The Lazarus Charter by Tony Bassett
Genre: Spy thriller
Standalone sequel to Smile Of The Stowaway
The
Lazarus Charter may be a work of fiction. But it’s a book that’s
grounded in reality. It’s set in a Britain in which foreign agents
seem to be free to swan in and out across borders, committing
state-sponsored acts of terrorism as they travel.
And
it’s set in a Britain in which military targets thousands of miles
away can be obliterated by drone weapons being operated by the touch
of a button in an office somewhere in London.
The
Lazarus Charter is my second novel. It features the couple who
appeared in my first book, Smile Of The Stowaway -- school teacher
Bob Shaw and his wife Anne. That book concerned an immigrant accused
of murder.
But
in this sequel, the pair become immersed in a world of espionage as
they struggle to understand how a Government scientist friend has
come back to life five weeks after his funeral.
As
the story progresses and the Shaws learn some dangerous secrets, they
are forced out of their home and are confronted by ruthless enemies
-- whose identity is, for a while, shrouded in mystery.
I
felt compelled to write the novel partly because of the growing
dangers posed in this country by foreign agents who seem to believe
they can act without regard for the law.
Like
so many people, I have been outraged at the way these agents have
been free to smuggle deadly, unstable poisons into Britain and then
use them to eliminate lives.
For
more than a decade, there have been a spate of deadly incidents. One
of the most dramatic was the polonium poisoning murder of
British-naturalised Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko, aged 44,
on November 23, 2006.
I
was a national press journalist at the time and remember the white
tent erected outside the Litvinenko home in Muswell Hill. I also
recall the startled faces of Russian neighbours in the street, who
were too frightened to speak out.
In
more recent memory comes the attempted murder with novichok of former
Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal on March 4, 2018
in Salisbury – which led disgracefully to the death four months
later of an entirely innocent party, Dawn Sturgess, also 44. Others
who have offended the Kremlin – mainly Russian oligarchs – have
succumbed to mysterious ends.
These
foreign agents of death shun conventional weapons, preferring exotic
poisons that risk endangering the lives of far more people than just
their intended targets. My novel features two Russian agents who use
poison as part of their everyday arsenal.
The
British people have been lulled into believing the dangers and fears
of the Cold War era that haunted our parents’ generation are gone.
I sincerely hope that, if it achieves nothing else, my book will help
ensure we all wake up to the realities of life in these challenging
times.
Thankfully,
the Johnson Government is now talking about beefing up our espionage
laws. One suggestion is for a government department to hold a
register of foreign agents. The Official Secrets Act and treason
laws may also be updated.
Maybe
the Government should have acted sooner. Maybe an earlier shake-up
in Whitehall after Alexander Litvinenko’s death could have helped
save the life of innocent mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess.
Bob
Shaw is baffled to see a man in a brown coat at a bustling
Underground station. Surely it can’t be his friend, the scientist
Professor Morley? Morley perished weeks before in a blazing car. Is
the man an impostor or did his friend fake his death?
This
fascinating and ingenious thriller tells of Bob’s battle to find
out the truth, helped by his wife Anne. They are confronted by
ruthless enemies and forced to flee their home in this fast-paced spy
thriller from the author of Smile Of The Stowaway.
Website:
www.tonybassettauthor.com
