When the main character’s surname is Hannay you might well be thinking John Buchan and The 39 Steps. With CIA, MOD and EHB, with ARVs and BMWs populating the narrative it’s very AC-12 and Line of Duty. Dan Brown may well tiptoe through your consciousness and when you have a Spooks-like plot line, too, what have you got? Ash Greenslade is what you’ve got!
With edge of the seat plausibility Station Helix is a fast paced thriller that demands you pay attention and keep up, for every character counts. In fact every word counts. A complex plot that balances subtle conspiracies with tense, raw action, ably backed up by sound, geographical research. Characters to love, others to hiss and boo at. Some muscular, substantial writing pulls everything and everyone together offering a fiction that you may not want to put down once you start it.
So what's it all about? The oracle of blurb says -
‘"I DON'T WANT YOU TO FEEL PARANOID ABOUT ME LYING TO YOU." An inexplicable suicide... A devastating car wreck... A secret Ministry of Defence facility... Told with pace and tension, STATION HELIX is an exciting and modern novel rooted in the tradition of British thrillers. Alex Hannay makes a shocking discovery which draws him into a perilous world of conspiracy and murder. As operatives from the CIA pursue their own operation on the streets of London, Alex is torn between protecting those who share his secret and seeking retribution for a terrible crime.’
I'm no spoiler boiler so my lips are sealed as far as divulging any more of the story. It’s sheer escapist, entertaining reading with maybe a thing or two to say about genetics. There’s no real preaching here though. It’s all about the story and the action, the escapism of reading, The ability of fiction to propel you into a world that you could only dream of inhabiting, indeed, should you want to! There are some hairy moments here.
Author Bio
Ash Greenslade is a former police officer and trainer who became hooked on thrillers after reading David Morrell’s THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE. Despite dabbling with numerous writing projects since his schooldays, it took over two decades from reading Morrell’s landmark book for Ash to finally take writing seriously. Determined to accomplish an original novel, he embarked on STATION HELIX, a conspiracy thriller inspired by a visit to Orford Ness. Originally intended as a standalone novel, STATION HELIX prompted another two books, THE ELZEVIR COLLECTIVE and TORUS, plus the RYAN KERREK spin-off series (SINISTER BETRAYAL, DEADLY ACQUISITION, BLACK SCARAB and HUNTING CARACAL).
Ash credits his love of words to weekly spelling tests from the age of four, an incredibly enthusiastic English teacher who wrote children’s stories in the 1960s, and his collection of Enid Blyton, CS Lewis and Willard Price books. Captivated by the escapism of stories, the young Ash wanted to become a children’s author, and he still has a few early projects hidden away which might resurface one day. But it was the thriller genre which grabbed him as an adult. Although Morrell remains his favourite author, he’s a fan of the old-school British stalwarts such as Buchan, Ambler, MacLean, Bagley and Higgins.
Despite his working background, Ash doesn’t write crime thrillers, preferring the more secretive and enthralling world of espionage for his stories. Betrayal and conspiracy are recurring themes. And while he avoids revealing too much of his own character through his pages, some aspects of Ash’s books are very personal, such as the scuba diving scenes in BLACK SCARAB. (Ash worked as a divemaster in the Red Sea before qualifying as an instructor in Grand Cayman.)
When time permits, Ash researches his family tree and takes photographs. Several family surnames feature in his books, and he took the cover shots for the STATION HELIX series. And while he enjoys the occasional trip to London to meet friends, visit the theatre or conduct some research for his books, he’s more at home exploring the solitude of rural Essex in search of wildlife. He can be found online at www.ashgreenslade.net.
Buy Link
My thanks to Kelly at LoveBooksTours for my place upon this blog tour. (And to Ash for the card and the same copy)
Great post, thank you for taking part in the tour!
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