Book picks similar to
Rough Diamonds by Stephen Leather


stephen-leather
fiction
scribd
dan-shepherd-series

Ghosts of the Past


Harry McCallion - 2016
    Each was armed with a 9mm Beretta automatic pistol, yet there are no signs of a struggle. As the police investigation gets into full swing, Detective Inspector Nevin Brown of the Royal Ulster Constabulary steps into the frame. Recently arrived in London on a six-month attachment to the Metropolitan police, Nevin’s natural flair for analysis and his years of experience in the field in Northern Ireland come to the attention of his superiors. He is charged with the task of heading up his own enquiry into the double murder. Nevin’s investigation soon leads him to Countess Natasha Romanov, a cruel and glamorous cultural Russian cultural attaché, and Ivan Dragenoff, her physically imposing bodyguard and manservant. Nevin is convinced of the countess’ guilt, but her meticulous nature has ensured that, other than one eyewitness, he has no hard evidence to back up his claims. Yet when his only witness to the crime is found at the bottom of a flight of stairs with her neck broken, Nevin also realises that something is rotten in the Metropolitan Police. Only a select few police officers knew the whereabouts and identity of the witness, and now she has been murdered. To make matters worse, MI5 have received intelligence that Nevin’s nemesis, a vicious IRA assassin by the name of Anthony Kane, has arrived in London and is preparing to carry out one last assassination that could have drastic consequences for the Northern Ireland peace process. Before long, Nevin is drawn into an intricate web of loyalty and treachery. A plot involving the Russian mafia, Colombian drug cartels and the Provisional IRA begins to unravel, leading to an exhilarating climax that will jeopardise his own life, the lives of the ones he loves and his unerring commitment to justice. Praise for Harry McCallion: “A stun grenade of a book” - Sunday Express “A story of daring and adventure” - Daily Mail “A remarkable tale of life on the edge” - Glasgow Herald “McCallion is the hardest man you could encounter” - The Independent Born in Glasgow, Harry McCallion joined the army after leaving school. In a varied and exciting military career he served with the Parachute Regiment, South Africa’s elite Recce Commandos and 22 SAS. After leaving the army in 1985 he joined the RUC, but left in 1990 after a near-fatal car crash. Subsequent to this he studied law and was called to the Bar. Now a working barrister and writer he has recently received his Master’s Degree in International Relations. His autobiography Killing Zone was an immediate bestseller. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

The Virus


Stanley Johnson - 1984
    But powerful forces are conspiring against him, determined to keep the secrets of the virus's origin kept deliberately under wraps. And with a global epidemic on the rise, Kaplan must go to unimaginable lengths to save mankind.

Pines (Digital Sample) (The Wayward Pines #1)


Blake Crouch - 2015
    Night Shyamalan, starring Matt Dillon and premiering May 14th on FOX. Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a clear mission: locate and recover two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels…off. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation into the disappearance of his colleagues turns up more questions than answers. Why can’t he get any phone calls through to his wife and son in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what is the purpose of the electrified fences surrounding the town? Are they meant to keep the residents in? Or something else out? Each step closer to the truth takes Ethan further from the world he thought he knew, from the man he thought he was, until he must face a horrifying fact—he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive. 2013 International Thriller Award Nominee

A Life Worth Taking


C.G. Cooper - 2018
    Cordial airline pilot one day and ruthless killer the next. But why does he kill? What started it all? And more importantly, what is the hidden pain that drives him to the next kill? Read the exciting new series by USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR C. G. Cooper, the book his long-time readers are calling his best work to date.

The Rendition


Albert Ashforth - 2012
    Alex Klear, a veteran intelligence officer, is sent to the Balkans on a hastily planned rendition which goes terribly bad. Alex decides it's time to retire. However, when he is persuaded to go to Germany as part of an operation connected to the rendition, he finds himself caught between two dynamic women, an old girlfriend and the female colonel running the 'op.' While there, he becomes a target of the Kosovo Liberation Army, a murder suspect to the German police, and for his superiors the perfect fall guy to take the heat for a badly botched secret operation. With Kosovo's independence declaration coming closer by the day, the secret war heats up and Alex comes to realize that he is at the center of a murky conspiracy aimed at making the United States an international pariah.

