Kirjahaku

Harry is out walking his dog when he is set upon by a drug-fuelled gang of well- connected young men and women, who are seeking greater kicks and thrills than they can achieve from booze, drugs, sex and fast cars. Harry should have died but he didn't. As he gradually recovers he develops a thirst for revenge, but by the time he is able to implement his plans, a dedicated local senior police officer has taken up the challenge of tracking and bringing to justice the men and women responsible. As Harry begins his revenge the police investigation is running in parallel, but neither side knows of the other's activities. Harry is an ordinary man who is forced to meet and deal with evil.

Hamid is a Somali pirate who ranges far from his lawless and poverty stricken homeland to attack ships and capture valuable hostages. He unwittingly captures the private motor-yacht of a wealthy and influential Arabian prince. Warships of the international anti-piracy force race to intervene but legal constraints mean they can only shadow the captured vessel. Hamid becomes stuck in a stand-off. The British Government, pressed to intervene, cannot become openly involved, so the secret, deniable services of Jack Lang's Special Operations Group are called into action. Two former warships are patched up and sent with skeleton crews of former Navy people to do what the legitimate forces cannot. The ships disrupt the pirates and create a dramatic, violent distraction while remaining deniable to the outside world. Battle is pursued to the pirate's lair and when the job is done the two old ships must disappear - but perhaps to sail again.

These four stories are drawn from the Author's wide experience within the world of Gentleman's Clubs, or "Clubland" as it is often described. The "Ghost in Piccadilly" was seen in a club late at night and the story, brilliantly researched by The Times newspaper eventually received wide coverage reaching Europe and America. "An Evening at The Club" is an example of how rapidly things can go wrong and how funny they can seem in hindsight - although perhaps not to the individuals directly involved. "The Colonel" was a real, albeit bogus, character who, with his outrageous antics, provided constant entertainment for the members and particularly those in the know. Only a few of his escapades are related here and there is much more to come. "The Committee Man" is an amalgam of the behaviour sometimes adopted in order to influence events but with a generous proportion of artistic license.

These Nine 'Sea Stories' are all written from personal experience of the Author. "Tui Lau" is the unique account of the South Pacific rescue of over 100 people by a helicopter flown by the Author. It was a protracted, dangerous and difficult rescue with a memorable aftermath. "Hurricane" describes a ship caught in a particular mid-Atlantic storm, whereas "Mutiny" is drawn from a combination of several sequences of events and is presented as a work of fiction. "A Matter of Conscience" is a sad story, variations of which have occurred all too frequently with sailors far from home. "The Collision" and "The King and I" show two extremes of service in the same Fleet Destroyer. "Dunsley Wyke" gives a snapshot of life in the fishing industry, "The Chase" is set in the Cold War era and "Out to Lunch" gives an amusing and informal view of Coastal Forces in the 1960s..

This is the third in the series of three volumes in which Anthony Holt describes the often bizarre, amusing, or sometimes sad events which seemed to surround him as a naval aviator in various parts of the world and later, as a senior manager in London's Clubland. The stories are interspersed with a couple of strange events experienced by his father in the Second World War and lightened by one or two tales of what "might have been". Whether, at sea, in the air, on a battle-front or in the grand settings of Gentlemen's Clubs, they will bring a smile, or a tear and leave the reader looking for more. The two previous volumes are "Four of Clubs" and "Nine Stories of the Sea".