Dark Winter: (Nick Stone Thriller 6) - Softcover

McNab, Andy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0552150185 ISBN 13: 9780552150187

Publisher: Corgi, 2004

Synopsis

Outside of Pakistan, the world's highest concentration of al-Qaeda lurks in South-East Asia and there, Nick Stone's bosses get wind of an act of terror that will dwarf even the nightmare of 9/11.

When Stone is despatched to Malaysia by the CIA to assassinate a biochemist, he expects his mission to be a straightforward part of the fight against Bin Laden. But there are complications, not least because he is working alongside an attractive woman whose motives he doesn't fully understand.

Target neutralized, Stone returns to the USA and a maelstrom of personal problems. Kelly, the fourteen-year-old orphan to whom he is joint guardian, cannot escape the ghosts of her traumatic past; she has a prescription drug habit that's spiralling out of control, and Stone knows he is the only one who can help her. He takes her to recuperate in England, but the terrible consequences of what happened in Penang are never far behind.

Realizing he cannot escape them, Stone unearths a doomsday threat against the populations of New York, London and Berlin and finds himself facing an unspeakable trade-off: the life of someone he loves, against those of millions he doesn't even know . . .

About this title

Review:

Andy McNab's thrillers have been enormously successful, and Dark Winter will no doubt allow his publishers to add more noughts to his already impressive sales figures. McNab's secret is reliability. He always delivers the kind of high-octane thrills his readers expect and seems immune to the hit-or-miss syndrome that afflicts so many thriller writers.

Dark Winter has the tough (and battered) Nick Stone back in business, still parleying the skills he learnt in the SAS into his new role as a Special Intelligence Service operative. Al-Qaeda are concentrating their forces in south-east Asia (McNab is as topical as ever), and Nick is sent by the CIA to deal with one of Osama bin Laden's most dangerous biochemists. But Nick is given a female partner, and the mission takes unexpected turns. Back in the US, and struggling with the problems of being guardian to an orphaned girl, Nick finds a whole nest of terrorists plotting atrocities in both the US and the UK, and his involvement becomes (against his will) very personal indeed.

As always, the mixture here is incandescent, punctuating steadily accelerating narrative trajectory with stunningly orchestrated bursts of action at frequent intervals. McNab's characterisation of anyone other than the resourceful Nick is serviceable rather than detailed, but this is a strategy to ensure that the principal ingredient here--bone-crunching action--is always foregrounded. It may be a while since McNab was an SAS man himself, but the tradecraft is always coolly plausible, and McNab fans can count on getting their money's worth. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

"'Andy McNab knows where his strengths lie, and it's not just in his biceps...Only people who have not read this book could suggest that he is not a fine writer. It is a heart-thumping read'" (Daily Express)

"'McNab is a terrific novelist. When it comes to thrills, he's Forsyth class'" (Mail On Sunday)

"'McNab's great asset is that the heart of his fiction is non-fiction: other thriller writers do their research, but he has actually been there'" (Sunday Times)

About this edition

• Publisher: Corgi
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0552150185
• ISBN 13: 9780552150187
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 496