I hope events in my stories occasionally catch readers by surprise; as the author I don’t expect to be shocked myself, but that happened in TORUS. When you read the book you’ll know which scene I’m talking about; it affects Alex profoundly because it recalls a tragedy from the first book. It was a horrible scene to write.

But exploring the idea of a spymaster cabal influencing governments and global events was enormous fun. There were also a few subplots from the previous book which I’d deliberately left open; TORUS tracks down Chris Loner and gives him a purpose while Alex (seemingly) withdraws from his own role.

Conspiracy and betrayal are, unsurprisingly, major themes in TORUS, but I also wanted to explore deeper relationships between characters and the manipulation of narratives by the state. If you’re a SPOOKS fan you’ll probably see the influence of that superb television drama on this novel.

After spending a lot of time with these characters, I had the choice of abandoning them for an unrelated project or seeing what might happen next. With the DTU established, I began to think about a spin-off series with a new protagonist. Set roughly two years later, the new series begins with SINISTER BETRAYAL.

However, before you start the RYAN KERREK books, make sure you read SHORT FUSE, my prequel short story for the STATION HELIX novels. It takes place in Italy and tells how CIA station chief Jack Caldwell met Alessandra Spada and her father during an incident which I mentioned but did not explain in TORUS.

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