Corgi – The Bell Bookshop

Sink the “Belgrano”

Emma — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000

On the evening of 30 March, 1982, Commander David Hall, chief engineer of the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror received a telephone call giving him the order to ‘store for war’. At first he didn’t believe it. In the early hours of 2 April, Argentine forces invaded the Falkland Isles.

The sinking of the Belgrano was one of the most dramatic moments of the Falklands conflict. For many it signalled Britain’s entry into the war and it has been seen as a politically motivated decision deliberately designed to take the country irrevocably into the fight. Now Mike Rossiter – with unprecedented access to sailors from the Belgrano and HMS Conqueror – gives us a dramatic and definitive retelling of the events that led up to the sinking.

With all the pace and tension of a thriller, Sink the Belgrano takes us inside the battle for the South Atlantic and shows us the human drama behind the famous, and controversial, Sun headline ‘Gotcha!’ We track the collision course between the British submarine Conqueror and the Argentine warship – as the two sides and everyone aboard head towards the climactic moment just outside the exclusion zone set up by the British around the Falkland Isles. We witness the behind-the-scenes arguments , discussions and powerbroking that led to the decision to fire the three torpedoes. And, for the first time, we hear from the sailors on both sides – the personal testimony of the hunt for and attack on the Belgrano, and from the Argentine side the experience of being under attack and the sinking that left 340 members of her crew dead.

Afghan

Emma — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

When British and American intelligence catch wind of a major Al Qaeda operation in the works, they are primed for action – but what can they do? They know nothing about the attack: the what, where or when. They have no sources in Al Qaeda, and it’s impossible to plant someone. Impossible, unless . . .

The Afghan is Izmat Khan, a five-year prisoner of Guantanamo Bay and a former senior commander of the Taliban. The Afghan is also Colonel Mike Martin, a 25-year veteran of war zones around the world, a dark, lean man born and raised in Iraq. In an attempt to stave off disaster, the intelligence agencies will try to do what no one has ever done before – pass off a Westerner as an Arab among Arabs – pass off Martin as the trusted Khan.

It will require extraordinary preparation, and then extraordinary luck, for nothing can truly prepare Martin for the dark and shifting world he is about to enter. Or for the terrible things he will find there . . .

The Day of the Jackal, The Dogs of War, The Odessa File – the books of Frederick Forsyth have helped define the international thriller as we know it today. Combining meticulous research with crisp narratives and plots as current as the headlines, Forsyth shows us the world as it is, in a way that few have ever been able to equal.

And the world as it is today is a very scary place . . .

Ruins

Emma — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

‘Superior horror literature’ New York Times
‘A compelling set-up and provocative premise’ Kirkus
‘There’s no let-up, not so much as a chapter-break where you can catch your breath’ Stephen King
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Craving an adventure to wake them from their lethargic Mexican holiday before they return home, four friends set off in search of one of their own who has travelled to the interior to investigate an archaeological dig in the Mayan ruins.

After a long journey into the jungle, the group come across a partly camouflaged trail and a captivating hillside covered with red flowers. Lured by these, the group move closer until they happen across a gun-toting Mayan horseman who orders them away. In the midst of the confrontation, one of the group steps inadvertently backwards into the flowering vine. And at that moment their world changes for ever…