‘Fall Out’ by M.N. Grenside

Published by Urbane Publications,
21 May 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-91266675-1 (PBO)

The Prologue takes place in 1944 in a deep cave in the Philippines, and General Yamashita overseeing the gassing of a work force of prisoners and Japanese soldiers who have completed a secret project underground. So that it remains a secret, the cave is then sealed shut.

In present day Los Angeles, Sam Wood has just completed his screenplay entitled Fall Out. He puts five copies in five envelopes and posts them to five different people.

One of the recipients, a Marcus Riley has just had a book he bought the film rights for turned down by all the studios he approached to make it. When he reads Fall Out he is so excited he drives over to Sam's to discuss it, only to find he has been murdered. Beside Sam's body is a list of all the people to whom Sam sent a copy of the screenplay.

Intrigued, Marcus traces all the recipients and it becomes obvious that they were all involved, as was Marcus, in the making of a film several years back called The Last Company that was suddenly abandoned leading to a falling out of the friends involved.

Marcus teams up with Mako, daughter of one of the recipients and they embark on finding out why Sam was murdered, and the real reason why The Last Company was never completed.

On tracing the other copies of the screenplay for Fall Out, it becomes clear that each one is slightly different from the others.  When they compare them they find that there are clues hinting at a fortune discovered, conspiracies and a murder that took place back then, all connected to the making of the film The Last Company.

The more they delve into the past, the more they realise that they have to solve the clues Sam has left before more people are murdered. It becomes a race against time as someone certainly doesn't want the film Fall Out to be made. Marcus is determined it will be, but will it cost him his life?

A very clever and intricately woven story of greed and the lust for power. Making the book even more intriguing is the fact that some of it is based on fact. It also offers an interesting insight in to film making. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of it and can't wait for the next book by the author – The Bastion. I have read the first two chapters that are printed at the back of Fall Out and am hooked already!

I cannot imagine anyone not being enthralled by this exciting thriller and therefore highly recommend it.

-------

Reviewer: Tricia Chappell

M N Grenside began his working career straight out of school at Lloyds of London, specializing in Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion Insurance. At 25 it was time for a career change, so he started his media career working for Jim Henson and The Muppets©. He went on to create and produce several television series and mini-series. In 2004 he arranged the US $250 million buy-out of the Hallmark Channel International which was then successfully sold to NBC. He returned to producing a number of movies and mini-series. Recently he has morphed into a serial entrepreneur and is now a co-founder of seed to shelf CBD producer Dragonfly Biosciences (www.dragonflybiosciences.com) and a founder in two separate digital companies…. but has also seen a very good return from his love of cooking in an expanding waistline. He has a collection of classic cars that he has raced all over the world. He enjoys risk and has parachuted in New Zealand, scuba dived in the Pacific, hang-glided in the Himalayas and even tobogganed down the Cresta Run. In nearly every case chasing after his wife who is utterly fearless!  He is now writing the follow up to Fall Out, entitled The Bastion. He lives in Malta with his wife, his collection of classic cars and two French bulldogs.

He writes a humorous blog www.andanotherthing.com

https://mngrenside.com

Tricia Chappell. I have a great love of books and reading, especially crime and thrillers. I play the occasional game of golf (when I am not reading). My great love is cruising especially to far flung places, when there are long days at sea for plenty more reading! I am really enjoying reviewing books and have found lots of great new authors.