Though he still makes California his home, he has traveled extensively to such destinations as Ho Chi Minh City, Berlin, Singapore, London, Paris, and Bangkok, all of which play parts in his current and upcoming Jonathan Quinn thrillers.
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The job seemed simple enough: investigating a suspicious case of arson. But when a dead body turns up where it doesn’t belong–and Quinn’s handlers at “the Office” turn strangely silent–he knows he’s in over his head. With only a handful of clues, Quinn scrambles for cover, struggling to find out why someone wants him dead . . . and if it’s linked to a larger attempt to wipe out the Office.
The Cleaner
Quinn’s only hope may be Orlando, a woman from his past who’s reluctant to help but who may hold the key to solving the case. Suddenly the two are prying into old crimes, crisscrossing continents, struggling to stay alive long enough to unbury the truth. But as the hunt intensifies, Quinn is stunned by what he uncovers: a chilling secret . . . and a brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy–with an almost unimaginable goal.
Furiously paced, filled with superbly drawn characters and pitch-perfect dialogue, The Cleaner puts a powerful twist on all our expectations as it confirms Brett Battles’s place as one of the most exciting new talents in suspense fiction today.]]>
Until a week ago, Jenny Fuentes was an assistant to an ambitious congressman. Now Jenny is missing, too, and a lot of man power is making sure she isn't found. But Quinn has his own man power. He has tools that can pry into secrets held anywhere in the world. He has the skill to trade blows with killers and spies. And he has covert weapons: his eager and smart apprentice, Nate, and brilliant Orlando, his closest friend, who's saved his life more than once.
Racing from the corridors of power in Washington to the bustling streets of Singapore, Quinn won't stop until he uncovers the truth behind his friend's violent death, the astounding reason Jenny has vanished and what she knows about the most explosive deception of all.]]>
The meeting place was carefully chosen: an abandoned church in rural Ireland just after dark. For Jonathan Quinn--a freelance operative and professional “cleaner”--the job was only to observe. If his cleanup skills were needed, it would mean things had gone horribly wrong. But an assassin hidden in a tree assured just that. And suddenly Quinn had four dead bodies to dispose of and one astounding clue--to a mystery that is about to spin wildly out of control.
Three jobs, no questions. That was the deal Quinn had struck with his client at the Office. Unfortunately for him, Ireland was just the first. Now Quinn, along with his colleague and girlfriend--the lethal Orlando--has a new assignment touched off by the killings in Ireland. Their quarry is a U.N. aide worker named Marion Dupuis who has suddenly disappeared from her assignment in war-torn Africa. When Quinn finally catches a glimpse of her, she quickly flees, frantic and scared. And not alone.
For Quinn the assignment has now changed. Find Marion Dupuis, and the child she is protecting, and keep them from harm. If it were only that easy.
Soon Quinn and Orlando find themselves in a bunker in the California hills, where Quinn will unearth a horrifying plot that is about to reach stage critical for a gathering of world leaders--and an act of terror more cunning, and more insidious, than anyone can guess.
Fast, smart, sleek, and stunning, Shadow of Betrayal is vintage Brett Battles: a gritty, gripping masterpiece of suspense, a thriller that makes the pulse pound--and stirs the heart as well.
<hr size="1"><span class="h1">Amazon Exclusive: Brett Battles on Shadow of Betrayal</span>
When I wrote my first Jonathan Quinn novel, The Cleaner, I had no idea I was writing what would become the first of a series. It was just the book that was in me at the time. I had this idea about a character who was a freelance operative with the specialty of making bodies disappear. Most times his assignments would go off smoothly, but it was the times they didn’t that I would write about.Then a friend suggested this wasn’t just one book; it was a series. As soon as he said it, I realized he was right. Creating a Quinn series immediately appealed to my sense of story. I’ve always loved the idea of following characters over several novels. I love to see them grow and change, and to see the turns their lives take.
I don’t know about you, but along with a deep love of reading, I also grew up watching television. There were a lot of shows I would watch faithfully, such as Emergency, MASH, and The Rockford Files.
But the thing that used to frustrate me, and by frustrate I mean drive me crazy, was seeing things happen to the main characters in one episode, and in the next episode it was like those things had never happened. The characters didn’t learn anything from the past. It was like they reset to zero and started over every week. And what about those cool guest characters that sometimes showed up? Why did they have to be there for only one episode?
I wanted more. I wanted story arcs that were longer than just a single episode. I wanted things that happened one week to affect what happened the next. And I wanted minor characters to last for more than one episode, and even when they were gone, I didn’t want them forgotten.
This experience, this desire, influenced my writing without me even realizing it. When I looked back at even early drafts of The Cleaner, I realized that I had set up different storylines that I could carry forward into the next book and beyond. So when I started to write The Deceived the second Quinn book, I already had a rich history to draw on and expand.
And when I wrote the latest Quinn novel, Shadow of Betrayal, it was even easier. Quinn’s world has, in many ways, become second nature to me. I don’t even have to think about what he’s going to do in any given situation, I just know. But even all that said, there are times when Quinn surprises me.
In Shadow of Betrayal we see Quinn go up against perhaps his greatest foe. And we also begin to get a glimpse of Quinn’s life before he became a cleaner, a life he has tried hard to hide.
But there is another aspect of writing a series that an author must pay close attention to, one that is as important as the continuing evolution of the characters. A series writer must create novels that also stand on their own. A new reader should be able to come to a series at any book--the first, the fourth, the sixth, or even the last--and still have a fulfilling and enjoyable experience. It can’t be a prerequisite that the reader reads from the first book to the most recent.
It’s a challenge, yes. But an enjoyable one. Just another part of the puzzle in building the world that--in my case--Quinn calls home. --Brett Battles
(Photo © Moses Sparks)
]]>Two years after the events of the Audiobook of the Year - The Chopin Manuscript - former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton and his Volunteers once again must crack a secretive conspiracy that not only threatens their lives, but the stability of the world. Their race against time will take them from London to the U.S. to Russia and beyond. And at the heart of it all is one question: What is the secret of the Copper Bracelet?
Sixteen of the world's greatest thriller writers collaborated on The Copper Bracelet. Once again, as he did with The Chopin Manuscript, Jeffery Deaver wrote the first chapter. Then, each successive author wrote a chapter in turn, finally returning it to Deaver to complete this thrilling sequel.]]>
The Chopin Manuscript
Former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton possesses a previously unknown score by Frédéric Chopin. But he is unaware that, locked within its handwritten notes, lies a secret that now threatens the lives of thousands of Americans.
The Copper Bracelet
Harold Middleton returns in this explosive sequel to The Chopin Manuscript as he’s drawn into an international terror plot that threatens to send India and Pakistan into full-scale nuclear war.
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