I am delighted to be one of the Book Bloggers to be opening the Blog Tour and sharing my review today for The Black Fox by Gordon Bickerstaff.

My huge thanks to Emma at damppebbles Blog Tours for my spot ont he tour and for arranging my e-copy of this fabulous action-packed crime thriller.

Incredible conspiracy.

Intricate espionage.

Spy story.

Zoe Tampsin is resourceful, smart and Special Forces-trained, but she has been given an impossible mission.

She has to protect scientist, Gavin Shawlens, from assassination by the CIA, and discover the secret trapped in Gavin’s mind that the CIA want destroyed.

As the pressure to find Shawlens escalates – the CIA send Zoe’s former mentor to track her down and her fate seems sealed when he surrounds Zoe and Gavin with a ring of steel. With each hour that passes, the ring is tightened, and the window for discovering Gavin’s secret will shut.

Zoe is faced with a decision that goes against all of her survival instincts. If she is wrong – they both die. If she is right – she will discover the secret and become the next target for assassination.

Run for your life…

Purchase Links – Amazon UK – US

My Review…

This is the first time I have read a book by this author and I want to give myself a stern talking to for not reading any of his books sooner. This is a crazy action-packed, conspiracy fuelled thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish.

The main lead for this story is Zoe, she is one tough cookie and knows how to handle herself in a fight. She is a clever main character who has a whole load of skills, and I am sure that there are some that I have yet to discover with other books. Her brief is to kidnap Gavin, a scientist, who has been under her watch and disappear.

What starts off as a storyline that had a simple beginning the author then jets off into a full-blown chase to the death, that involves the US and its various agencies and departments on British soil. Dodging, ducking and diving traps and lures to discover why on earth the US are willing to risk everything to get their hands on this scientist.

This is one for those, who like me, love a bit of conspiracy, a dash of espionage and a sprinkle of double-crossing within governmental agencies. I was very surprised that when I started to write this review I looked at the page count, 330 of them and the amount of detail that is included is astonishing. There are so many double-crosses, twists, foiled plans and side steps I have to take my hat off to the author for keeping track of everything and still creating a story that has a fabulous flow.

The characters are superb, Zoe as I have mentioned is a one-woman wonder. Comes across as being tough as nails but does has a slight softness to her. Gavin is a nerdy guy, but he has problems with his memory and this adds another dimension to his story. There are additional characters as you would expect, but I will let you meet them yourself.

This is a book that would appeal to those who like fast-paced, action and adventure stories that involve a superbly worked plot and has full-on chases and explosive scenes. I adored this from start to finish and I would definitely recommend it.

About the Author…

I was born and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland. I studied biochemistry, and I’ve worked in several Scottish universities where I did research on enzymes, and taught biochemistry. After thirty years of teaching and research I retired my academic pen, and took of a mightier fiction pen.

I live in central Scotland with my wife and we enjoy reading, writing, and walking in the hills.

The Lambeth Group books follow the secret government investigations of agent Zoe Tampsin. A strong female protagonist with courage, determination, and guile. She is assisted by specialist consultant, Gavin Shawlens.

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