Book details
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Blurb
Grace Backer had a life full of tragedy. But despite everything, she raised her son, Tom, with her secret intact. Tom is a prodigal child, destined to escape the slums of the East End of London for a better life; circumstances will make him flee his loving mother and their home much sooner than expected. Tom starts a new life in Odessa, Russia, and with the help of new-found friends starts a business. At last, he is finally accepted into a new and loving family, but one which holds its own dark secrets. A chance meeting with the son of a duke of the realm leads to close friendship and a new business partnership. When Tom decides to move his company to London and have his regal new friend run it, the firm thrives. However, not everything is as it seems, and Tom?s business soon conceals dangerous secrets of its own. Years later, when Tom finally decides to return to London, he is a wanted man, one hunted by the intelligence agencies. If he is finally to be reunited with his beloved mother and his best friend, he must fight to put the past behind him. But keeping secrets is never easy.
About Andy Blackman
After serving in the British Army for over twenty-five years in the Parachute Regiment, Andy Blackman today lives in Bedworth, Warwickshire and works within in the IT sector. In his spare time, he can be found visiting his three daughters and grandchildren.
The story starts off with Tom Sharapova the main character coming back to England after many years of absence.
Whilst the Intelligence services are wondering why a top assassin like Tom Sharapova has come to the UK, Tom remembers his birth and upbringing in the East end of London by his mother Grace.
Then the book changes to Grace’s story and goes back to when Grace was a Nurse during the War. Grace married and loses her baby and husband to the War.
One day another nurse Julie who is her best friends comes and tells Grace she is pregnant, unlike Grace Julie is not married, so Julie moves in with Grace to have the baby. Julie leaves the baby with Grace and flees.
Many years later when Tom is fourteen, the police arrive telling Grace Tom has been accused of murder, Grace does not believe it, but meets Tom that night in their secret place, and she believes him, before Grace met Tom she went to the dock and spoke to Ivor Sharapova the captain of a Russian cargo ship, who was the young sailor who she had met during the war, he agrees to spirit her son out of the country.
Once in Russia Tom with his new friend set up a haulage company, Tom eventually falls in love with his sister and they marry Tom taking her surname. Tom’s friend is killed in a bomb explosion, Tom finds out from Natasha’s Uncle Vlad who survived the explosion that he is head of the Odessa Mafia family and they were after him, Vlad asks Tom to run the “family Business”, while he is in hospital, Tom agrees and soon becomes a ruthless enforcer for the family.
They try and kill Vlad again, but Tom saves him, only to have his wife and daughter killed by the fleeing assassins. Tom makes a vow of vengeance over his family’s grave, going to Belize to track down the first killer. Tom starts his quest for vengeance.
After Tom is settled in Belize, he saves the life of Grenville Hampton the second son of a Duke, they become best friends, Grenville decides to stay and have an adventure with Tom, eventually Grenville learns that his older brother has been killed and he is now the next in line for the Dukedom, and must return home. After Tom’s Belize contact is killed Tom and Grenville hatch a plan for Grenville to take over Tom’s old company and set it up in the UK and still secretly track down those that killed Tom’s family. Tom learns the UK/American intelligence agencies called it Operation Bloodstone when they tried to kill his uncle.
Eventually, Tom is left with one name on the list of those involved in Operation Bloodstone, and she is now the head of MI5 in the UK.
Tom evades the British intelligence agencies whiles he is in the UK, being hidden by Grenville.
Eventually, Tom is reunited with Grace, as they try and plan how to kill the head of MI5 Toms learns from Grace that she is, in fact, his birth mother and she can get him close.
Tom meets Alice, who is Grace’s helper, and they become close, eventually they come up with a plan and once it is all over Tom asks Alice to return with him to Belize.
