Bøger af Nik Morton

Cash's girlfriend Lenora receives a mysterious letter from a working girl in Yankton, pleading for help. Limping Lilly Loftus is not one to cry wolf, so Cash agrees to take Lenora. Before long, their investigations lead them to The Dark Swan, a steamboat on the Missouri. The vessel is hosting not only European royalty but a prestigious high-stakes poker contest. Attractive Princess Augusta Letitia Fitzosbern has entered the poker competition; her country needs the winnings. Yet on this boat nothing is going to be plain sailing. There's an attempted suicide, cardsharp cheating, violence, theft, abduction, betrayal - and death! And, to make matters worse, there's the big risk of an international incident.

Whether it's the Sierras of the 1790s or the Chicago boxing ring of the 1920s, or any time in between, the characters of the Old West can be found in these stories. Gambling played a significant part, too, among the cowboys herding their steers, or on the paddle-wheelers of the Mississippi or the proliferation of 'last chance' saloons throughout the west. Conflict with the Indians was not always straight-forward, either. There were shades of grey - notably in the guise of the Apache called Gray Wolf. The simple call of 'Hello, the house!' made by strangers on the approach to a homestead can lead to suspense, mystery and, ultimately, threat in the family and home. Here, too, you'll find the harsh conditions of the slums in 1860s New York and the vicious gangs. Always, individuals attempt to rise above adversity and grasp the opportunities that the 'new land' offers. Why not visit now and throw your hat into the ring, and take a chance and hazard all?

It's 1975 and Czechoslovakia's people are still kicking against the Soviet invasion. Tana Standish, a British psychic spy, is called in to repair the underground network. But there's a traitor at work. And there's an establishment in Kazakhstan, where Yakunin, one of their gifted psychics, has detected her presence in Czechoslovakia. As he gets to know her, his loyalties become strained: does he hunt her or save her? When Tana's captured in a secret Soviet complex, London sends in Keith Tyson in a desperate attempt to get her out - or to silence her - before she breaks under interrogation. 'Interestingly, Morton sells it as a true story passed to him by an agent and published as fiction, a literary ploy often used by master thriller writer Jack Higgins. Let's just say that it works better than Higgins.' -Danny Collins, author of The Bloodiest Battles

What's a life worth? $300, maybe. Half-Mexican Corbin Molina lost a hand during the Civil War but he has adapted. Now he's on a mission to Walkerville. On the way, he prevents a train robbery and finds an old friend. Corbin always carries $300, which is significant, since that's what he was a paid as substitute soldier for the Union. When Corbin starts asking questions about Walkerville's law and administration, he discovers that the Walker family, who seem to have bought and paid for loyalty and position, dominates the townspeople. Inevitably, Corbin's questions attract plenty of trouble. And his past emerges to confront him during a tense showdown that threatens not only him but also his newfound love.

Where there is light, there is shadow... This cross-genre thriller is set in present-day Malta and has echoes from pre-history and also the eighteenth century Knights of Malta. Malta may be an island of sun and sand, but there's a dark side to it too. It all started when some fishermen pulled a corpse out of the sea... Or maybe it was five years ago, in the cave of Ghar Dalam? Spellman, an American black magician, has designs on a handpicked bunch of Maltese politicians, bending their will to his master's. A few sacrifices, that's all it takes. And he's helped by Zondadari, a rather nasty vampire. Maltese-American investigative journalist Maria Caruana's in denial. She can't believe Count Zondadari is a vampire. She won't admit it. Such creatures don't exist, surely? She won't admit she's in love with him, either... Detective Sergeant Attard doesn't like caves or anything remotely supernatural. Now he teams up with Maria to unravel the mysterious disappearance of young pregnant women. They're also helped by the priest, Father Joseph. And there are caves, supernatural deaths and a haunting exorcism. Just what every holiday island needs, really.