The Vault of Poseidon


Rob Jones - 2015
     What is the oldest, darkest secret in history? Discovery of an ancient Greek text that could be the final piece of a mysterious puzzle older than time itself leads to a hunt for the truth as Joe Hawke fights to stop dark forces intent on changing the course of history forever. Former Commando and SBS Special Forces operative Joe Hawke finds himself drawn into the most lethal archaeological treasure hunt in history in this high-stakes action adventure. Hawke races across nations to save the world from an ancient force so deadly its location was hidden forever by the Gods themselves – until now. Packed with fast-paced action and with a dash of humour on the side, this thrilling high-octane race from London to New York to Athens reaches its deadly climax in the caves of Kefalonia where Hawke must stop an insane enemy from seizing the most powerful force in history and destroying human civilization. The future of mankind is on a knife-edge...

The Night Shift


Robert Enright - 2016
    A ROGUE SOLDIER. A RELENTLESS HUNT FOR THE TRUTH.Sam Pope was one of the UK’s finest soldiers, serving over a decade as an elite sniper. After a near fatal shooting brings an end to his career, Sam returns home to his family and a potential new career in the Metropolitan Police. When disaster strikes and his bond with his family is broken, Sam takes a job as an archive officer within the Met, hunting down criminals that have beaten the system and delivering his own brand of justice.When a terrorist attack at the London Marathon shakes the city to its core, Sam decides to open his own line of investigation. Venturing into the world of organised crime and police corruption, Sam soon finds himself as the number one target…and faces a race against time to expose the truth.Fans of Lee Child, Mark Dawson, Robert Ludlum and Vince Flynn who are looking for their next action hero, will be thrilled by The Night Shift.

The Wrecking Crew


Taylor Zajonc - 2016
    But when his expedition threatens the ambitions of billionaire industrialist Charles Bettencourt, Jonah’s survival depends on hijacking a hostile submarine and assembling an unproven crew who must simultaneously investigate the source of a mysterious oceanic plague and face down Bettencourt’s commandos.A thrilling, fast-paced adventure set in the world’s last frontier, THE WRECKING CREW will resonate with James Rollins and Clive Cussler fans alike.

Callsign - Tripleshot


Jeremy Robinson - 2014
    The stories take place after the events of Threshold, the third full-length novel in the series, and before the events of Ragnarok, the fourth. The novellas are all co-authored by Jeremy Robinson and one of six other fantastic authors. The Chesspocalypse novellas are designed to introduce readers to the series. If you haven't read the novels, no worries. Enjoy the ride!The stories were released in the following order:Callsign: King–Book 1Callsign: QueenCallsign: RookCallsign: King–Book 2–UnderworldCallsign: BishopCallsign: KnightCallsign: Deep BlueCallsign: King—Book 3—BlackoutThis collection contains the standalone Queen, Rook and Bishop stories.CALLSIGN: QUEENAt the beginning of her search for Rook, a missing Chess Team member, Zelda Baker, Callsign: Queen, is redirected to Pripyat, Ukraine, a ghost town on the radioactive outskirts of Chernobyl. Intel indicates that splinter cell of Manifold Genetics—a ruthless corporation dismantled by Chess Team—may be operating in the area. Tasked with confirming the existence of a Manifold facility, Queen begins a recon sweep of the abandoned town in search of clues, but soon finds herself fighting for her life. Something sinister lurks beneath the decaying, surreal remnants of Pripyat's never-used amusement park, and it rises up to greet Queen.In Pripyat, the streets are empty, the derelict buildings crumble, but the bodies...are fresh.CALLSIGN: ROOKAfter a failed mission claims the lives of his five-man support team, Stan Tremblay, Callsign: Rook, flees Siberia and finds himself on the secluded coast of Norway, north of the Arctic Circle. Exhausted, cut off from the outside world, and emotionally beaten from his defeat in Russia, Rook just wants to find a place to rest. The small coastal town of Fenris Kystby seems like the perfect place.Within hours of arriving, he discovers that the town is not as tranquil as it appears. The townspeople are mistrustful of outsiders, a pack of mysterious wolves stalk the local tundra, and two villagers have been killed by a creature that defies explanation. To make things worse, there are rumors of something sinister, something the townspeople refuse to discuss.Despite the hostility of the locals, Rook commits to stopping the creature murdering townspeople. As the body count rises, he quickly learns that the greatest threat might walk on two legs. And when he uncovers the town's hidden past, Rook knows only one thing for certain: something is rotten in Norway.CALLSIGN: BISHOPAn Iranian terrorist cell has gotten their hands on weaponized Ergot-B—a compound that causes violent hysteria, madness and death within 24 hours—and plan to unleash the weapon on major cities around the world. Successful deployment would begin a bloodbath, as those exposed would kill everyone they encountered before succumbing to the compound's lethal effects.Erik Somers, Callsign: Bishop, is called in to investigate, but his first discovery shocks him to the core. Dawoud Abbasi, the terrorist leader planning to unleash Ergot-B, is his biological father.

