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The Bureau Archives Trilogy #1
Furniture Sliders
New York, Vienna, Prague, Montevideo, Mendoza 1947. The war sputtered to an uneasy close, but in the back alleys of cities still cloaked in smoke, another kind of conflict has begun—one that plays out in shadows, half-truths, and false identities. Max Calder, a former intelligence operative, wants out. Out of the Bureau. But when a ghost from his past—the elusive agent known as Artemis—resurfaces with a warning, Calder is pulled back in.
The Bureau is chasing a secret called the Mirror—a project so classified that even its architects have vanished or been silenced. It’s said to control time, memory, even identity itself. As Calder tracks the Mirror’s echoes across empty safehouses and wartime graveyards, the lines between hunter and hunted begin to blur.
Artemis may be an ally. Or she may be a weapon. And Calder? He may not even be who he thinks he is.
As bodies pile up and truths unravel, Calder must navigate a world where nothing stays still—where every room slides just a few inches sideways when you’re not looking. In the end, he’ll face one impossible
Burn the truth… or become it.
The Bureau is chasing a secret called the Mirror—a project so classified that even its architects have vanished or been silenced. It’s said to control time, memory, even identity itself. As Calder tracks the Mirror’s echoes across empty safehouses and wartime graveyards, the lines between hunter and hunted begin to blur.
Artemis may be an ally. Or she may be a weapon. And Calder? He may not even be who he thinks he is.
As bodies pile up and truths unravel, Calder must navigate a world where nothing stays still—where every room slides just a few inches sideways when you’re not looking. In the end, he’ll face one impossible
Burn the truth… or become it.
314 pages, Paperback
Published July 23, 2025
About the author
Alexander Bentley
5 books1 followerAward-winning author Alexander Bentley is a serial entrepreneur living in California, with experience founding and leading technology companies in both the UK and the USA. He has held senior roles, including CEO, in both public and private enterprises. Over the years, he has had many technology and security-related interactions with the government, the UK Ministry of Defence, the US Department of Defense, and many aerospace and defense companies. His own technology companies have included those that address the secure communications and networking markets. Additionally, with a physics background, he is very familiar with the principles of quantum mechanics and quantum computing.
Writing under the name Alexander Bentley, he is married to Lucinda and has two grown children, Alexander (Lex) and Virginia (Ginny).
Angus Sliders is Alexander’s second Spy-Fi novel, which entangles the world of espionage with science fiction, bringing a new approach to post-World War II noir writing.
Writing under the name Alexander Bentley, he is married to Lucinda and has two grown children, Alexander (Lex) and Virginia (Ginny).
Angus Sliders is Alexander’s second Spy-Fi novel, which entangles the world of espionage with science fiction, bringing a new approach to post-World War II noir writing.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
September 18, 2025
Furniture Sliders is a post-war spy-fi romp that kicks off The Bureau Archives Trilogy with a smoky, rain-slicked bang. Set in 1947, it follows Max Calder, a former intelligence officer with holes in his memory, who is pulled back into the shadows by a mysterious woman named Artemis. A cryptic file, a vanished scientist, and a strange device known only as “the Mirror” set the stage for a chase that spans seedy New York bars, crowded transatlantic ships, and the broken glamour of Vienna. The novel threads together espionage, noir atmosphere, and science-fiction intrigue, with time manipulation simmering under its cloak-and-dagger surface.
I loved how this book felt. The writing drips with mood. Fog curling down city streets, cigarette smoke blurring the edges of a room, the distant hum of jazz over clinking glasses. The pacing dances between languid observation and sudden bursts of violence. Bentley’s style pulls you into Max’s fractured mind. We're not just following a spy, we're feeling the tug of his half-buried memories and the unease of not knowing which shadows to trust. Sometimes the dialogue leans into pulp, almost like a wink to the genre’s roots, and it works. It kept me grinning even when the stakes turned deadly.
The ideas themselves are a bold mix. The “Mirror” concept, which is a device that remembers rather than reflects, opens the door for paranoia, philosophical tangents, and deliciously weird possibilities. Bentley resists over-explaining it, letting the mystery breathe. The interplay between Artemis and Max is sharp, edged with mutual suspicion and unspoken history. There’s a lot of world-building baked into their exchanges, which I appreciated, though now and then I wanted the plot to lunge forward faster. Still, I was hooked. Even the side characters, like the poison-bead-wielding Bishop, feel like they’ve stepped out of their own fully formed novellas.
Furniture Sliders is a strong start to what promises to be a stylish, time-twisting spy trilogy. It’s a book for readers who love their thrillers with a noir heartbeat, for fans of John le Carré who won’t mind a dash of science fiction, and for anyone who likes peeling back the layers of a protagonist who isn’t even sure of himself. It’s atmospheric, it’s clever, and it leaves you wanting the next mission right away.
I loved how this book felt. The writing drips with mood. Fog curling down city streets, cigarette smoke blurring the edges of a room, the distant hum of jazz over clinking glasses. The pacing dances between languid observation and sudden bursts of violence. Bentley’s style pulls you into Max’s fractured mind. We're not just following a spy, we're feeling the tug of his half-buried memories and the unease of not knowing which shadows to trust. Sometimes the dialogue leans into pulp, almost like a wink to the genre’s roots, and it works. It kept me grinning even when the stakes turned deadly.
The ideas themselves are a bold mix. The “Mirror” concept, which is a device that remembers rather than reflects, opens the door for paranoia, philosophical tangents, and deliciously weird possibilities. Bentley resists over-explaining it, letting the mystery breathe. The interplay between Artemis and Max is sharp, edged with mutual suspicion and unspoken history. There’s a lot of world-building baked into their exchanges, which I appreciated, though now and then I wanted the plot to lunge forward faster. Still, I was hooked. Even the side characters, like the poison-bead-wielding Bishop, feel like they’ve stepped out of their own fully formed novellas.
Furniture Sliders is a strong start to what promises to be a stylish, time-twisting spy trilogy. It’s a book for readers who love their thrillers with a noir heartbeat, for fans of John le Carré who won’t mind a dash of science fiction, and for anyone who likes peeling back the layers of a protagonist who isn’t even sure of himself. It’s atmospheric, it’s clever, and it leaves you wanting the next mission right away.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review