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A Long Shadow (An Antonia Conti Thriller Book 1) Kindle Edition
In this dystopian vision of London, public safety is in private hands—and nobody is beyond the reach of the ‘law’.
The constant threat of terrorism has left London under round-the-clock surveillance and in the tightening grip of privatised security firms. Journalist Antonia Conti suspects one such organisation—GRM—not only of being behind several women’s disappearances, but of financing the widespread violence it claims to fight.
When a gang of hitmen use rampant state surveillance to track Antonia down, she narrowly escapes with her life. But then one of them turns up dead—covered in her DNA—and Antonia finds herself the prime suspect in his murder.
DS Russell Chapman needs to bring her in. But evidence that Antonia has been framed quickly stacks up and when a personal grudge between her and GRM’s shadowy head of security is revealed, he begins an uncomfortable partnership with her.
Together, the pair delve beneath the surface of the corporate machine and soon find themselves embroiled in a dark and violent underworld even they had barely dared imagine. Will they find the evidence to bring GRM down? And can they keep Antonia’s name off the list of missing women?
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherThomas & Mercer
- Publication dateOctober 1, 2022
- File size5255 KB
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From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Fans of not-quite-superhuman heroes will eagerly embrace this series kickoff. Pow!” —Kirkus Reviews
“A heartstopping thriller that will take your breath away.” —The Sun
“A Long Shadow is a fast, thrilling ride through a world we can almost, but not quite, recognize.” —LoveReading
“A Long Shadow is a terrific, high-octane crime thriller with a frighteningly plausible plot. Antonia Conti is a superb creation—fierce, dogged and loyal—and I can’t wait to see what she gets up to next.” —M. W. Craven, author of the Washington Poe series
“All too plausible, with complex characters and breakneck action.” —Antony Johnston, author of Atomic Blonde
“A gripping thriller that presents an all too plausible vision of a dystopian future. A Long Shadow by David Beckler is a propulsive and thought-provoking read.” —Adam Hamdy, author of Black 13
From the Publisher
Based in a slightly alternate version of London where terrorism is a threat at every turn and the public are subject to strict laws and curfews, journalist Antonia uncovers evidence that those in power are funding the violence that keeps stringent lockdowns in place. Fueled by a powerful sense of justice, she risks her life by going undercover in an effort to unearth the shady and sinister plot of the big corporations.
A Long Shadow is an adrenaline-pumping, action-packed thriller—but the icing on the cake is the cast of colorful characters who are battling for good alongside Antonia. As Antonia develops an unlikely working relationship with Russell Chapman, a detective coming round to her way of thinking, you are plunged into an against-the-clock fight to bring down Antonia’s new enemies—before they do the same to her. I’ve been left desperate for more of Antonia’s world, and I hope you are too!
—Victoria Haslam, Editor
About the Author
David Beckler writes fast-paced action thrillers populated with well-rounded characters. Born in Addis Ababa in 1960, David spent his first eight years living on an agricultural college in rural Ethiopia where his love of reading developed. After dropping out of university he became a firefighter and served nineteen years before leaving to start his own business.
David began writing in 2010 and uses his work experiences to add realism to his fiction. David lives in Manchester, his adopted home since 1984. In his spare time, he tries to keep fit—an increasingly difficult undertaking—listens to music, socialises and feeds his voracious book habit.
Product details
- ASIN : B09HQQNP33
- Publisher : Thomas & Mercer (October 1, 2022)
- Publication date : October 1, 2022
- Language : English
- File size : 5255 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 409 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 154203468X
- Best Sellers Rank: #734,430 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #423 in Financial Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- #1,238 in Financial Thrillers (Books)
- #1,270 in Conspiracy Thrillers (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
I write fast-paced action thrillers populated with well-rounded characters.
Born in Addis Ababa in 1960, I spent my first eight years living on an agricultural college in rural Ethiopia where my love of reading developed. After dropping out of university I became a firefighter and served 19 years before leaving to start my own business.
I began writing in 2010 and use my work experiences to add realism to my fiction.
The Mason and Sterling series centre on two ex-Royal Marines, Byron who now runs a security company and Adam who is a firefighter. A strong cast of characters support my protagonists. Long Stop Books published Brotherhood, the first novel in the series, in September 2019 and the second, The Profit Motive, on December 16th 2019. The third, Unprotected, will come out in early 2020. Brotherhood is set in Manchester and The Profit Motive in Manchester and Wenzhou, China.
I live in Manchester, my adopted home since 1984. In my spare time I try to keep fit—an increasingly difficult undertaking—listen to music, socialise and feed my voracious book habit.
Get a free copy of Forged in Flames, the opening Mason and Sterling novella when you sign up to my mailing list. https://dl.bookfunnel.com/vyox15ikyl
Website: www.davidbeckler.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbecklerauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@DavidBeckler1
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonTop reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2022I was a lucky winner of this story in a Goodreads giveaway. The story was interesting but a little slow at the beginning. Once the crime started to unfold the story became intriguing. Nice overall read.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2024good book
- Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2023Antonia, abused by Mishkin in the past, encounters him as security chief of a major corporation trying to privatize many functions of the local police force.
