Under the guise of investigating money laundering via high-end art purchases in Europe, Royce finds himself in Switzerland with only sketchy information, no backup, and without a single weapon other than his wits.
His appointment with a gallery owner in Geneva is a dead end--the man is on the floor with a bullet through his chest. But it turns out Royce does have backup. The Mossad has sent someone to keep an eye on this undercover op, which is of more than casual interest to the Israelis. And it's someone Royce knows.
I've been so excited about the direction that Davis Bunn has taken in his writing career over the last couple of years. From the early years of writing his Regency era romance stories, to his contemporary novels such as "Elixir", I thoroughly enjoy his latest foray into the action adventure genre with these Marc Royce novels.
Read Chapters 1-3 of Strait of Hormuz for FREE HERE
Marc Royce is back in this, the third and final installment in this action-packed series by Davis Bunn. Marc has traveled all of the world in the previous books and finds himself in Switzerland in this new novel. Expecting to meet up with an informant, Marc finds the gallery owner dead. Now, seemingly without backup, Marc has to continue on with this undercover op. Unbeknownst to Marc, though, an important figure from his past is back to help him struggle through the current operation. Without the official backing of his own government or any other government agency in the different countries he must use all the back channels he can to discover the threat that has him zeroing in at the Strait of Hormuz. Are there really nuclear weapons being shipped through the Strait? What is the final target of the terrorists? Who is providing help to Marc along the way? Are these people friends or foes? Begin your own undercover op when you BUY THE BOOK!!!
Mr. Bunn provides us with a fitting end to this great series. While the body-count and action scenes aren't as plentiful as in the first couple of books, there is still a great story-line that is easy to follow. The character of Marc Royce continues to be a very godly man, using his spirituality to help in his decision making throughout the different situations in the book. I appreciate seeing how a "manly man" can still be humbled before God and drawn to a personal relationship with Him. This book, and the character traits that Mr. Bunn has given to his character, should be read by everyone.
Is this a "guy's book"? This is a tremendous book with foreign goverments, terrorists, global travels and more. With the addition of seeing a strong man bring his faith to his daily walk, this book is definitely a "guy's book".
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Q: The first two
books in the Marc Royce series have been bestsellers and also won praise from
the critics. Lion of Babylon won the
Library Journal’s Best Book of 2011 award, and Rare Earth won the 2013 Christy Award for Suspense Fiction. What do
you see is behind this success?
Davis Bunn: The
stories have certainly resonated with readers. I have tried to develop a strong
sense of unfolding drama, combined with a unique spiritual theme. This moral
structure plays out both in the story and the characters. My aim is to create
an inspirational challenge that remains with the reader long after the book has
been set down.
Q: This story includes two special
components from your early life. Tell us about them.
DB: My mother worked as an antiques dealer. In truth, ‘work’ was not really
the correct term, because this was a passion she inherited from her mother. They
bonded while my mom was still a child, going to small eastern Carolina towns
and hunting around junk stores for the sort of bargains that don’t exist anymore.
Their first love
was early Americana, a type of colonial furniture known as Jacobean that predated
America’s nationhood. I never really shared this passion, but in two previous
books I came to respect and admire those who do.
And so I knew a
great delight in re-entering this world in Strait
of Hormuz, only this time at the very highest end. Strait takes place in the rarified world of multi-million dollar
art, where the richest of collectors vie with museums and galleries for items
that are no longer classed as antiques, but rather as treasures
The second special
component was the location. I lived in Switzerland for almost five years, and
many of the venues were places where I worked, and walked, and came to discover
myself as an author.
Q: In what way is the
setting important to this book?
DB: The Strait of
Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical waterways. Stretching between Iran and
the Gulf States, the strait us home to two US fleets. More than a third of all
the oil consumed worldwide pass through these waters. But the story actually
begins in Switzerland, before traveling to the Sinai and then into the
hotly-contested Strait of Hormuz.
Q: What spiritual
theme is the focus of this story?
DB: One growing
area of the missionary church movement is with displaced persons. More than
five million Iranians have been expelled from their homeland, or been forced to
flee the current regime. This includes virtually the entire Christian
population. The missionary church movement has made enormous strides in
bringing peace to these families and introducing Christ into the world of
Muslims fleeing a Muslim government.
Q: What drew you to
the missionary church movement as a theme?
DB: I came to
faith in a missionary church. I was working as a consultant based in Germany.
The year I accepted Christ, the Southern Baptist Mission Board founded a
missionary church in Dusseldorf. I attended the church, I grew in the church, I
studied under two amazing pastors, and one of them returned to Europe to marry
us.
It was also where I learned to write. Two weeks after coming
to faith, I felt called to writing. I wrote for nine years and completed seven
books before my first was accepted for publication. The church, its members,
and the elders all played a critical role in bringing me to where I am now. I
am living testimony to the vital role played by the missionary church.
Q: All three of the
books in this series have given significant insight into the Muslim world,
something critics have picked up on. What experience do you have with this
region?
DB: For the four
years prior to moving to Germany, I lived and worked in the Middle East. I was
the only non-Muslim in the management structure of a family-owned company. They
had three major arms: construction equipment, shipping, and pharmaceuticals. I
rose to become Marketing Manager of the pharmaceutical division.
One of the requirements of this job was to take instruction
in the Koran and Islamic history from an imam who taught at the local
university. I think this experience played a major role in my coming to Christ.
Davis Bunn is a
four-time Christy Award-winning, best-selling author now serving as
writer-in-residence at Regent's Park College, Oxford University in the United
Kingdom. Defined by readers and reviewers as a "wise teacher,"
"gentleman adventurer," "consummate writer," and
"Renaissance man," his work in business took him to over 40 countries
around the world, and his books have sold more than seven million copies in
sixteen languages.
Strait of Hormuz is the series finale of the popular Marc Royce Adventures.
Library Journal named Lion of Babylon (Book
1) a “Best Book of 2011.” Rare
Earth (Book 2) won the 2013 Christy Award for best suspense novel and was a
CBA top 20 best-seller.
Help Davis Bunn celebrate the publication of “Strait of
Hormuz.” Enter to win His & Hers Luxury Swiss Watches or a $150 Amazon Gift
Card! http://woobox.com/ipi8wk. You can enter once per email address per day. Rack
up bonus entries by sharing the contest with your Facebook and Twitter friends!
No comments:
Post a Comment