Novels

The Sun Sets on the West series – Read background here

Book 3 – New America (Working title)

When America Sneezes

Across the Atlantic, the election result is close. Too close. Donald Thorn claims victory, and the right-leaning media runs his premature acceptance speech. However, the result will have to be settled in the courts, as allegations of fraud and vote-rigging are rife. Throw the death of Democrat candidate Joe Bowman into the mix, and the dispute threatens to reach fever-pitch on the streets of America.

Meanwhile, BBC political reporter Jane Clark is an ambitious woman on a course to the top. Born in Edinburgh, the alleyways of the old town always felt too confining and, like so many before her, London’s gold-paved streets beckoned. While she gladly flies the nest, her older brother Duncan is a home bird. After graduating in law, he now heads up a firm in Edinburgh alongside his partners. Based over the road from Holyrood parliament, circumstances have shifted and their workload now encompasses government-related matters.

Though far from Britain’s streets, America’s woes come knocking. The markets crash, and their demise will soon be followed by the government of the day. Prime Minister Ravi Suvak offers a National Unity administration to ward off turmoil. Yet Jane, with her ear to the ground, has detected something more sinister occurring in the background. The PM’s troops appear to be pulling in another direction.

Unable to hold, the National Unity government really needs a saviour. It arrives in the form of knight in shining armour, Boris Jenkins. Boris, a former PM, has all the charisma needed to bring the disparate parties together, but does he have the ability and resources? Is his plan as simple as it seems? Catapulted back into power, it soon becomes apparent that Boris’s strings may be pulled externally. Britain joins the BRICKS trade group; yesterday’s enemies are today’s friends, and any rapprochement with the EU is long gone.

The country’s troubles have not dampened Jane’s rise. She’s seen as an asset to those seeking to control the media, and through favour and reward, Jane begins to live the life she has always dreamed of.

Back in Edinburgh, a secretary at Duncan’s law practice is being blackmailed to inform on the operation. She also knows their computers and phones are compromised. When she finally owns up to Duncan, the law practice comes into conflict with the new power in the land.

After senior Scottish politicians are freed during “The Battle of Pitlochry,” Duncan is seen as a threat. He is set up for the murder of a woman, thrown in jail and, through the hastily implemented emergency power act, has no recourse to trial. Beaten and abused, it is unlikely he will survive the ordeal. Jane flies to Scotland, only to discover the people behind her brother’s woes are her benefactors. Saving her brother could destroy her career.

Cult of the Machine – Excerpt here