Fox Hunt


James Phelan - 2006
    Orbiting slowly and silently, unknown to almost all ...The White House is only starting to suspect the worst. While most of the world's Intel resources have been tied up in Afghanistan and Iraq, the President of Chechnya has been making plans - and the clock is ticking.A world away, off Christmas Island, ex-navy operative Lachlan Fox is on a diving trip with this best friend, Alister Gammaldi. From the moment they lift a mysterious metallic object off the sea floor, the two men set in motion a chain of events that will drag them into the corrupt world of international politics and arms races.From East Timor to Grozny, Washington to New York and Venice to Iran, Lachlan Fox is forced into an adrenaline-fuelled quest to save his friends, himself ... and the world.

Payback


J. Robert Kennedy - 2015
    Robert Kennedy! *** THE VICE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER IS KIDNAPPED. DELTA IS UNLEASHED ON THOSE RESPONSIBLE! Doctor Sarah Henderson, daughter of the Vice President, is kidnapped from an Ebola clinic, triggering an all-out effort to retrieve her by America’s elite Delta Force just hours after a senior government official from Sierra Leone is assassinated in a horrific terrorist attack while visiting the United States. As Sarah battles impossible odds and struggles to prove her worth to her captors who have promised she will die, she’s forced to make unthinkable decisions to not only try to save her own life, but those dying from one of the most vicious diseases known to mankind, all in the hopes an unleashed Delta Force can save her before her captors enact their horrific plan on an unsuspecting United States. Payback, the first installment of the new Delta Force Unleashed series based on the internationally bestselling James Acton Thrillers series, propels the Delta Force’s Bravo Team into its most challenging mission yet where they face an enemy with an unknown agenda and an invisible virus that threatens to kill not only them, but the ones they hold dearest.

Storm Rising


Steven Becker - 2016
    The trail for redemption leads Storm to the British Virgin Islands and an uncomfortable alliance with a man from his past. When they discover an old nemesis – a beautiful Chinese woman is involved, a terrifying plot to rebuild the blood thirsty Persian empire begins to unfold. Only one thing stands between the empire and a new world order – American agent Mako Storm.

The Grave Diggers


Chris Fritschi - 2020
    At the 11th hour humanity fought back, saving what little was left of the world. The carnage and destruction left the county shattered and Sergeant Jack Tate a broken man who's given up on himself. But when he gets a cryptic offer to help his faltering country he ignores his suspicions and accepts the challenge.His decision plunges Tate into a fight for his life and he will quickly discover the undead aren't the only ones out to kill him.

The Stranger


Simon Conway - 2020
    Jude Lyon of MI6 remembers the captured terrorist bomb-maker. He watched him being flown off to Syria, back when Syria was 'friendly'. No-one expected him to survive interrogation there.Yet the man is alive and someone has broken him out of jail.Bad news for the former foreign secretary who authorised his rendition. And Jude's boss Queen Bee who knew he wasn't a terrorist at all, but an innocent bystander. Now she calls Jude back from a dangerously enjoyable mission involving a Russian diplomat's wife.He has a new job: close down this embarrassment. Fast.But embarrassment is only the beginning. Someone is using the former prisoner to front a new and unspeakably terrifying campaign. Someone not even ISIS can control.He is like a rumour, a myth, a whisper on the desert wind. But he is real and he is coming for us ...He is the genius known only as ...The Stranger.From the corridors of Westminster to the refugee camps of Jordan, the back streets of East London to the badlands of Iraq, The Stranger is a nerve-shredding journey of suspense as Jude Lyon pieces together the shape of an implacable horror coming towards him - and a conspiracy of lies behind him.

Hatteras Blue


David Poyer - 1989
    But their chilling reappearance has unleashed a tide of powerful forces--Nazis with a ruthless plan to corner the South American drug market, and a shadowy figure with his own dangerous agenda.We ex-Navy SEAL salvage diver Tiller Galloway probes beneath the surface, he finds himself face-to-face with a killer in a gut-wrenching firefight that cilmaxes hundreds of feet below sea level.Spilling with underwater adventure that will leave you gasping for air, bestselling author David Poyer writes gripping undersea thrillers in the spellbinding tradition of Clive Cussler and John D. MacDonald.