Comfort Publishing, 2012
ISBN 978-1-936695-48-5
ISBN 978-1-936695-84-3
Book #2 in the Aleksandr Talanov thriller series
Twitter: #grecosgame
EXPANDED COVER SYNOPSIS:
Colonel Aleksandr Talanov -- the “ice man” -- is
married to a woman he wishes he could love. But he can’t, and it's an
ugly consequence of his training with the KGB. Even so, no one should
have to experience what Talanov experiences:
the brutal murder of his wife in front of
his eyes.
Wracked with guilt and suspected of plotting her death, Talanov spirals
downward on a path of self-destruction. He should have been
killed, not her. Hewas the one whose violent past would not
leave them alone. Months tick by and Talanov hits rock bottom on the
mean streets of Los Angeles, where he meets a hooker named Larisa, who
drugs and robs him.
But in the seedy world of prostitution and human trafficking ruled by the Russian mafia,
this hooker made the big mistake of stealing the ice man’s wallet. In it was
Talanov’s sole possession of value: his wedding photo. Talanov tracks
Larisa down to get that photo because it reminds him of everything
that should have been but never was, and never would be because an assassin’s bullet had
mistakenly killed his wife.
Or was it a mistake?
The answer lies in Greco’s Game, a chess match played in 1619
that is famous for its Queen sacrifice and checkmate in only eight
moves. In an unusual alliance, Talanov and Larisa team up to begin
unraveling the mystery of what Talanov’s old KGB chess instructor
regarded as the most brilliant example of how to trap and kill an
opponent.
The question is: who was the target?
PRAISE FOR GRECO'S GAME
• Talanov...dark sexy hero for the new
millennium
(National Bestselling author,
Jordan Dane)
FROM THE BACK COVER:
Department Thirteen -- the assassination and sabotage unit of the KGB --
never officially existed. But retired KGB colonel Aleksandr Talanov
knows that it did, and it’s but one of the many secrets he’s worked hard
to forget.
Now living in Australia, Talanov and dozens of dinner guests are
suddenly the target of assassins. Talanov and his wife are mistakenly
spared, but soon find themselves running for their lives, hunted by the
killers, blamed by the police, increasingly pivotal to an invisible
network of death about which they know nothing.
But someone thinks they know.
For in 1983, a second Department Thirteen was created, and Talanov
discovers they have but one purpose: to
kill him, whatever the cost.
PRAISE FOR DEPARTMENT THIRTEEN:
•
"Best Thriller, 2011" (USA Book News)
• "Ludlumesque"
(Rick Koster,
The Dallas Morning News)
It's antagonism versus
attraction as a headstrong, rookie profiler with the CIA competes with a
charming Texas journalist to identify and stop a notorious terrorist.
FROM THE BACK COVER:
Abu Nazer is the world's most elusive terrorist. His
identity is unknown, his list of crimes -- unimaginable. But
Abu Nazer knows the CIA is closing in. Which is why he must
change identities.
He devises a scheme involving an ancient stone tablet
discovered in the Sinai Peninsula in 1919. The tablet makes
a stunning declaration about Jerusalem that has the CIA
running scared. They fear he will use it to ignite
Armageddon. And Abu Nazer has been using that fear against
them because someone at the Agency has been leaking him
information.
Analyst Zoe Gustaves stumbles onto the leak and begins
digging for answers. But all she finds are more questions.
Seeking answers can be deadly when everyone has secrets.
PRAISE FOR THE IDENTITY
FACTOR:
• Winner of four finalist awards: The
National Best Books
Awards, The Eric
Hoffer Award, The Next
Generation Indie
Book Awards, The Indie
Excellence Book
Awards.
• I
love a great villain. Great villains
demand great heroes and
The Identity
Factor has both (Adoni
Maropis, AKA
Abu Fayed, Season 6 of
the hit television
series, 24)
• Turner is King of the Cliffhanger (Glenda
Shaw, two-time Emmy Award
nominee)
• One of those searing, cliffhanger books
that simply defy you to
put the thing
down (Samela Harris, The
Advertiser)
• One killer of a thriller...a Jason-Bourne-
meets-The-DaVinci-Code
kind of mystery
inside a puzzle (LA's the
Place magazine)
• Remiscent of The DaVinci Code,
Turner
does a fantastic job of
holding your
interest captive until
you just can't take it
anymore (Marian Jeffords,
Apex
Reviews)
• Layered identities are one of the many
surprises that await
readers in this
magnificent,
staccato-paced thriller
(Bookstew,
Valley Scene Magazine)
• Turner is a master at tension and
suspense. Dan Brown,
Ludlum, Grisham,
Patterson, Child...you
can now add James
Houston Turner to that
esteemed list
(Daniel Cann,
www.danielcann.com)