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Tom Morton #1
A Piece of Blue Sky
A crime/thriller novel set in England and Afghanistan. The publisher's note says:
A tragic accident and a suspicious transaction: two small pieces of a deadly jigsaw.
DS Tom Morton and his cousin, Captain Kate Lonsdale, are each given one small piece.
Tom is trying to bury himself in work after his wife dumps him, and Kate wants to know why her boyfriend was in that crash. As they overcome their loss, they pool their resources to support each other, but they are pitted against a wily adversary who is fighting his own demons.
Squadron Leader Conrad Clarke is ordered to protect the operation – the operation that Tom is trying to destroy. Badly wounded in the crash, he finds himself being forced to choose between saving his life and saving his sanity.
Behind all three of them, the leaders of the gang are determined that no one will ever see the big picture and put all of the pieces of the jigsaw together.
As Kate and Tom get close to the truth, Clarke has to take bigger and bigger risks to keep them at bay, until all of them converge for a showdown in Essex – on Valentine’s Day.
Although complete on its own, A Piece of Blue Sky is the first volume of the Operation Jigsaw trilogy.
A tragic accident and a suspicious transaction: two small pieces of a deadly jigsaw.
DS Tom Morton and his cousin, Captain Kate Lonsdale, are each given one small piece.
Tom is trying to bury himself in work after his wife dumps him, and Kate wants to know why her boyfriend was in that crash. As they overcome their loss, they pool their resources to support each other, but they are pitted against a wily adversary who is fighting his own demons.
Squadron Leader Conrad Clarke is ordered to protect the operation – the operation that Tom is trying to destroy. Badly wounded in the crash, he finds himself being forced to choose between saving his life and saving his sanity.
Behind all three of them, the leaders of the gang are determined that no one will ever see the big picture and put all of the pieces of the jigsaw together.
As Kate and Tom get close to the truth, Clarke has to take bigger and bigger risks to keep them at bay, until all of them converge for a showdown in Essex – on Valentine’s Day.
Although complete on its own, A Piece of Blue Sky is the first volume of the Operation Jigsaw trilogy.
293 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2014
157 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Mark Hayden
27 books286 followersAuthor also writes under Ruth Ward
Mark Hayden is the nom de guerre of Adrian Attwood. He lives in Westmorland with his wife, Anne.
Adrian has had a varied career working for a brewery, teaching English and being the Town Clerk in Carnforth. He is now a part-time writer and part-time assistant in Anne's craft projects.
He is also proud to be the Mad Unky to his Great Nieces & Great Nephew.
His current writing project is the King’s Watch series of urban fantasy novels, from 13th Witch all the way down to Zero Hour. If he can keep it up.
Mark Hayden is the nom de guerre of Adrian Attwood. He lives in Westmorland with his wife, Anne.
Adrian has had a varied career working for a brewery, teaching English and being the Town Clerk in Carnforth. He is now a part-time writer and part-time assistant in Anne's craft projects.
He is also proud to be the Mad Unky to his Great Nieces & Great Nephew.
His current writing project is the King’s Watch series of urban fantasy novels, from 13th Witch all the way down to Zero Hour. If he can keep it up.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 8, 2020
Having read all of the King's Watch books currently published I decided to go back to the start, where we first meet Conrad Clarke, before he got involved in magic.
Squadron Leader Conrad Clarke is running some kind of illegal operations in Afghanistan, when one of the men wants out another member of the team injures him badly setting off a train of events that result in two men dead in a helicopter crash, a murder dressed up like a suicide, and Conrad airlifted to hospital in the UK with severe injuries to his leg.
When Conrad is well enough his former bosses in the illegal transactions want him to help ferret out someone who is double-crossing the Essex side of Operation Blue Sky.
Meanwhile, Detective Tom Morton, working for the Money Laundering Intelligence Unit in the City of London receives a tip-off from a young banking trainee that her immediate supervisor has signed off on documentation which she knows contains false information, leading him to suspicions of monely laundering. His cousin Kate Morton was in Afghanistan and dating one of the men who died as part of Clarke's cover-up, she wants to fnd out the truth about his death and is pursuing Clarke for answers.
Together Tom and Kate have two separate pieces of intelligence about Operation Blue Sky and their digging could lead to it all unravelling.
