Book picks similar to
The Bard of Blood by Bilal Siddiqi
fiction
crime
thriller
mystery
The Swastika Killer
Mahendra Jakhar - 2017
A MANIC JEW. OR A NEO-NAZI...2006, GERMANY, FIFA WORLD CUP.In Berlin, a killer begins targeting the most dangerous criminals and brands his victims with the symbol of the swastika. The day of each murder coincides mystically with the navagrahas, the days sacred to the nine planetary gods in Hindu mythology. And the dates correspond to hidden horrors of the historical past.Only one man can decipher and look beyond symbols — the unassuming Bala, the sharpest sleuth in the Indian Intelligence Bureau.The chase of a lifetime begins!7/11, MUMBAI EXPLODESThree friends who were born and grew up in the city's brothels, thrown apart by riots, are brought together by the swastika.The killer takes them into the streets of Mumbai, to the den of underworld kings, inside prison complexes, terrorist cells and the snake pit called Bollywood.They will need more than friendship, love, and luck to survive.Is the swastika killer a self-proclaimed vigilante, out to end evil?To find out, and put an end to the killings, Bala will have to go to the beginning. The past that lies hidden in the streets of Old Delhi.KILLING FIELDSThe killer moves through Afghanistan and Pakistan to target the world’s most guarded man. It will change the course of our history.Friendship will be tested with blood and death.Can Bala stop the killer?Can the blood-thirsty navagrahas be pacified?
Mission Overseas: Daring Operations by the Indian Military
Sushant Singh - 2017
Black Tornado: The Military Operations of 26/11
Sandeep Unnithan - 2014
Ten highly motivated and trained terrorists, armed with guns, grenades and improvised explosive devices, slip past coastal security cordons on India's western seacoast in a fishing trawler. They board a rubber dinghy and disembark at Machhimar Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai. Over the next three agonizing days, India's 'Maximum City' is brought to its knees as the fidayeen wreak unprecedented havoc at pre-selected landmarks, holding India's commercial capital hostage. The 26/11 attacks, as they are now known, is widely regarded as the world's first hybrid terrorist attack. The attackers achieved through this long-drawn siege what Al Qaeda did through the high-visibility mass-casualty attack of 11 September 2001. The response to this attack was the first instance of all three wings of the Indian armed forces coming together to fight terror. The attacks tested the mettle of India's elite counter-terrorist force, the National Security Guard, whose strike element was entirely made up of army personnel; the navy dispatched its marine commandos in the initial hours of the attack; the air force flew the NSG into the city and air-dropped them over Nariman House. Black Tornado, as the operation was called by the NSG, is the story of these men called into action in the desperate hours following the most sensational terrorist attack the country has ever seen. Sandeep Unnithan puts together a blow-by-blow account of the terrorist strike and how the siege of Mumbai was thwarted by India's security forces.
The Illicit Happiness of Other People
Manu Joseph - 2012
His wife Mariamma stretches their money, raises their two boys, and, in her spare time, gleefully fantasizes about Ousep dying. One day, their seemingly happy seventeen-year-old son Unni—an obsessed comic-book artist—falls from the balcony, leaving them to wonder whether it was an accident. Three years later, Ousep receives a package that sends him searching for the answer, hounding his son’s former friends, attending a cartoonists’ meeting, and even accosting a famous neurosurgeon. Meanwhile, younger son Thoma, missing his brother, falls head over heels for the much older girl who befriended them both. Haughty and beautiful, she has her own secrets. The Illicit Happiness of Other People—a smart, wry, and poignant novel—teases you with its mystery, philosophy, and unlikely love story.
The Amber Room
Steve Berry - 2003
But it is also the subject of one of history's most intriguing mysteries. Originally commissioned in 1701 by Frederick I of Prussia, the Room was later perfected Tsarskoe Selo, the Russian imperial city. In 1941, German troops invaded the Soviet Union, looting everything in their wake and seizing the Amber Room. When the Allies began the bombing of Germany in August 1944, the Room was hidden. And despite the best efforts of treasure hunters and art collectors from around the world, it has never been seen again." Now, two powerful men have set their best operatives loose in pursuit, and the hunt has begun once more. . . . Life is good for Atlanta judge Rachel Cutler. She loves her job, loves her kids, and remains civil to her ex-husband, Paul. But everything changes when her father, a man who survived the horrors of World War II, dies under strange circumstances--and leaves behind clues to a secret he kept his entire life . . . a secret about something called the Amber Room. Desperate to know the truth about her father's suspicious dealings, Rachel takes off for Germany, with Paul close behind. Shortly after arriving, they find themselves involved with a cast of shadowy characters who all claim to share their quest. But as they learn more about the history of the treasure they seek, Rachel and Paul realize they're in way over their heads. Locked in a treacherous game with ruthless professional killers and embroiled in a treasure hunt of epic proportions, Rachel and Paul suddenly find themselves on a collisioncourse with the forces of power, evil, and history itself. A brilliant adventure and a scintillating tale of intrigue, deception, art, and murder, "The Amber Room" is a classic tale of suspense--and the debut of a strong new voice in the world of the international thriller. "From the Hardcover edition.
The Spymistress
Jennifer Chiaverini - 2013
When her native state seceded in April 1861, Van Lew’s convictions compelled her to defy the new Confederate regime. Pledging her loyalty to the Lincoln White House, her courage would never waver, even as her wartime actions threatened not only her reputation, but also her life. Van Lew’s skills in gathering military intelligence were unparalleled. She helped to construct the Richmond Underground and orchestrated escapes from the infamous Confederate Libby Prison under the guise of humanitarian aid. Her spy ring’s reach was vast, from clerks in the Confederate War and Navy Departments to the very home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Although Van Lew was inducted posthumously into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame, the astonishing scope of her achievements has never been widely known. In Chiaverini’s riveting tale of high-stakes espionage, a great heroine of the Civil War finally gets her due.
Man Down
Nathan Burrows - 2020
With red crosses on their arms and medical equipment strapped to their backs, they thunder into battle in a Chinook helicopter – straight into areas everyone else is desperate to get away from.In the middle of the fiercest fighting British troops have seen since the Falklands War, the medics are the last defence from death on the ground in some corner of a foreign field. But in Afghanistan, where a hostile is only obvious when they raise a weapon, there's no such thing as a non-combatant. And not all enemies are on the other side.Despite the heroic efforts of the medics on the ground and in the air, someone in the field hospital is determined to finish what the Taliban has started. Wounded soldiers – who should be living – are dying. Their deadliest enemy is much closer to home than they realise.As the death toll and the temperature rise, can the medics finish their tour of duty, or will it finish them?
The Rhythm of Riddles: Three Byomkesh Bakshi Mysteries
Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay - 2012
From being a household name in the Calcutta of 1930s, when he first created, to a popular face on TV in the 1990s, Byomkesh along with his friend-cum-foil Ajit is perhaps the best-loved of India's literary detectives. This collection brings together three of his classic whodunnits. From a murder in a boarding house with too many suspects to a mystery with a supernatural twist, and then busting a black - marketeering ring in rural bengal, these stories take the super sleuth to different locales on his quest for truth, and bring out his ingenuity and astuteness. Translated into English for the first time by award-winning translator Arunava Sinha, the breathless pace and thrilling plots of these action-packed adventures will win Byomkesh a new genertion of admirers.
Act of Revenge
Dick Couch - 2014
Garrett Walker is a warrior. For the last decade and a half he’s been continuously at war –combat rotation after combat rotation. He’s a veteran of the close fight. And he’s taken a great many lives. Yet, all that combat and all those deaths were in the service of his country. Now, that’s about to change. Since their college days, Garrett and his identical twin have been estranged. They were both in love with the same woman, and she chose Garrett’s brother. So Garrett chose the Navy SEALs. Then, following the death of their younger brother, also a Navy SEAL, yet another tragedy strikes the Walker family. The twin is caught in the web of a Russian Mafia organ-theft ring. He was just another business man in Las Vegas on just another business trip. Then drugged and alone, strange men enter his hotel room and crudely remove his kidneys. It’s a rare crime, but one that happens more than is reported. For those in the black-market organ trade, easy pickings right? But they didn’t count on the resiliency of the one twin, nor the rage of the warrior twin. Together, they embark on a mission. Together, they put all the rules to aside bring about the ultimate Act of Revenge. About the Author Dick Couch. Navy SEAL, Combat Veteran, CIA Case Officer, New York Times Best Selling Author–with eighteen books to his credit. During the Global War on Terror, Dick Couch alone has been allowed to embed with the component commands of the US Special Operations Command. Dick Couch alone has tracked the SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, and Marine Special Operators as they trained for war–and written extensively about this training. Now after eight books of special-operations nonfiction, Act of Revenge marks his return to fiction.
The Great Train Robbery
Michael Crichton - 1975
Rich, handsome, and ingenious, he charms the city's most prominent citizens even as he plots the crime of his century, the daring theft of a fortune in gold. But even Pierce could not predict the consequences of an extraordinary robbery that targets the pride of England's industrial era: the mighty steam locomotive. Based on remarkable fact, and alive with the gripping suspense, surprise, and authenticity that are his trademarks, Michael Crichton's classic adventure is a breathtaking thrill-ride that races along tracks of steel at breakneck speed.
