“In the aftermath of deadly attacks upon British Intelligence assets, DTU operative Ryan Kerrek realises that someone will use extreme tactics to thwart his attempts to identify Caracal, the MI6 traitor.
Encountering hit squads in Cornwall, Kerrek learns that he has been targeted for assassination. Kerrek has to find the truth behind the plot while an adversary with a vendetta pursues him to the remotest corners of Great Britain.
A disgraced former spymaster claims to have proof about the elusive Caracal, but the source is untrusted by all at DTU. With MI6 at imminent risk of being decommissioned by the British Government, Kerrek must retrieve the vital data before confronting his nemesis.”
A little admission here. Although I had most of the story arc figured out when plotting the RYAN KERREK books, and I obviously knew who the traitor was, I didn’t know how Kerrek would crack the mystery until I’d almost finalised the structure of HUNTING CARACAL. In other words, I solved it when he did.
My writing is a mixture of plotting and improvising. It’s a risky strategy but hopefully it works; the goal is to make it look like I had everything planned from day one, even if the truth is less impressive. Harlan Coben describes the method best as a road trip: you know where you want to go but end up taking a few detours along the way.
It doesn’t take long for Kerrek to run into trouble in HUNTING CARACAL; an incident in his home county of Cornwall delays his investigation of the MI6 conspiracy but ends up being significant. This time it appears he can turn the situation to his advantage, but nothing in Kerrek’s world is ever that straightforward.
Although the HELIX and KERREK books have formal protagonists – Alex Hannay and Ryan Kerrek respectively, of course – I’ve realised that Charlotte Black and Jack Caldwell are equally important characters. Their presence and association provide the framework for all the novels. In many ways the books belong to them.
I’m thrilled to have reached my seventh novel with HUNTING CARACAL. When I started STATION HELIX I didn’t imagine that it would become a two-part series of seven novels and a short story. Will I return to these themes and characters? Possibly, if the right idea finds its way into my imagination.
STORE LINKS