As many other reviewers have said, this is nothing like the King's Watch series. Conrad is definitely one of the bad guys here, but we do get to see him meet Mina for the first time with her husband Miles.
If you like a good detective story where sometimes the criminals are also the heroes (we mean you Conrad) then I think you'll like this, although it might be difficult to follow as it bounces around between Conrad, Tom and Kate's POV.
On to the next one.
Squadron Leader Conrad Clarke is running some kind of illegal operations in Afghanistan, when one of the men wants out another member of the team injures him badly setting off a train of events that result in two men dead in a helicopter crash, a murder dressed up like a suicide, and Conrad airlifted to hospital in the UK with severe injuries to his leg.
When Conrad is well enough his former bosses in the illegal transactions want him to help ferret out someone who is double-crossing the Essex side of Operation Blue Sky.
Meanwhile, Detective Tom Morton, working for the Money Laundering Intelligence Unit in the City of London receives a tip-off from a young banking trainee that her immediate supervisor has signed off on documentation which she knows contains false information, leading him to suspicions of monely laundering. His cousin Kate Morton was in Afghanistan and dating one of the men who died as part of Clarke's cover-up, she wants to fnd out the truth about his death and is pursuing Clarke for answers.
Together Tom and Kate have two separate pieces of intelligence about Operation Blue Sky and their digging could lead to it all unravelling.
As many other reviewers have said, this is nothing like the King's Watch series. Conrad is definitely one of the bad guys here, but we do get to see him meet Mina for the first time with her husband Miles.
If you like a good detective story where sometimes the criminals are also the heroes (we mean you Conrad) then I think you'll like this, although it might be difficult to follow as it bounces around between Conrad, Tom and Kate's POV.
On to the next one.
April 4, 2020
I have just finished the King's Watch and went back to the start with Operation Blue Sky, picking up the 3 pack. Geranium Cat has a point, the main characters are not law abiding, Clarke is amoral and a frankly pretty unpleasant chancer. However, the point is, if you want to be biblical, or not, he is a character looking for a second chance. In the King's Watch he was presented as a highly likeable rough diamond. Now we see the original, a ruthless, criminal, underhanded, self obsessed liar with very little to like. So, we are to witness his repatriation as a slightly tarnished angel ? Maybe. Portrayed before you is the original underdog, think also that he and his girlfriend are fighters and are worthwhile investing some time in. Tough, reliable, resourceful and honest to a code which whilst it may not be yours, is still a code. Read these books for what they are, adventure stories, fun, a release from the mundane and seriously well plotted and researched, albeit with a few mistakes that the editor should have picked up. You would like a comparison? Gavin Lyall" The other side of Midnight" and Major Maxim. Operation Blue Sky and the Squadron Leader Clarke series are a fabulous release and, I think, absolutely brilliant! I don't think there are any spoilers in there, if please let me know, off to read Book 2, enjoy!
November 23, 2019
I've given this book 4 stars but would have liked to give 3.5, I think... My ambivalence is moral, there are just too many important characters on the wrong side of the law and it made me just a little uncomfortable. But they are quite well-drawn and despite my initial doubts I found myself wanting to know what happened to them. This was partly because I am also reading, and really enjoying, the fantasy series (King's Watch) which includes some of the same people. I was unsure about going back to the earlier books because they are pretty much thrillers, and that's really not my thing, so the fact that I'm persisting with them is a good recommendation in itself, I guess. And by thriller standards they are pretty gentle, so that's good (I don't do grit). I'm quite surprised at an author making the transition from thriller to fantasy, especially using the same characters, but it's worked well.
January 9, 2020
Just as good as Kings watch
I didn't think I'd like this as much as the Kings watch books, because I like my mystery/thrillers to have at least a little fantasy in, and these don't really, not unless you know where to look, hard. But they are excellent, great pacing as ever, engaging characters, much more shades of grey than the layer books which actually makes the characters even more compelling, and still incredibly gripping even though l've read the books that come after, so I broadly know what happens to a lot of the main characters. Absolutely brilliant. I'll be up all night again, reading the next one.
I didn't think I'd like this as much as the Kings watch books, because I like my mystery/thrillers to have at least a little fantasy in, and these don't really, not unless you know where to look, hard. But they are excellent, great pacing as ever, engaging characters, much more shades of grey than the layer books which actually makes the characters even more compelling, and still incredibly gripping even though l've read the books that come after, so I broadly know what happens to a lot of the main characters. Absolutely brilliant. I'll be up all night again, reading the next one.