Laura Reid likes her new job on Tenerife, teaching the Spanish twins Maria and Ricardo Chávez. She certainly doesn't want to get involved with Andrew Kirby and his pal, Jalbala Emcheta, who work for CITES, tracking down illegal traders in endangered species. Yet she's undeniably drawn to Andrew, which is complicated, as she's also attracted to Felipe, the brother of her widower host, Don Alonso. Felipe's girlfriend Lola is jealous and Laura is forced to take sides - risking her own life - as she and Andrew uncover the criminal network that not only deals in the products from endangered species, but also thrives on people trafficking. The pair are aided by two Spanish lawmen, Lieutenant Vargas of the Guardia Civil and Ruben Salazar, Inspector Jefe del Grupo de Homicidios de las Canarias. Very soon betrayal and mortal danger lurk in the shadows, along with the dark deeds of kidnapping and clandestine scuba diving.... '... Nik Morton has woven a masterfully written fictional story based on these appalling facts - a thriller and romance rolled into one that draws you in with plenty of suspense and fast paced action. Each chapter ends with a hook leading you eagerly on to the next. The characters and all the location settings on the island are colourfully realised.'

1978. Iran is in ferment and the British Intelligence Service wants Tana Standish's assessment. It appears that CIA agents are painting too rosy a picture, perhaps because they're colluding with the state torturers... Allegiances and loyalties are strained as Tana's mission becomes deadly and personal. Old friends are snatched, tortured and killed by SAVAK, the Shah's secret police. She has to use all her skills as a secret agent and psychic to stay one step ahead of the oppressors and traitors. As the country stumbles towards the Islamic Revolution, the Shah's grip on power weakens. There's real concern for the MI6 listening post near the Afghan border. Only Tana Standish is available to investigate; yet it's possible she could be walking into a trap, as the deadly female Spetsnaz fighter Aksakov has been sent to abduct Tana. Meanwhile, in Kazakhstan, the sympathetic Yakunin, the psychic spy tracking Tana, is being side-lined by a killer psychic, capable of weakening Tana at the critical moment in combat with Aksakov. Can Yakunin save Tana without being discovered? In the troubled streets of Iran's ancient cities and amidst the frozen wastes on the Afghan border, Tana makes new friends and new enemies... 'There are not too many books that stay with you long after you finish reading them, not too many characters who are so alive it seems like you recently met them. And so it is with Tana Standish, the psychic spy in this page-turning thriller. We travel to Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and England and meet a variety of brilliantly portrayed characters - both chillingly cruel and highly talented, some of them torturers, others who control a team of remote viewers, others traditional British MI6 characters. The locations are so finely drawn we can almost reach and touch them, the atmosphere so vivid that we can shut our eyes and sense ourselves there.' - Maureen Moss, travel journalist

July, 1892.Sam Ransom, 62, learns of the death of Abner, his old partner. Abner left a warning note - the Meak twins were out to get Ransom and the rest 'because of what happened at Bur Oak Springs'. Ransom sets out to alert his old friends, Jubal, Rory and Derby. Bur Oak Springs happened over two decades ago. The place was a ghost town even then. Ransom's family is put in jeopardy and they can only be saved by Ransom and his friends returning to the ghost town, to confront the Meak brothers and their gang. There's a sense of déjà vu about this; yet, there are fresh revelations too. It's a showdown: young guns against old guns.

Jim Thorp had killed plenty of men. They deserved to die. Thorp was a hard man, made so by a bloody Civil War. But he didn't relish this visit to Bethesda Falls. His old sweetheart Anna worked there as a school-teacher and he was hunting her brother, Clyde, for armed robbery and other more terrible crimes. He didn't want to hurt Anna but it looked like he would anyway.Clyde, the foreman of the M-bar-W ranch, is due to wed Ellen, the rancher's daughter. He's also poisoning the old man to hasten the inheritance.Thorp's presence in town starts the downward slide to violence, when not only is Ellen's life in danger, but also that of Anna and Thorp himself.It is destined to end in bloodshed and death.

When the Mexican circus ships out of the gringo town of Conejos Blancos, Hart and his ruthless desperadoes are quick off the mark to take over the town and the adjacent silver mine. With the sheriff slain, and many of the citizens held hostage, two local boys escape and recruit seven Mexican circus performers to help penetrate the cordon of sentries and free the townspeople. Only the 'Magnificent Mendozas' - a family of weapons experts, escapologists and gymnasts - stand a chance against the Hart gang, but there will be betrayal, bravery and plenty of action on both sides of the divide before the day is through.