Sargent Chapman initially suspects Antonia as a killer, but is convinced she is a victim instead. The book is a rollicking series of fights, captures and escapes. I can’t wait to read book 2.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2023Two stars because the author wrote a completed novel. The male lead was unpleasant and unappealing in every way, the female lead made stupid decisions from the start that put everyone at unnecessary risk, and I stopped counting how many times they were caught by the bad guys and got away every time. Oh and I listened to part of it on audiobook could not tell any of the characters apart. Pass on this one.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2022I could not finish the book. Too many characters, too many plots and nothing tying any of it together. Boring!
- Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2023Lots of characters and plenty of action but like too many action-packed books the character development and plot development suffered in the telling. Since I often form a picture in my mind of the characters based on the information provided and descriptions, it would have been useful to know that Antonia is a 6-foot black female when she was introduced and not several chapters later when I had a very different impression. Also the motivation for each main character took quite a while to unearth; in general, earlier in the story is better. Overall, too much physical violence and death for my taste; I prefer unraveling a mystery and putting the pieces together.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2022This is a new to me author, and I will definitely be looking for more of his works. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story and cannot wait to read more in this series. If you enjoy action and suspense and fast paced reading, you will enjoy this story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Top reviews from other countries
- AlexReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2022
4.0 out of 5 stars Pacy, absorbing thriller.
Picked up as a free Amazon Prime "first read", and definitely of the stronger efforts I've received from this program.
The setting is an ominous near-future London, wherein the reader is given just enough detail regarding shadowy private companies controlling security and freedom of movement without detailed exposition. Credit to the author that he has credited the reader with the intelligence to accept this as a given, I feel that this engages us with the main protagonists as they move through this world.
The characters themselves are well drawn, also with a good balance between us being aware of their personal histories (and hence their motivations and behaviour) and wanting to know more about them. This is a more realistic relationship than having their entire background explained and again credits the reader with the intelligence to accept.
The plot is well balanced, believable, and ticks along nicely enough to keep you turning the pages, I finished the book in about four sittings.
I look forward to uncovering more of this world and the characters in this series, and will be exploring other books by this author.
- MichaelReviewed in Australia on November 7, 2022
4.0 out of 5 stars A lot going on
The story drives ahead throughout and while it kept me readying, I found myself expecting it to finish up a couple of time only for it to turn in another direction. There is a lot going on in this novel with conspiracies and cover-ups, I'd suggest not reading while tired! Antonia is a great central character and I will be looking for other stories.
- Paul GoddardReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read
This was my first venture into reading a novel by David Beckler having been recommended to do so by a friend . I read all types of novels , classics , modern , contemporary etc and I am particularly fond of the Ian Rankin Rebus books , so I used this as a basis for comparison .
" A Long Shadow " is fast paced read with some very good characters , both the principals and secondary ones, set modern times and centres around the activities of private security organisations , the Met Police and undercover journalists .
The technical details in the plot and sub plots indicate that the book has been very well researched and on this basis alone I would rank up there with a Rebus novel . I read the first chapter and I thought where is this going to lead to and felt there was something missing ? I continued with read and I was soon embroiled and captivated by the story line , sub plots and the various characters , who were developed along the way .
I was completely taken aback by the ending , the theme of which was not given until the last few chapters . I definitely was not expecting this !
I will look forward to when the next novel/s are completed and released . Finally I think this book would adapt really well into a film and or TV mini series so directors and producers please investigate and oblige ; you will not be disappointed
- Debbie SmithReviewed in Australia on November 22, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book keeps you entertained to the end.
Great book.keeps your attention right to the end .will certainly buy more books written by David Beckler such a good writer.
- RujuReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2022
3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining thriller
A Long Shadow is marketed as a dystopian thriller. It's not dystopian in the way that 1984 is, with an all-seeing, all-powerful Big Brother; apart from the dodgy private firms controlling security, the dystopian tag could easily be forgotten. It's really a little guys v big bad guys thriller, with a feisty investigative journalist and disgraced cop teaming up to challenge the corruption. I would describe the writing as workmanlike, which isn't a bad thing here; it gets the job done in a plain style that doesn't interfere with the story. On the whole, I enjoyed this fast-paced thriller, although it doesn't really offer anything new to the genre, and has a couple of issues. We are led to believe that the two main characters are smart and streetwise, but then they lapse into stupidity in order to get themselves into trouble and move the plot forward. This makes it difficult to identify with them and ultimately to care about them. In places, David Beckler splits chapters into a series of short scenes, clearly a device to increase the pace, but instead, jumping about every couple of pages breaks up the story too much and makes it feel disjointed. The conversation at the end when the cop explains how everything pans out to the journalist is a bit ho-hum. However, I don't think Beckler's intention was to create a literary masterpiece, it was to produce an entertaining thriller, which he has. My rating is 7/10, rounded down to 3 stars as I don't feel it's the stuff of 4 stars.