January 21, 2020
Although this trilogy was written before the King's Watch series, I am reading it after reading the first few of those series, so it was a bit strange for me to adjust to Conrad being a) not the main character and b) really quite unpleasant. I found that deeply unsettling and I never really got over that. This book is a more straightforward crime drama and therefore a lot simpler than the more complex urban fantasy genre of the other series. It's fine, and there are still some vibrant and interesting characters, but in a crowded genre, it doesn't really stand out, and if not for the connection to the other series I probably would not have bothered reading it.
June 4, 2021
[The Operation Jigsaw trilogy is a series of novels that introduce us to Conrad Clarke and several other characters whose stories are explored more fully in the much longer King’s Watch series of novels and short stories. This review covers the entire trilogy instead of the individual tales. I read them between April 28 and May 31 of 2021. That alone should tell you almost all you need to know about how strong - and how addictive - these stories are.]
Although I read these three novels after I’d started Hayden’s much longer and more in-depth King’s Watch series, which tells of many of the same characters and their back stories, they were no less enjoyable for that. In fact, the severe shift in world views made the stories different enough that they were almost as much fun as Watch tales.
At their center is one Conrad Clarke, a RAF helicopter pilot deployed in Afghanistan at the time the stories take place. We quickly learn that Clarke is, along with several of his military colleagues, involved in some less-than-legal activities that reverberate all the way back home in the UK.
These three novels give as much, or more, attention to Tom Norton, a talented detective with the Metropolitan Police in London. Though his background is in money laundering and fraud, he’s not at all afraid to get involved in more direct and dangerous investigations. Tom and his cousin Kate, also deployed in Afghanistan for a while, slowly connect the crimes they’re investigating in England with some of the actions Clarke and his team are conducting in Afghanistan.
While The King’s Watch stories all have very deep supernatural aspects, these three are entirely magic-free. Having read the Watch stories first it was a little jarring to read about Conrad’s and Tom’s lives and relationships without that element. Soon, mainly because the storytelling is so good and the characters and their actions so compelling, that was not a sticking point, or a barrier to the suspension of my disbelief.
Like most great tales, nobody in this one is ever simply black and white; most live in the very gray in-between areas that are always more interesting than the poles of Good and Bad. Even though Conrad never hesitates to bend the rules, military and otherwise, we know he’s not an inherently evil person. He remains conflicted and definitely has lines he will not cross. To be sure there are some Big Bads that are totally bad, and some Good characters that are almost always pure and good, but Conrad and his team are all flawed in some deep way. Often times these flaws are physical as well as mental or spiritual; I don’t think I’ve ever come across a story where so many of the principals are so scarred and battle-worn, from facial deformities, to slow-to-heal broken or replaced bones, to the shrapnel scars left by survivors of explosions, no one seems safe from some sort of physical tragedy or impairment. None of them are truly whole, or who they were before the trials they’ve lived or are living through.
Though these books can be read quickly, the ebb and flow of the action is set at a very manageable and natural pace. I’m not sure I could have read all of them so quickly otherwise.
I can’t recommend these books highly enough for anyone who likes their stories loaded with action and adventure, intrigue, heroism (and its counterpart), and even a little romance. You will not be disappointed.
Although I read these three novels after I’d started Hayden’s much longer and more in-depth King’s Watch series, which tells of many of the same characters and their back stories, they were no less enjoyable for that. In fact, the severe shift in world views made the stories different enough that they were almost as much fun as Watch tales.
At their center is one Conrad Clarke, a RAF helicopter pilot deployed in Afghanistan at the time the stories take place. We quickly learn that Clarke is, along with several of his military colleagues, involved in some less-than-legal activities that reverberate all the way back home in the UK.
These three novels give as much, or more, attention to Tom Norton, a talented detective with the Metropolitan Police in London. Though his background is in money laundering and fraud, he’s not at all afraid to get involved in more direct and dangerous investigations. Tom and his cousin Kate, also deployed in Afghanistan for a while, slowly connect the crimes they’re investigating in England with some of the actions Clarke and his team are conducting in Afghanistan.