When justice fails, a vigilante steps forward. Faith in the police is faltering in the broken Britain of today, where record numbers of crimes remain unsolved. Justice and fairness are flouted by politically correct senior officers. Victims are not seen as hurt people but simply as statistics.Paul's family is but one example of those victims of criminals neither caught nor punished.In the English south-coast town of Alverbank many others are damaged and grieving. It cannot go on. Glib political sound-bites don't work. There has to be a radical response. Some way of fighting back. Vigilante justice is good justice! The vigilante delivers rough justice, breaking the bones and cracking the heads of those guilty individuals who cause pain without remorse.Who is the vigilante? He - or she - is self-styled as The Black Knight.Yet the police warn against taking 'the law into your own hands'. But the local press extols the vigilante's efforts and respond: 'What law?'Will the vigilante eventually cross the line and take a life?Paul and his family seem involved and they are going to suffer...

NOURISH A BLIND LIFE Collected short stories - Volume 2 21 stories - horror, ghost, science fiction, and fantasy She was custodian of a dilapidated house - or was she its captive? Maybe even unpleasant nasty little planets aren't Godforsaken. Sister Rose was a nun with a difference - she used to be a policewoman - but now she's encountering something strange, beyond her knowledge of crime and God. What if you had the power to share thoughts with only one other person - and he died? You don't know what being alone is until this happens. Stories about time, grief, hope, love, betrayal and courage. Asking 'what if?' questions and providing some answers. Ghosts, aliens, villains, time paradoxes, romance, and the end of the world. Some stories will move you, others will raise a smile or a laugh and several will probably make you think. Try them. 'I read a lot and like to think that I'm fairly hardened to the human experience. Your story Nourish a blind life however, moved me enormously. With a powerful understanding you avoided any mawkish melodrama. The ending, although sad, gave satisfaction knowing the narrator was soon to be free! Thank you.' - Eve Blizzard, judge

The Bethesda Falls stage is robbed and Ruth Monroe, the stage depot owner, is being coerced into selling up by local tycoon, Zachary Smith. Daniel McAlister returns from gold prospecting to wed Virginia, the saloon's wheel of fortune operator. He hits a winning streak but is bushwhacked, his winnings stolen. And newcomer to town, Horace Q Marcy, seems to be playing a game close to his chest, too. Virginia sees this romance with Daniel as her last chance of happiness. No matter what, she's determined to stand by her man, ducking flying bullets if need be. Daniel and Virginia side with Ruth against Smith and his hired gunslingers. Only a deadly showdown will end it, one way or another.

In the aftermath of Mission: Tehran, psychic spy Tana Standish crossed into Afghanistan, accompanied by agent Alan Swann. Their rendezvous with Mike Clayton was delayed and while they waited for him in Herat, Tana befriends a Soviet forces family, intent on discovering details about the presence of General Pavlovsky. They're then caught in a devastating civil uprising.... Inexorably, the Soviets are being drawn into the politics of Afghanistan. And Clayton, Swann and Tana are linked with the heroic Massoud, the tyrant President Amin and the mujahedeen. Tana makes new friends and new enemies in her constant fight against injustice. Professor Bublyk is still trying to locate Tana - and the missing Spetsnaz agent Aksakov. Distrustful of the psychic Yakunin, he recruits killer Klimov. Together, they imprison Yakunin in order to draw Tana out to rescue him. Tana is aware that it must be a trap. But she owes her life to Yakunin, even though they have not met... A tense cat-and-mouse battle of wits stretches the length and breadth of the country - to the far reaches of the Wakhan corridor, the Special Psychiatric Hospital in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and ultimately to the Khyber Pass.

