Product Description
by Ted Bell (Author)
The latest action-packed thriller from New York Times bestselling author Ted Bell pits counterspy Alex Hawke against Russian president Vladimir Putin in a daring, exhilarating mission to rescue Hawke's kidnapped son--and prevent a Soviet invasion of Switzerland
On a ski vacation in the Swiss Alps high above St. Moritz, Alex Hawke and his young son, Alexei, are thrust into danger when the tram carrying them to the top of the mountain bursts into flame, separating the two. Before he can reach Alexei, the boy is snatched from the burning cable car by unknown assailants in a helicopter.
Meanwhile, high above the skies of France, Vladimir Putin is aboard his presidential jet after escaping a bloodless coup in the Kremlin. When two flight attendants collapse and slip into unconsciousness, the Russian leader realizes the danger isn't over. Killing the pilots, he grabs a parachute, steps out of the plane . . . and disappears.
Hawke has led his share of dangerous assignments, but none with stakes this high. To save his son, he summons his trusted colleagues, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard Ambrose Congreve, former U.S. Navy SEAL Stokley Jones, Jr., and recruits a crack Hostage Rescue Team--a group of elite soldiers of fortune known as "Thunder & Lighting." Before they can devise a rescue plan, Hawke must figure out who took his boy--and why. An operative who has fought antagonists around the globe, Hawke has made many enemies; one in particular may hold the key to finding Alexei before it's too late.
But an unexpected threat complicates their mission. Making his way to "Falcon's Lair," the former Nazi complex created for Hitler, Putin is amassing an impressive armory that he intends to use for his triumphant return to Moscow.
Only one man can smash the Russian president's plan for domination--a master counterspy who will cross every line to save his son . . . and maybe save the world itself in the bargain.
Front Jacket
It is a frosty Christmas Day. A Swiss skiing vacation for gentle-man spy Hawke and his son Alexei turns deadly when a malfunctioning support cable upends their aerial tram, leaving it hanging by a thread at twelve thousand feet. During a chaotic helicopter rescue, the boy mysteriously goes missing . . . meanwhile, in Moscow, Vladimir Putin's world is sinking in a hellish quagmire of political infighting and assassination attempts on his life. Desperate to escape, Putin secures the presidential jet for a midnight run out of Russia. But things quickly go awry. A "malfunction" in the aircraft's oxygen system forces Putin to bail out into the night skies over France . . .
Hawke has had his share of high stakes assignments--but nothing comes close to the nail-biting suspense created by two loudly ticking timeclocks. One, the race to find the fiend who has taken his son. The other, to find the madman who is planning an armed invasion of Switzerland that will rip civilization to shreds. Could it be, Hawke begins to wonder, that the two villains are really one and the same?
--BooklistBack Jacket
It is a frosty Christmas Day. A Swiss skiing vacation for gentle-man spy Hawke and his son Alexei turns deadly when a malfunctioning support cable upends their aerial tram, leaving it hanging by a thread at twelve thousand feet. During a chaotic helicopter rescue, the boy mysteriously goes missing . . . meanwhile, in Moscow, Vladimir Putin's world is sinking in a hellish quagmire of political infighting and assassination attempts on his life. Desperate to escape, Putin secures the presidential jet for a midnight run out of Russia. But things quickly go awry. A "malfunction" in the aircraft's oxygen system forces Putin to bail out into the night skies over France . . .
Hawke has had his share of high stakes assignments--but nothing comes close to the nail-biting suspense created by two loudly ticking timeclocks. One, the race to find the fiend who has taken his son. The other, to find the madman who is planning an armed invasion of Switzerland that will rip civilization to shreds. Could it be, Hawke begins to wonder, that the two villains are really one and the same?
