The Black Sun - Hardcover

Twining, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007190166 ISBN 13: 9780007190164

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2006

Synopsis

HIGH ADVENTURE. MIND-BLOWING SUSPENSE.
TOM KIRK IS BACK

In London, an Auschwitz survivor is murdered in his hospital bed, his killers making off with a macabre trophy-his severed left arm.

In Fort Mead, Maryland, a vicious gang breaks into the NSA museum and steals a second world war Enigma machine, lynching the guard who happens to cross their path.

Meanwhile, in Prague, a frenzied and mindless anti-Semitic attack on a Synagogue culminates in the theft of a seemingly worthless painting by a little known Czech artist called Karel Bellak.

A year has passed since Tom Kirk, the world's greatest art thief, decided to put his criminal past behind him and embark on a new career, on the right side of the law . Then three major thefts occur, and suddenly Tom is confronted with a deadly mystery and a sinister face from the past.

About this title

Review:

James Twining's The Black Sun triumphantly proves that his impressive debut novel, The Double Eagle, was no fluke--this second outing for his engaging protagonist Tom Kirk is actually more assured than the first one, and is proof that the gameplan created by the author for his character is spooling out very nicely indeed.

A whole year has passed since art thief Tom Kirk made a resolution to abjure his criminal activities. But--it goes without saying--he finds himself unable to entirely leave his old life behind (after all, Twining would have no book in that the case). Three major art thefts occur, while in London a survivor of the death camps is killed in hospital. His murderers have removed a grisly relic from the crime scene: the dead man's left arm. Soon, Kirk finds himself drawn into a mystifying (and highly dangerous) situation, with yet another element complicating the already labyrinthine plot: a gang has broken into the NSA museum and made off with a decoding machine.

Crime and thriller aficionados often play the game of defining those two genres, and while there are significant crimes in Twining's highly entertaining novel, it’s the thriller format’s international dimension that adds an extra vigour, an element Twining exploits with the brio that marks out the very best thriller writers. One senses a certain Dan Brown syndrome here (and that probably won't do James Twining's sales any harm), but he remains very much his own man, and if Brown has virtually hijacked certain thriller motifs, that's no reason for other novelists not to utilise them -- particularly when they are as well handled as they are in The Black Sun.

--Barry Forshaw

Review:

‘A story that harks back to the Nazis, Hitler,
and a legendary treasure. What more could you want? If there's a better thriller this year I would like to see it.’ Jack Higgins, bestselling author of Without Mercy and The Eagle Has Landed

‘An exciting, suspenseful and fast-paced novel’ Bookreporter.com

PRAISE FOR JAMES TWINING’S THE DOUBLE EAGLE

‘A carefully constructed tale straight out of the Dan Brown mould of thriller writing’
Sunday Sun

‘The Double Eagle will leave you breathless, but never dizzy. Solid debut work’
Ladsmag

'This would make the perfect Tom Cruise movie'
The Independent on Sunday

‘A captivating, engrossing debut,...a fast-paced tale of international crime and skullduggery written with style and panache. Twining is a worthy successor to Forsyth, Follett, and Higgins. Highly recommended.’ Christoper Reich

‘This is an auspicious beginning for a fledgling series’ Publishers Weekly

‘Twining's obvious research pays off as we are treated to a compelling fusion of real historical events and modern thrills. His references to notable art and artifacts, especially pieces lost to art thieves, lend an air of veracity to the entire novel’ Library Journal

‘Brilliantly written with numerous double crosses taking place, James Twining has created a delightful and thought-provoking protagonist. Along with deceit, shattered promises, and murder all going hand in hand The Double Eagle is certainly a pacy novel’ Shots

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0007190166
• ISBN 13: 9780007190164
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 456