I have read 5 previous spy thrillers by Ted Bell (former head of Young and Rubicam, one of the world’s largest international advertising agencies). They were all page turners and highly enjoyable. Phantom is a welcome addition to his collection.
Lord Alexander Hawke, hero of the series, finds himself in Russia searching for his presumably dead wife. He journeys to a remote fortress on his search; what he discovers there is mind boggling. When he returns to England, MI6 is investigating a series of unexplained, and unexplainable, incidents. They include the sinking of a cruise liner by a Russian sub, explosions at Disneyworld, the complete destruction of an American missile base in Alaska, the destruction of an Israeli super stealth aircraft, and the crash of a high speed Chunnel train in St. Pancras station. Throw in an inexplicable near shoot-down of Air Force One by its fighter escorts and you have the makings of a great story. All of these tragedies are traced to an expected but possible source, a truly a scary scenario which the author talks about in an afterword.
In the endgame, Hawke and his crew take on the Iranian navy in a sea battle that will remind the reader of naval engagements of the early 19th Century. This is a great naval engagement that stretches belief, but it works.
My advice: read this book if you enjoy techno-thrillers and spy stories.
GO! BUY! READ!
—Jim Harris, retired book sales rep
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