Dark Winter: (Nick Stone Thriller 6) (Nick Stone, 6) - Softcover

McNab, Andy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0552163589 ISBN 13: 9780552163583

Publisher: Corgi, 2011

Synopsis

Agent Nick Stone expects his latest mission to be a straightforward part of the fight against Osama Bin Laden's network of terror. Despatched to Malaysia, all he needs to do is assassinate a suspicious biochemist. But there are complications., Not least the attractive woman he is working alongside. Target neutralised, Stone returns to the USA to find turmoil in his personal life. He is guardian to a teenage girl who is haunted by her traumatic past and attempting to numb it with a heavy drug dependency., Stone knows he is the only one who can help her but her scars run deeper than he thinks. Before long, the conspiracy he has uncovered unravels to reveal a doomsday threat against the populations of New York, London and Berlin. And Stone faces the ultimate 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" (The Sunday Times)

About this edition

• Publisher: Corgi
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0552163589
• ISBN 13: 9780552163583
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496