‘Furthest Reaches’ by Gordon Brown

Published by Strident Publishing Ltd,
29 September 2017.
 ISBN 978-1-910829-17-2

Furthest Reaches is the second in the Craig McIntyre series.  After months on the run Craig is finally trapped and returned to the custody of his powerful adversary, Senator Tampoline, whose main aim in life had been to harness Craig’s unusual mental powers and convert him into a remote killing machine.

Tampoline explains to Craig that a shadowy group, Factor, is intent on ruining the national economy. Factor has sabotaged a large percentage of The States oil reserves.  They have also kidnapped an Iranian involved in vital negotiations to supply the US with the extra oil that is now urgently needed to keep the country running. Tampoline urges Craig to neutralize Factor. He wants the Iranian freed and the leader of Factor killed. Craig, who distrusts Trampoline, is reluctant to help. But when Tampoline makes it clear that Craig’s ex-girlfriend, Linda, and his friend Charlie will die horrible deaths if he doesn’t cooperate, he realizes that he must do as he’s been asked.

Tampoline frees Craig who then teams up with Martyn, an ex-Factor operative, and the two of them set about the task of finding and freeing the Iranian.  Their task is complicated by copious quantities of men in suits who could be working for any one of about a dozen intelligence agencies, not to mention members of Factor, all of whom seem hell-bent on stopping them. At a terrible cost to himself, Craig has learnt how to control his disruptive influence over others, and this is something he does on more than one occasion.  As the tale reaches its climax Craig and Martyn are helped by Mary-Anne, a delightful old lady whom many would love to have as a friend.

Gordon Brown is a master of deception. Furthest Reaches is a fast moving, action packed tale that is darker and more devious than Darkest Thoughts, the first book in the series. There are so many unexpected twists that the story you finish is radically different from the one you started out with.  Once again Craig’s fate is left unresolved. Will the powers that have so cruelly and unashamedly manipulated him ever allow him to lead a decent life?  We will have to read Deepest Wounds, the last book in the trilogy, to find out

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Reviewer:  Angela Crowther.

Gordon Brown splits his time between the UK, the U.S.A. and Spain. Gordon once quit his job in London to fly across the Atlantic to be with his future wife. He has also delivered pizzas in Toronto, sold non-alcoholic beer in the Middle East, launched a creativity training business called Brain Juice and floated a high-tech company on the London Stock Exchange. He almost had a toy launched by a major toy company, has an MBA, loves music, is a DJ on local radio, compered the main stage at a two-day music festival and was once booed by 49,000 people while on the pitch at a major football Cup Final. Gordon has been writing since his teens and has four books published – his latest, Furthest Reaches, being the second in the Craig McIntyre series with book 3 out in February 2018. Gordon also helped found Bloody Scotland – Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival. He’s married with two children and lives in Scotland.

www.gordonjbrown.com

Angela Crowther is a retired scientist.  She has published many scientific papers but, as yet, no crime fiction.  In her spare time Angela belongs to a Handbell Ringing group, goes country dancing and enjoys listening to music, particularly the operas of Verdi and Wagner.