Today, I am on the blog tour for End Game by Matt Johnson and
have an extract for you to enjoy.
This is the final instalment in the critically acclaimed
Robert Finlay series, as his past continues to haunt him…
THE BOOK
Robert Finlay seems to have finally left his SAS past behind him and
is settled into his new career as a detective. But when the girlfriend of his
former SAS colleague and close friend Kevin Jones is murdered, it’s clear that
Finlay’s troubles are far from over. Jones is arrested for the killing, but
soon escapes from jail, and Finlay is held responsible for the breakout.
Suspended from duty and sure he’s being framed too, our hero teams up with MI5
agent Toni Fellowes to find out who’s behind the conspiracy. Their quest soon
reveals a plot that goes to the very heart of the UK’s security services. End
Game, the final part in the critically acclaimed Robert Finlay trilogy, sees
our hero in an intricately plotted and terrifyingly fast-paced race to uncover
the truth and escape those who’d sooner have him dead than be exposed.
About the Author
Matt Johnson served as a soldier and Metropolitan Police officer for
twentyfive years. Blown off his feet at the London Baltic Exchange bombing in
1993, and one of the first police officers on the scene of the 1982 Regent’s
Park bombing, Matt was also at the Libyan People’s Bureau shooting in 1984
where he escorted his mortally wounded friend and colleague, Yvonne Fletcher,
to hospital. Hidden wounds took their
toll. In 1999, Matt was discharged from the police with Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder. While undergoing treatment, he was encouraged by his
counsellor to write about his career and his experience of murders, shootings
and terrorism. One evening, Matt sat at his computer and started to weave these
notes into a work of fiction that he described as having a tremendously
cathartic effect on his own condition. His bestselling thriller, Wicked Game,
which was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Dagger, was the result. Deadly
Game and now End Game, the final book in the
Robert Finaly series, once again draws on Matt’s experiences and drips
with the same raw authenticity of its predecessor.
Excerpt from
Chapter 4
Howard scanned the notes on his
desk.
If there was one very important
thing he had learned in his life with the Security Service, it was to be
thorough. Be it the creation of a cover story, a fake identity, the logistics
supporting an operation, even an answer to a parliamentary question; all
warranted appropriate diligence.
And yet, he was troubled. The
job was done, complete, and what had at first appeared to be a situation likely
to threaten both the national and his own personal security had been averted.
The irritant that was Chas Collins had been removed, his manuscript recovered
and both he and his literary agent had been taken care of. But things hadn’t
gone as smoothly as they ought to have done. Grady had very nearly been compromised
and the Belgium side of the clean-up had experienced unexpected delays when
Collins had proved hard to locate. And now there was yet another problem.
As Howard sat back in his chair
and arched his back in an attempt to ease the discomfort that had settled there
during the last hour, the grey telephone on the desk rang twice and then
stopped abruptly, interrupting his train of thought.
He waited. Five seconds later,
the phone rang again. He picked up the receiver.
‘Sir,’ he began, having already
guessed the identity of the caller.
‘Do you have it?’
‘We do. Both targets are
black-bagged. And it was as we’d thought: Collins was trying to be clever by
avoiding electronic back-ups. He and Mrs Price had the only hard copies and we
have them both.’
‘Very good. Your usual
efficiency, Howard.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ If only he knew, Howard thought.
‘Have you had a chance to look
through the draft?’
‘I have. Your decision proved
correct, the book would have exposed a crucial aspect of our Islamic
intelligence-gathering operation.’
‘We can count ourselves lucky.’
‘Indeed.’ Howard took a deep
breath. There was no time like the present; and it appeared the Director was in
a good enough mood to handle the news. ‘There is a new problem, however.’
‘A related problem?’
‘I’m not certain at this stage,
but quite possibly,’ Howard said, and heard a deep sigh at the other end of the
line.
‘Presumably, your mentioning it
means it’s something I need to know about?’
‘I think it’s best you do,
yes,’ Howard answered.
‘Let’s hear it then.’
‘Very well. Someone has Googled
the name. I had a notification from GCHQ a couple of days ago.’
‘That’s unfortunate. Do we have
a source?’
‘Not as yet. But I’m working on
it.’
‘I predicted this, you will
recall. There really were too many potential leaks.’
‘And I’ve always argued we
needed to be proactive. Ask any decent surgeon – sometimes it’s necessary to
destroy good tissue to ensure the whole tumour is removed.’
‘You’re referring to the two
policemen?’ said the Director.
‘Amongst others – all represent
potential exposure risks.’
We’ve had this debate before,
Howard, I don’t intend to repeat myself.’
‘I understand. I’ll keep you
posted with regards to the Google search.’
The Director ended the call.
Howard replaced the telephone receiver and then flicked through the scattered
papers in front of him until he found what he was looking for. It was a
photograph of a group of heavily armed soldiers in desert fatigues – some
standing, some crouched – posing at the rear of a C-130 transport aircraft. He
studied the photograph for a moment, mentally ticking off the names as he
scanned the faces.
Finally, his gaze came to rest
on one man. He half smiled as he muttered quietly to himself. ‘Soon, old
friend,’ he promised. ‘Very soon.’
Don’t know
about you but I like the sound of this and must admit I have never read a book
in this series but this will be sorted soon I promise.
Follow the rest
of the blog tour to see what my fellow bloggers think about this book.
