Acknowledgments
While writing is by nature a solitary endeavor, no book comes fully to life without help from others.
My heartfelt thanks to the following people:
My parents, Robert Perry Blackwood and Kathryn Irene Blackwood. Without them none of this would be possible.
My sister, Roberta, for being first to say, “You know, you should be a…” and for her unconditional love and support.
Julie, for being the woman I thought I would never find, but did. I’m so glad you’re in my life. Dick and Jackie Robinson for taking me into their lives and hearts. You’ve helped make me a better person.
All my friends who never doubted. It’s been said that a true friend celebrates your successes as heartily as they do their own.
Nancy Beckes and Elizabeth Katzman, for their compassion and perspective.
Clive Cussler, whose novels helped create the spark.
And finally, to the people who were instrumental in making this long-held dream come true:
Jonathon Lazear, Christi Cardenas (for her saintly patience, humor, and unwavering optimism), Neil Ross, and all the folks at The Lazear Agency, who worked so hard on my behalf. You were worth the wait. I’m glad you’re on my team!
To Pam Ahearn of the The Ahearn Agency and Dan Conaway and the team at Writers House Literary Agency. I wouldn’t be here without you.
Tom Colgan, my editor at Penguin Putnam Inc./Berkley. You, too, were worth the wait. A finer editorial deity does not exist.
Thanks also to all the folks at Penguin Putnam Inc./Berkley who helped make this book the best it can be — from the copyeditors, to the typesetters, to the art department, and everyone in between.
To the gang at Diversion Books. New partners, new horizons.
To Asha of Asha Hossein Design for her fantastic cover art. You’re a pro, Asha.
More from Grant Blackwood
The second installment in the adrenaline-fueled Briggs Tanner trilogy, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.
Ghosts of the Past.
Twelve years ago, Agent Briggs Tanner snuck into China to help strategic mastermind General Han Soong defect to the West. The escape went perfectly, until, somehow, the secret police interrupted them at the final rendezvous. Tanner barely escaped, but Soong and his family were arrested, and soon thereafter they disappeared…
Threats to the Future.
Now, Soong has resurfaced. He’s contacted the CIA with the message that he needs once more to try and escape — and the only person he trusts is Briggs Tanner. But even as Tanner prepares to confront the chaos of his own past and once again challenge the authority of China’s brutal secret police, forces around the globe are watching him, waiting for the moment that will lead the world to the brink of war, and seal Tanner’s fate once and for all.
The final installment in the trilogy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.
Dinaric Alps, Bosnian region of Austrian Hungarian Empire, 1918
After four Allied soldiers stumble across a biological weapon that could bring devastation to the world, they take a vow to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Ever since, the deadly substance — code-named Kestrel — has been guarded by the descendants of those four brave men, each with the mission of keeping its existence a secret.
Chesapeake Bay, August 2003
The wife of former CIA director Jonathon Root has been kidnapped, and no one except Root himself knows who carried out the crime or why. His grandfather had been one of the soldiers responsible for stealing Kestrel, and now a group of Bosnian terrorists are trying to force Root to hand it over.
Enter agent Briggs Tanner. His mission: follow a trail through the Alps, to the heart of where it all began. At risk: Millions of lives lost, starting with his own.