspondent in the US, the UK, Australia, and East Asia. I draw on these experiences to inform my crime stories which often feature journalists.
My major novel featuring journalists is the international conspiracy thriller, Under Eden. While fiction, this three-part series has many parallels with the real and deadly world in which investigative journalists operate.
Unlike Gar, I did not carry a gun on the job. But there were occasions when that type of defence would have been handy. I might have gone in harder on my subject matter, as Gar does. Ha.
In creating my story, I considered the real perils faced by contemporary investigative journalists.
In Putin's Russia, the Communist Party's China, and the Kim family's North Korea, there is little dissent from the local media. Dictators who control the dark forces of the State are rarely sleepless about internal criticism.
External criticism is another matter. The Saudi Arabian regime, unhappy about its King and Prince being accused of corruption by dissident journalist and The Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, lured him to the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey, where he was literally butchered a couple of years ago.
The Saudi's make Donald Trump's signature cry of 'Fake News' look like a soft approach to dealing with media critics.
But for plenty of powerful people, murder or 'disappearance' remain the ultimate methods to shut up journalists.
Of course, not all journalists are saints.
I've met a few who have taken a rich man's coin to publish good things about their subjects and ignore the dark. And there are others in the mould of the late American publisher Arthur Kasherman who portrayed himself as a "vice crusader" publishing fearless exposés about corruption and gangster rule. Others, however, called him a blackmailer who threatened to write defamatory articles about them if they didn't pay him off. Kasherman owned his own press, so he had a free hand to say whatever he wanted. Until he was shot dead while dining out.
If you read my stories, you'll find they're all veined with gritty, dark humour.
I can't be sure of the source of this. But as a 21-year-old, I flew a hang-glider into high voltage wires, sustaining electrical burns which left me hospitalized and in rehabilitation for over a year. My body still bears a few physical scars, but I believe my brain fully recovered. This belief is disputed by some of my friends and family members.
Most recently, I published, Justice Machine, Book #1 of a dark comedy crime thriller series titled Firefly Electrics. The books feature suburban electricians, Lennie and Joe, and a cockatoo named Rawcus, who fight on behalf of society's underdogs against corrupt elites of the Establishment.
The British Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger competition long-listed my international conspiracy thriller, with the working title FBEyes. It is a follow-on to Under Eden in which journalists uncover corruption at the high-tech frontier of the global arms industry. FBEyes is also slated for publication in late 2020.
You can learn more at: markfurnesswriter.com
All the best, Mark
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 10, 2018
I received a review copy of this book from the author.
Wow! I was blown away! This is one of the best action thrillers I have read in awhile. The author sets a lightning fast pace with non-stop, pulse-pounding action and razor sharp dialogue. The story is intriguing and addictive, with lots of twists and turns - and breathtaking suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. I could hardly put this book down. The characters are all very real and interesting, and certainly not perfect, which makes them all the more relatable and relevant - and I connected with all of them, especially Gar. Even though he is a bit of a screw-up, he is tough and persistent and I couldn’t help but root for him all the way through the book. I have to say I am hooked - I can’t wait for the next instalment to this series. An excellent read!
Wow! I was blown away! This is one of the best action thrillers I have read in awhile. The author sets a lightning fast pace with non-stop, pulse-pounding action and razor sharp dialogue. The story is intriguing and addictive, with lots of twists and turns - and breathtaking suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. I could hardly put this book down. The characters are all very real and interesting, and certainly not perfect, which makes them all the more relatable and relevant - and I connected with all of them, especially Gar. Even though he is a bit of a screw-up, he is tough and persistent and I couldn’t help but root for him all the way through the book. I have to say I am hooked - I can’t wait for the next instalment to this series. An excellent read!
March 14, 2020
I received a copy from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for a fair review.
While this book has an intriguing storyline I really didn't enjoy the style of writing. The addition of drug use and sex scenes didn't add anything to the story and felt like the author chucked them in for his enjoyment. The main character was not likable and there wasn't that connection with the story that happens with a good book. This would be enjoyed by fans of gritty, urban thrillers with anti-heroes and deeply flawed characters. I have given three stars as it was well written just not in a style that suits me.
While this book has an intriguing storyline I really didn't enjoy the style of writing. The addition of drug use and sex scenes didn't add anything to the story and felt like the author chucked them in for his enjoyment. The main character was not likable and there wasn't that connection with the story that happens with a good book. This would be enjoyed by fans of gritty, urban thrillers with anti-heroes and deeply flawed characters. I have given three stars as it was well written just not in a style that suits me.
December 30, 2019
*I received a free copy of this book from the author via voracious readers only in exchange for an honest review* It was not a bad read, well fleshed out main character considering the length of the book and some mildly interesting side characters. At times I felt like the book was progressing a bit slowly for my taste but not too bad. My real main issue with this book was the length, I think adding some more depths and substance to the characters and action to the story would have filled it out and made it into a more substantial novel.
September 6, 2019
I was sent a free copy of this book to read and review.
I was completely gripped from the first chapter. Mark Furness is a great writer his text is gripping, descriptive, involved, leaving you wanting more.
I loved his book so much I have requested parts 2 &3.
Brilliant, looking forward to reading the rest to see what happens.
Thoroughly recommend this book to everyone who likes a good read.
I was completely gripped from the first chapter. Mark Furness is a great writer his text is gripping, descriptive, involved, leaving you wanting more.
I loved his book so much I have requested parts 2 &3.
Brilliant, looking forward to reading the rest to see what happens.
Thoroughly recommend this book to everyone who likes a good read.
September 20, 2019
There are 3 parts to this book and I obtained the first book via VRO from the author. The book is a wild ride full of hedonistic debauchery, and an assault on the senses. The story reminds me of a tragic scene where humans rubber neck to view the macabre scene of death and injury with awe and fascination. The reader has no choice but to ride the crazy train til the end.
November 13, 2018
A journalist takes on a conspiracy. As usual things get twisted and turned and people die and well you know the story. Good cast of characters, interesting intrigue and action with a decent plot twist.
November 21, 2018
Brilliantly written book that grabs you from the first page. Action packed that doesn't let up start up finish. Follow Gar as he tries to uncover the truth.
Recieved a free review copy for an honest review.
Recieved a free review copy for an honest review.
November 17, 2018
Excellent build-up, great character development. Found it a bit slow at times action-wise but then it picked up nicely. Very good descriptive. I’m looking forward to reading the 2nd in the series.
Thank you to the authour for the complimentary copy in return for an honest review.
Thank you to the authour for the complimentary copy in return for an honest review.
October 21, 2019
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only. Journalist Gar is uncovering a conspiracy and his family is being threatened. Set in Australia from Sydney to the outback. Very well written and fast paced.
August 18, 2019
Left me feeling that this could certainly happen
December 31, 2019
Not usually a fan of Action thrillers but this one kept me interested. Great dialogue.
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(I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews