The Poisoned Pen recently hosted authors for the first time, Luke McCallin and Ted Bell. McCallin’s fourth Gregor Reinhardt novel is From a Dark Horizon. Sea Hawke is Ted Bell’s twelfth Alex Hawke novel. You can order both books through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Here’s the description of McCallin’s From a Dark Horizon.
In the waning days of World War I, a horrific crime behind the lines sends Lieutenant Gregor Reinhardt on a search for a killer in this electrifying thriller from the author of The Man from Berlin.
It’s the final days of the Great War and four years of grinding conflict has warped more than one man’s mind. When a secret meeting of top brass is called, someone sets off a bomb that kills all the attendees. It looks for sure that one of the men in Gregor Reinhardt’s company is the culprit. But since that man killed himself, the General is looking for someone else to share the blame. Reinhardt must prove his trooper innocent if he hopes to avoid the fate of a co-conspirator.
The search for answers leads Reinhardt deep into a potential conspiracy populated by mutinous soldiers, a mysterious Russian nobleman, and a pair of doctors who may be doing more than treating battlefield injuries. The trenches are home to any number of horrors, but what if the greatest danger is right next to you?
Luke McCallin‘s experiences working for the United Nations as a humanitarian relief worker and peacekeeper in the Caucasus, the Sahel and the Balkans have driven his writing, in which he explores what happens to normal people—those stricken by conflict, by disaster—put under abnormal pressures. His experiences also inspired a historical mystery series with an unlikely protagonist: Gregor Reinhardt, German intelligence officer and former Berlin detective chased out of the police by the Nazis.
The Man From Berlin and The Pale House were both set in Sarajevo during WWII. The Divided City followed Reinhardt’s return home to Allied occupation, and a serial killer loose in the rubble.
Check out the summary of Sea Hawke.
Alex Hawke is sailing into trouble when an around-the-world journey becomes a fight against terror in the latest exciting adventure from New York Times bestselling novelist Ted Bell.
After saving the kidnapped heir to the British throne, gentleman spy and MI6 legend Alex Hawke is due for some downtime. He’s got a new custom built sailing yacht and a goal: to get closer to his son Alexi during an epic cruise across the seven seas.
But fate and the chief of MI6, Lord David Trulove, have other plans.
There’s an unholy alliance of nations who are plotting to attack Western democracies. The wily intelligence leader plans to use Hawke to drive a knife into the heart of this conspiracy. From an island base off Cuba to a secret jungle lair deep in the Amazon, on the land and the seas, the master spy and his crew of incorrigibles are in for the fight of their lives—the fight for freedom.
Ted Bell is the former chairman of the board and creative director of Young & Rubicam, one of the world’s largest advertising agencies. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the Alex Hawke series as well as the YA adventure novels Nick of Time and The Time Pirate. He has recently been writer-in-residence at Cambridge University (UK) and visiting scholar at the Department of Politics and International Relations.
Both authors have interesting stories about their background. Here’s the virtual event.