While The King’s Watch stories all have very deep supernatural aspects, these three are entirely magic-free. Having read the Watch stories first it was a little jarring to read about Conrad’s and Tom’s lives and relationships without that element. Soon, mainly because the storytelling is so good and the characters and their actions so compelling, that was not a sticking point, or a barrier to the suspension of my disbelief.
Like most great tales, nobody in this one is ever simply black and white; most live in the very gray in-between areas that are always more interesting than the poles of Good and Bad. Even though Conrad never hesitates to bend the rules, military and otherwise, we know he’s not an inherently evil person. He remains conflicted and definitely has lines he will not cross. To be sure there are some Big Bads that are totally bad, and some Good characters that are almost always pure and good, but Conrad and his team are all flawed in some deep way. Often times these flaws are physical as well as mental or spiritual; I don’t think I’ve ever come across a story where so many of the principals are so scarred and battle-worn, from facial deformities, to slow-to-heal broken or replaced bones, to the shrapnel scars left by survivors of explosions, no one seems safe from some sort of physical tragedy or impairment. None of them are truly whole, or who they were before the trials they’ve lived or are living through.
Though these books can be read quickly, the ebb and flow of the action is set at a very manageable and natural pace. I’m not sure I could have read all of them so quickly otherwise.
I can’t recommend these books highly enough for anyone who likes their stories loaded with action and adventure, intrigue, heroism (and its counterpart), and even a little romance. You will not be disappointed.
January 18, 2021
A competently constructed and entertaining contemporary crime thriller, page-turningly addictive and not as grim and miserable as the genre can be, though violent things do keep happening. Character development is often not a priority in this kind of book but all the main characters here were likeable and had more than cardboard relationships. Conrad Clarke, the 'villain' POV character, is especially interesting: suave, self-interested, casually dishonest, but quick-thinking, he is tremendous fun. I kept thinking he might have walked out of a Dennis Wheatley thriller.
October 3, 2023
Great start
I finally got to read how Conrad and Mina meet. OK, so I've been reading the books on the wrong order, should have started with this, then gone on to The King's Watch! But I probably wouldn't have chosen a crime thriller if I hadn't already got to know Mark Hayden's writing. As it is, I'm enjoying the start of this series... no dragons, no moles but some very clever and morish story lines. Definitely worth continuing with the next in the series.
I finally got to read how Conrad and Mina meet. OK, so I've been reading the books on the wrong order, should have started with this, then gone on to The King's Watch! But I probably wouldn't have chosen a crime thriller if I hadn't already got to know Mark Hayden's writing. As it is, I'm enjoying the start of this series... no dragons, no moles but some very clever and morish story lines. Definitely worth continuing with the next in the series.
June 10, 2021
“That” was a lovely Surprise!
Didn’t think I was going to enjoy this as I like the urban fantasy setting this has come from. So seeing as we are waiting for the next Conrad & irregulars book I thought I’d give it a try.
However as per all the other works of the author, this was a dam fine read & made me pause the four others I was dipping into.
Bring on the next one.
Didn’t think I was going to enjoy this as I like the urban fantasy setting this has come from. So seeing as we are waiting for the next Conrad & irregulars book I thought I’d give it a try.
However as per all the other works of the author, this was a dam fine read & made me pause the four others I was dipping into.
Bring on the next one.
May 6, 2023
excellent! I came to this series after reading the Kings Watch and Conrad has a dark past. I wasn’t sure i liked him as he’s clearly amoral in this series, but who doesn’t love a rogue… beautifully written and it’s not the sort of book i usually read but i will be reading the series as it’s irresistible.
July 23, 2020
I downloaded the first of the Kings Watch series and saw that this was the first of a preceding trilogy starring the same characters so I felt I had to read these beforehand.
Not my usual genre but was pleasantly surprised. A great story with well fleshed out characters.
Now to read book two.
Not my usual genre but was pleasantly surprised. A great story with well fleshed out characters.
Now to read book two.
August 24, 2020
I've read all of the author, Mark Hayden's books now but out of order so I can't quite review them without giving too many spoilers. Just believe me when I tell you they're worth your time and you will become addicted.
November 27, 2021
A joy to read
Amazing characters with questionable morals you can't help side with and typical British humor. Alongside a stomping story line.
What's not to love!
Amazing characters with questionable morals you can't help side with and typical British humor. Alongside a stomping story line.
What's not to love!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews