Review: Further Thrills with Thomas Gunn
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 6, 2013
AFN Clarke, a Hong Kong born Brit, knows what he is about - a master builder of tense thrillers that involve constant input of questions that plead to be answered, but Clarke has the gift of pulling the reader in so perilously close that letting slip even the slightest hint of `aha!' is left to the very last moments of his book.For those reading THE JONAS TRUST DECEPTION as the entry into the Thomas Gunn Thriller Series, some words from this reviewer on the author bear repeating: Clarke has the background for having experienced and /or imagined stories such as this one which serves to introduce a new series focused on Thomas Gunn, an Ex-British Special Forces soldier who if he had his druthers he'd be sunning on beaches or finding other forms of escape rather than serving in the role he by nature must assume. Clarke moves slickly into these pages because as he says, `I have lived in many different countries and worked in many fields - as a computer programmer; a designer, builder and driver of race cars; flying school owner; manager of a marine retail store; screenplay writer and novelist - as well as a bus conductor and a motor cycle courier in London (ah the joys of youth!). In 1971, I joined Britain's elite Parachute Regiment as a Private, was commissioned as an officer a year later and I served for over seven years in Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Germany and with the French Airborne. On leaving the Army, after two bloody tours in Northern Ireland - that left me without a large bowel - I started writing.'The planned series of which this novel is the second follows Thomas Gunn's adventures that take him around the globe. From the excellent summary provided, `Thomas's desire to leave his Special Forces life behind him is once again severely challenged by a disturbing phone call from his old friend Morgan. Her coded message means she's clearly in danger. But where? And why? Rushing to her ranch he finds it being torn apart by intruders, one of whom is a woman of East European descent with a mysterious butterfly tattoo on her neck. Realizing that in her latest investigations Morgan may have uncovered something even more explosive and far-reaching than the Orange Moon conspiracy, Thomas fears the worst. With the help of old friends and new, he throws himself back into the world of corruption, deceit and blackmail, where he tangles not only with Mexican drug cartels, but so-called respected politicians, powerful financial brokers like Jonas T Purdue, the FBI, his old intelligence cohort Radley and even his arch nemesis Marika Keskküla.  It appears that the idea of a small, powerful and secret group of people dictating world affairs may not be a myth, but a frightening reality. Outraged by what he discovers and by the feeling of constantly being "played", Thomas decides to turn the tables on the faceless "puppeteers" by taking an action so bold, so dangerous, and so unexpected, that even his team fear he's lost his mind. Has he? Or can he expose the "vermin" at the top and finally eliminate them forever?'As Clarke has said, `often the lines between fiction and reality blur in the unraveling of a conspiracy that could very well be real.' If that means that this hauntingly realistic novel is close to reality, then hang on. You are in for a terrific ride. Grady Harp, October 13