Old Enemies - Tapa blanda

'The son of a newspaper owner in possession of damning political documents has been abducted and ex-soldier Harry Jones is called upon to find him. Allies are scarce as Harry realises loss of life in this political game is inevitable but who will live and who must die?' 5 stars Daily Express 25/2 'Prolific best-selling author Michael Dobbs - recently ennobled as Lord Dobbs - has once again produced a first-class thriller that is hard to put down. Their lordships would be justified in wondering what new ideas for novels he might acquire as a result of having joined their ranks...An evil African politician, horribly sadistic abductors, millions of pounds in ransom money and a romantic link between Jones and Ruari's mother are among the ingredients of this sizzling thriller, party set in the picturesque city of Trieste' Press Association 17/2 'I believe we have a duty to think of others, and that can be a wonderful way of making our own lives better' How to Give It feature, Financial Times 22/2 'The previous night, he explains, he voted against the Government over an amendment on the AV Referendum. The Government had lost the debate by a single vote..."Which puts me on the naughty step, and I shall probably be thoroughly punished...I keep asking myself: am I here as a writer or as a politician, or a bit of each? And then I say to myself, there are plenty of politicians here - maybe the odd writer wouldn't be a bad thing around the place' ... Old Enemies is the kind of dependable, pacy, well-observed thriller for which he can be relied upon.' Interview, The Scotsman 19/2

In the Swiss Alps a teenage girl is thrown from a helicopter and her boyfriend is brutally abducted to Trieste, a city filled with undercurrents of past hatreds. Ruari, son of Irish media owner J J Breslin, is in desperate danger, at the mercy of ruthless kidnappers making impossible demands. His terrified mother contacts the only person she knows can help her son: Harry Jones, her former lover, who she walked out on many years ago. Now memories of their passionate affair, the guilt, hurt, anger and humiliation, come flooding back. Time is running out for Ruari and Harry, torn between his loyalties, is quickly drawn into a political game played for high stakes. Far higher than he realizes...