24 tales of crime and adventure! Many kinds of crime are committed in these pages. Hijacking a plane - or even a hovercraft - creates problems not only for those hijacked! Crooks come in all shapes and sizes - from the petty to the bold. Occasionally, however, the individuals doing the stealing have good motives... Borough council chicanery rubs shoulders with business betrayal. Spies face incapacitating poisons and death. Private eyes tread the mean streets, righting wrongs and investigating dodgy birth rights. Here you'll find Mafia hoods, murderous hoodlums, and disgruntled book critics. Besides death and destruction, you'll encounter humorous and uplifting stories. Beware, though, some of these tales are not for the faint-hearted! 'I Celebrate Myself: ... story shares a keen awareness of social and economic plights that are empathetic rather than didactic, as well as a brooding anxiety over the fate of the next generation. In Morton's latest story, a police officer is called to dig through a trash compactor in the projects after someone claims to have heard a baby crying inside. Vividly caressed details make the characters and situation all the more real and relatable.'

LEON CAZADOR, P.I. Private Investigator Leon Cazador is half-English, half-Spanish and wholly against the ungodly. In these fascinating fiction stories, based on real events, we glean an insight into Cazador's past and the people he has rubbed shoulders with: his connections run wide and deep. Cazador translated into English means hunter. He is a man driven to hunt down felons of all kinds, to redress the balance of good against evil. Sometimes, Cazador operates in disguise under several aliases, among them Carlos Ortiz Santos, and tries to hold back the encroaching night of unreason. He combats drug-traffickers, grave robbers, al-Qaeda infiltrators, misguided terrorists and conmen. Dodgy Spanish developers and shady expat English face his wrath. Traders in human beings, stolen vehicles and endangered species meet their match. Kidnappers, crooked mayors and conniving Lotharios come within his orbit of ire. Vengeful Chinese and indebted Japanese are his friends - and his enemies. Leon Cazador fights injustice in all its forms and often metes out his own rough justice. It's what he does.

GIFTS FROM A DEAD RACE ... and other tales Nik Morton's collected short stories Volume 1 18 tales of horror, science fiction, and fantasy! Brave firemen still do their job though suffering radiation poisoning after a nuclear war; but to what purpose? Maybe a simple little thing can save the world from an alien plague. Then again, maybe it can't. The first murder in space - can it be justified? Are dogs and trees and children as innocuous as they seem? You decide. If you're going to burgle a house, make sure you know who lives there - or else. The credit crunch can only get worse - worth an arm and a leg, you say? Hijack that plane? Not a good idea... Stranded on an alien planet, you know there's something familiar about those natives... Criminals should be nice to little old ladies, or else... A birth on the moon? Sounds marvellous, or then again, maybe not. He lost his memory - then found he was buried alive, reliving his life! He found that out the hard way that drink and driving don't mix. What if you had to celebrate Christmas two days early? Would the children notice? He had the last laugh when Dr Wiacek misused his incredible discovery. The plague waited thirty-six years to show itself, then went global.

We are all history. And these stories reflect that. The human condition through history is fascinating. Much stays the same, no matter where you are or when. In these tales we travel to wartime France in 1943 and 1944 to witness betrayal and heroism. The effects of this war can also be seen from the perspective of 1995, looking back to 1943 and a loving family. Another conflict was the English Civil War, and here we meet some protagonists in 1645. Some conflict occurs behind the headlines, however, and can only come to light when secret documents are released. Here are two missions, in Turkey (1976) and China (1977). And in Tenerife in 1896 a deadly crime is thwarted by an unlikely duo. History is not all about battles, fortunately. It is also concerns people coping in a strange land, whether that's post-war Japan or the colonial days in 1830s Australia. Combatting the elements creates historical events, such as crossing the Atlantic before Christ or surviving a sinking troopship in that same ocean, or dealing with crime beneath the Indian Ocean in 1965. Political upheaval has its part in history, naturally, and the building of the Berlin Wall is hugely significant - as was its fall in 1989. The politics of mystic John Dee meant his imprisonment in the Tower of London in 1555, yet he survived by wit and guile. In London in 1857 witness the honouring of heroes by Queen Victoria. Travel far and wide, in the past and across oceans, in 18 varied stories.

