Böcker av Noel Hynd

It is the midwinter of 1961-62, a decade and a half into the Cold War Though continents apart, the flashpoints of tension and political intrigue around the world have never been more intense. The stakes have never been higher. Berlin. Havana. Saigon. Moscow. Tel Aviv. Another world war could start in any of these places. Thomas Buchanan of the FBI has worked on special assignments for two US presidents, Truman and Eisenhower. He is not inclined to work for a third, their successor, John F. Kennedy. Buchanan has nothing against Kennedy, but is not necessarily a supporter, either. If anything, his feelings on JFK are ambivalent, though like most Americans, Buchanan likes the public persona of JFK but was appalled by the Bay of Pigs disaster of 1961. Nonetheless, Buchanan's temptation is to leave government work and apply his investigative skills in the more lucrative and less dangerous private sector. Then everything changes. A disreputable old adversary named Jesse Chadwick - Ann's former husband - steps out of the shadows of Tom Buchanan's past. Chadwick an interesting offer to make. But it is also an offer which conveys danger personally and professionally to Tom and Ann Buchanan in addition to President Kennedy. Thus begins Kennedy's Spy, the third in an ongoing espionage series by Noel Hynd. The series began with Truman's Spy and continued with Eisenhower's Spy. Mr. Hynd's new historical thriller careens across the globe in the early 1960s, evokes the era in grand style and speeds to a memorable and high impact conclusion, an astonishing story behind the headlines of the Kennedy era in Washington. ***"Noel Hynd knows the ins and outs of Washington's agencies, both public and private." - Publishers Weekly. "Noel Hynd is few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world!" - Booklist Raves for FLOWERS FROM BERLIN: "This espionage thriller follows FBI agent William Cochrane's efforts to stop a Nazi spy from assassinating FDR. Toss in a love affair with a British Secret Service operative and you have a page-turner. Complex in characterization, crisp in dialogue, and thorough in its background" - Library Journal "First rate!" - The Cleveland Plain-Dealer "A Chiller!" - Los Angeles Times "A Super spy novel!" - The Savannah News-Presse "A well-paced yarn." - The Chicago Tribune

In this, the fourth installment of Noel Hynd's hugely popular Flowers from Berlin series, William Thomas Cochrane returns to Berlin as part of a permanent intelligence posting, replacing an old friend. Cochrane has a special knowledge of Berlin and its people, having worked there undercover during the Hitler era, during World War II, and during the successful 1948-49 airlift. But before Cochrane can safely settle his family in Berlin, he finds himself investigating the suspicious death of the man he succeeded. It is now the early 1950s. The former capital of Nazi Germany has emerged as the most volatile flashpoint of the Cold War. In Washington, Dwight Eisenhower is the newly elected President of the United States. In Moscow, Joseph Stalin is gravely ill but more aggressive than ever. He rules a Soviet Union that has gone from a backward nation to a world power in four decades. Emboldened now by atomic weapons, the Soviets are hell-bent on forcing the Western Powers - France, Great Britain, and the United States - out of the still-divided former capital. The pro-Moscow Communist government of East Germany controls East Berlin while the United States and its wartime allies control the other half of the city. And that is only where Cochrane's problems begin. Soon after his return, a simmering labor conflict explodes between East German workers and their government. The government demands increases in work quotas but without an increase in state-subsidized pay. Shortages of food and clothing accompany the rationing of electricity. A strike among construction workers grows into a mass protest involving fifty thousand East German citizens. Some Berliners in the angry protest demand the removal of the pro-Moscow East German government. East German police and Soviet troops move in and fire on the crowd, killing hundreds. Within days of his arrival, Bill Cochrane faces a Berlin that is a more treacherous place than ever. Old friends come in and out of the rain and fog above the Rivers Spree and Havel. But so do old enemies. And so do some old friends who may actually be new enemies. Treachery and violence hang in the air, as do menace and betrayal. Berlin is a city where no one is safe, and nothing is sacred. People disappear. Traitors are everywhere. Murders are common. And then there is the biggest enemy of all: Das Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, the Ministry for State Security, the new East German secret police agency. Modeled on the Soviet KGB, the "Stasi" has quickly become the most feared and vicious secret police agency in the postwar world. Quickly, Bill Cochrane realizes that the assignment confronting him will require a painstaking voyage through the murky, multi-faceted world of his own past and Soviet-American espionage. Within days of his arrival, Cochrane finds his life, his family, and his career under attack. But from where? From East Germany? From the KGB in Moscow? From an old adversary stepping out of the past? Or from a betrayal from within that is too venal and personal for him to even imagine, much less face? **"Noel Hynd is a few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world." - Booklist Raves for Flowers From Berlin: "A superb spy novel!" - Savannah News-Presse "A page-turner. Complex, crisp in dialogue, and thorough in its background" - Library Journal "First rate!" - The Cleveland Plain-Dealer "A Chiller! - LA Times Praise for Return to Berlin "A Compelling Spy Thriller of War-Torn Berlin"Lovers of World War Two stories will devour this stunning tale that is a perfect combination of knife-edge intrigue and history... Noel Hynd writes period fiction that is mesmerizing." Paul Collins, The Nashua (N.H.) Telegraph, January 30, 2020