The Failsafe Query
Michael Jenkins - 2018
Sean Richardson, a disgraced former intelligence agent, is tasked to lead a team to search for Alfie Chapman, an Intelligence officer on the cusp of exposing thousands of secrets to the media. This includes a long lost list of Russian moles embedded since the Cold War, one of whom remains a public favourite in the British parliamentary system. The action moves with absorbing pace and intrigue across Central Asia and Europe as the puzzle begins to unfold through a deep hidden legacy. Tense, fast paced, and insightful, The Failsafe Query twists and turns to a satisfyingly dramatic finale.
Elmore Leonard Classic 3-Book Collection: Get Shorty, Tishomingo Blues, Killshot
Elmore Leonard - 2012
Marshal Raylan Givens, the captivating hero of the hit FX series Justified. Now three of Leonard’s best novels—Get Shorty, Tishomingo Blues, and Killshot—are together in one classic ebook collection.
What did Tashi do?
Anangsha Alammyan - 2019
An anonymous stranger. A spine-chilling nightmare that blurs the thin line between online bullying and a full-blown real-life ordeal. Tashi Chotten is a woman from Arunachal Pradesh working and living a normal life in New Delhi. Her world turns upside down one night when she receives an anonymous email with a picture attached. Curious, she clicks on it to find that the photograph is her own – a semi-naked one she had clicked almost four years back when she was in a relationship with Akash. Tashi's breath catches in her throat: how could this be possible? How could an image of four years ago come back to haunt her now? Was Akash doing this to take revenge on her for dumping him? But why would he wait so long if revenge was his intention? She had so many questions she needed the answers to, but first of all, Tashi had the anonymous sender’s strange request to oblige: should she fight back or should she give him what he was demanding? In a fast-paced, mind-numbing tale of misplaced trust and poor data security, blackmail and friendship, lust and a love that had gone cold years back, will Tashi be able to regain control over her life and win the fight against the man who seems to be one step ahead of her, no matter which direction she chooses to go? **PRAISE FOR "WHAT DID TASHI DO"** 1. What I like most about the book is in the end it teaches you something. ~ Gaurav 2. The story was a learning and further sensitized me (as a man) about the vulnerability and ordeals a working lady suffers today. I feel thankful to the author. ~Ambuj Sahu 3. I wish I could add a few more stars on the reviews but there are only five of them. ~ Vanita Das 4. Portrayal of emotions is the author's forte - and despite the limitations of plot-details that a full-length novel might well negotiate - it makes the novella an hour's delight and absolutely recommendable. ~ Anurag Anand 5. If you are not a fan of cliched topics and dare to try something new, this is it. ~Dhruv Agarwal
Any Means Necessary
Jack Mars - 2015
Luke Stone, head of an elite, secretive, department within the FBI, is the only man they can turn to. Luke realizes right away that the terrorists’ aim is to create a dirty bomb, that they seek a high-value target, and that they will hit it within 48 hours. A cat and mouse chase follows, pitting the world’s most savvy government agents versus its most sophisticated terrorists. As Agent Stone peels back layer after layer, he soon realizes he is up against a vast conspiracy, and that the target is even more high value than he could have imagined—leading all the way to the President of the United States. With Luke framed for the crime, his team threatened and his own family in danger, the stakes could not be higher. But as a former special forces commando, Luke has been in tough positions before, and he will not give up until he finds a way to stop them—using any means necessary. Twist follows twist as one man finds himself up against an army of obstacles and conspiracies, pushing even the limits of what he can handle, and culminating in a shocking climax. A political thriller with heart-pounding action, dramatic international settings, and non-stop suspense, Any Means Necessary marks the debut of an explosive new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.
The Old Man
Thomas Perry - 2017
The Old Man is his latest whip-smart standalone novel.To all appearances, Dan Chase is a harmless retiree in Vermont with two big mutts and a grown daughter he keeps in touch with by phone. But most sixty-year-old widowers don’t have multiple driver’s licenses, savings stockpiled in banks across the country, and a bugout kit with two Beretta Nanos stashed in the spare bedroom closet. Most have not spent decades on the run. Thirty-five years ago, as a young hotshot in army intelligence, Chase was sent to Libya to covertly assist a rebel army. When the plan turned sour, Chase reacted according to his own ideas of right and wrong, triggering consequences he could never have anticipated. And someone still wants him dead because of them. Just as he had begun to think himself finally safe, Chase must reawaken his survival instincts to contend with the history he has spent his adult life trying to escape. Armed mercenaries, spectacularly crashed cars, a precarious love interest, and an unforgettable chase scene through the snow—this is lethal plotting from one of the best in crime fiction.