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Southern Cross (Prelude to War)
 
 

Southern Cross (Prelude to War) [Kindle Edition]

T. C. Isbell
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Print List Price: £9.61
Kindle Purchase Price: £2.55
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Product Description

Product Description

Surpassing even loyalty to country, the desire for revenge can sear white-hot and be as addictive and as all-consuming as the strongest opiate.

German agents Elsa Gable and Chris Schulte grew up together in a Germany ravaged by the Great War. They became inseparable as they matured into more than friends, more than family. They had a bond no one could destroy, at least that's what Chris believed until the night of December 2, 1938.

Not the typical spy murder mystery, Southern Cross is a unique tale of double agents, espionage, revenge, and murder leading investigators from a morgue in Manhattan to the SS Southern Cross, a passenger liner sailing from New York to Cuba. Forced to use limited resources, a doctor from San Francisco and a young Paris police inspector scramble to uncover a vicious murderer before another passenger is killed, and before the ship docks in Havana and five-hundred travelers flood the pier.

If you are one of those people who read the last page first . . . don't.

About the Author

My family moved around when I was young. I'd like to say we were one step ahead of the law, but that wouldn't be true. Life wasn't that exciting. I was a service brat. In the sixties we settled in San Diego. I served six years in the US Navy with most of that time spent on the USS Enterprise as a nuclear plant operator. After my discharge, I attended college and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. In the early eighties I moved to Bremerton, Washington and worked at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard until I retired in 2005. Like many authors, I started writing in high school. In the sixties and seventies I wrote short stories and poems influenced by those turbulent times. During the eighties, I wrote articles for The Rodder's Bulletin, a monthly newspaper for car enthusiasts. Retirement has given me time to pursue my passion for writing. Southern Cross is the first in a series of historical thrillers set in the period just before the United States officially enters World War II. Icarus Plot, the second book in the series, is a work in progress. I enjoy painting pictures with words, bringing characters to life, and watching what happens. Sometimes they surprise even me. Authors of fiction are entertainers and I hope you will be entertained by Southern Cross and my other books. I am a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association and International Thriller Writers (ITW). For information on my works in progress go to my website, MysteryAlley.com.

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 409 KB
  • Print Length: 330 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 098466100X
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B005P8CE0G
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #338,409 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By T Edges
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really didn't know whether a 'spy thriller' would be my type of book but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plenty of characters and action with an historical backdrop which was interesting and informative and not at all heavy as it flowed with the story. I found I was able to visualize the richness of the varied scenes which made me feel that this story would translate well to either the large or small screen. I don't know whether or not it would be fair to compare Southern Cross to an Agatha Christie novel but I did get the feeling of a Poirot story in the atmosphere that it invoked to me, along with various twists and turns. Certainly worth a read to take you out of your day-to-day 'now' and immerse you into a past era. I look forward to the sequel.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! Action packed adventure. 22 July 2012
By Ali
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I liked the fact that this story was set in pre-WW2 era but was blown away by the intricate workings of the plot. A shady world of intelligence and counter-intelligence with a main character driven by more than just duty. I didn't see what was coming at all. A brilliant read and I look forward to the sequel.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.5 out of 5 stars  44 reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling reading 10 Mar 2012
By George Matthew Cole - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
It's just before the outbreak of World War 2. Spies are jockeying to place their countries in an advantageous position. German agent Chris Schulte is devious and cold-blooded. Killing is no more than removing obstacles. As this master spy does dirty work under the radar, others desperately seek to uncover the truth about the dead bodies piling up.

T. C. Isbell has created a compelling mystery thriller on his first outing. Once you read a few chapters, you will be hooked. The outcome is not clear until the very end. It will be impossible to put down this book until you know what happens.

This author has a bright future. I expect that his sequel novel "Icarus Plot" will also impress.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Enticing 7 Nov 2011
By Robert K. Beecroft - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition
This will draw you in. From the very beginning, it'll get your attention with the characters, build on them, and let you get to know them. I'd not read a novel in many years, and this one really brought me back into it. I'm anxious for the sequel.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Spy Novel With a Zig & a Zag & a Zing!. 17 Mar 2012
By Mike Owens - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was hooked from the moment I opened the cover. Any spy story that opens with telegrams is just going to be good. I particularly liked T. C. Isbell's use of colorful adjectives, consistently causing the reader to really envision the settings, the characters and the scenes. It was like going back in time to the end of the Great Depression and the beginning of WWII.

Isbell's writing style alone is enough to keep one reading, but the story-line he creates is intense, exciting and fast-paced. The way he opens new chapters sort of "re-hooks" you back into the tale over and over again. IE: The first two paragraphs of Chapter 7 & the image of the old motor lodge, the Indian going up and down on the pole, the big rigs straining to make it up the steep grade... all draw images that compel one to read on.

The ending is very unexpected and you'll want to read every word right up to it and then more. Thank goodness his follow up novel, Icarus Plot, is right around the corner!

All in all a very good read that is dotted throughout with historically accurate events and phrases.

I loved it.
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