When Alexandra LaDuca illegally enters Cuba on the trail of an unsolved mystery, she gets more than she imagined. The stakes? Her life ... plus a decades-old mystery to be solved, a pile of cash, and an unlikely defector. Espionage and unexpected romance smolder together in this exciting thriller set in Cuba's isolated capital.

When federal agent Alexandra LaDuca travels to Egypt to investigate the possible sighting of a former mentor, she is thrown into the deadliest game of double cross in her career. An American woman working alone, she must rely on her wits, her training, and her skill with lethal weapons not just to succeed, but also to survive. A CIA agent whom she believed to be dead appears to be alive; and why is he dressing like an Arab and speaking Russian? Tough, savvy, and cool under fire, Alex pushes herself to the limits as she puts her life on the line once again for her faith and her countryall while working with a mysterious new partner who may or may not be trustworthy. This fast-paced contemporary espionage thriller is exactly what Noel Hynd fans have been waiting for, the third and final installment of the Russian Trilogy. It will keep everyone turning pages and guessing from beginning to end.

After two attempts on her life, Alex is faced with the ultimate decision . . . kill or be killed.U.S. Treasury Agent Alexandra LaDuca is at a crossroads. Her job is beating her up, emotionally and psychologically. And the moral battle between her faith and her responsibilities is taking its toll on her effectiveness. For the first time, she wonders how long she can last.Forcing an end to her long-running and treacherous duel with the heads of the Dosi Cartel, Alex knows this is her last do-or-die operation. It's time call in all the favors owed to her.Her fight takes her into the criminal underground of America's east coast, south into the violent underworld of Central America, across Honduras and El Salvador, and finally to Panama for a shattering confrontation.Alex's career, her life, and her future with the man she lovesa future she never expected after the violent death of her fiance two years earlierare all at stake. After a final payback in Panama, nothing will be the same . . . if she even survives.';This excellent political thriller is the final book in Hynd's incredible, not-to-be-missed Cuban trilogy (Hostage in Havana, 2011; Murder in Miami, 2012). Libraries will definitely want all three for their collections.' Booklist

When a mysterious relic is stolen from a Madrid museum, people are dying to discover its secrets. Literally. U.S. Treasury agent Alexandra LaDuca returns from Conspiracy in Kiev to track down the stolen artwork, a small carving called The Piet of Malta. It seems to be a simple assignment, but nothing about this job is simple, as the mysteries and legends surrounding the relic become increasingly complex with claims of supernatural power. As aggressive, relentless, and stubborn as ever, Alex crisscrosses Europe through a web of intrigue, danger, and betrayal, joined by a polished, mysterious new partner. With echoes of classic detective and suspense fiction from The Maltese Falcon to The Da Vinci Code, Midnight in Madrid takes the reader on a nonstop spellbinding chase through a modern world of terrorists, art thieves, and cold-blooded killers.

A shrewd investigator and an expert marksman, Special Agent Alexandra LaDuca can handle any case the FBI gives her. Or can she? While on loan from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Alex is tapped to accompany a Secret Service team during an American Presidential visit to Ukraine. Her assignment: to keep personal watch over Yuri Federov, the most charming and most notorious gangster in the region. Against her better judgmentand fighting a feeling that she's being manipulatedshe leaves for Ukraine. But there are more parts to this dangerous mission than anyone suspects, and connecting the dots takes Alex across three continents and through some life-altering discoveries about herself, her work, her faith, and her future. Conspiracy in Kievfrom the first double-cross to the stunning final pagesis the kind of solid, fast-paced espionage thriller only Noel Hynd can write. For those who have never read Noel Hynd, this first book in The Russian Trilogy is the perfect place to start.