A Sister Rose crime thriller When she was a cop, she made their life hell. Now she's a nun, God help them! Before taking her vows, Sister Rose was Maggie Weaver, a Newcastle policewoman. While uncovering a serial killer, she suffered severe trauma, and after being nursed back to health she becomes a nun. In her new calling she is sent to London to run a hostel for the homeless. Here, she does good works, and also combats prejudice and crime. As she attempts to save a homeless woman from a local gang boss, events crystallise, taking her back to Newcastle, the scene of her nightmares, to play out the final confrontation against drug traffickers, murderers and old enemies in the police. She finds her spiritual self and a new identity. She is healed through faith and forgiveness. It's also about her surviving trauma and grief - a triumph of the human spirit, of good over evil. 'All the characters and horrific events in this crime thriller are extremely visual and well-drawn, making this a riveting read. It would make a brilliant TV series!' - Jan Warburton, author of The Secret, A Face to Die For

Clint Brennan interrupts two men kidnapping his wife Belle and he's shot and left for dead. When he recovers his senses, his wife has gone and he discovers he is blind. Most men would give up there and then, but not Clint. Astride his donkey, he sets out with his faithful dog Mutt on the trail of his wife's abductors. Belle believes her husband is dead. She's rescued, but not by Clint. Her saviour is protective and takes her to his grand home in Wedlock where she meets the charming housekeeper, Mrs Kilbride. Maybe here, they say, she can forget her husband and start a new life... On the trail, Clint is waylaid by robbers but soon learns to combat enemies at night, when darkness is his ally. Distracted and delayed, he's still determined to locate his missing wife. A tale of betrayal and lies, it will all end at Wedlock, amidst flames and bullets.

A suspenseful thriller with fast-paced action and intriguing characters...A catacomb is a subterranean cemetery. A place where ancient corpses are found-or new ones are dumped.After their recent success in Barcelona, both Catherine Vibrissae and Rick Barnes are continuing their crusade against Loup Dante and his global company, Ananke, by penetrating the lair of Petra Grimalkin in Nice. But death stalks the pair-as do the dogs of law from the British National Crime Agency-and when Cat and Rick's trail of vengeance leads them to the corrupt organization's health food processing plant in Northwest Africa, Cat comes face to face with an enemy from her past.From the exotic streets of Tangier to the inhospitable High Atlas Mountains, danger lurks and deadly ambushes await.Book two in the Cat's Crusade series, Catacomb follows a strong female character who is no stranger to deadly situations.

Organ harvesters are his prime target. Leon Cazador is on FBI liaison duty in Charleston, South Carolina when a dead child is found with a kidney missing. Suspecting an old foe, he jumps into action when a convoy of trucks with kidnapped children hits a snag, and a boy escapes. But what starts out as a simple cat and mouse chase turns into a convoluted web of deceit involving an underground organ transplant ring that surpasses Leon's wildest expectations-and abilities. Years later-and carrying around the weight of unresolved burdens-Leon runs into suspicious activity in Córdoba, Spain that makes his heart stop cold. Organ traffickers are running rampant, and a three-man investigating team has gone missing. Eager to put an end to this corrupt organization's misdeeds once and for all, Leon makes finding its leader his top priority. But will he have what it takes to bring an evil like no other to its knees?

Some perpetrators of crime deserve only one fate-no prisoners.When Leon Cazador discovers the body of a fellow investigator who was working with the British National Crime Agency to infiltrate a pedophile group that uses the pursuit of golf as a cover for their organized abuses, he refuses to chalk it up to coincidence.Seeking justice for his fallen friend, Leon is presented with another missing person's case. But this one is decidedly different. Diving deeper, Leon finds himself one step closer to uncovering the deadly pedophile ring that took down his comrade.Finding missing persons is all in a day's work for Leon. But can he fight his ultimate nightmare in a race against time to save a group of innocent children and exact revenge on their abusers?

Each hunter has the same equipment-a sniper rifle, five bullets and a machete. An even killing field. A corrupt organization in Spain is selling the ultimate thrill. They cater to rich amateur game-hunters who hunger for the privilege of stalking and killing human prey. Their targets are non-persons. In effect, the vile process gets rid of illegal immigrants.Enter Leon Cazador-a half-English, half-Spanish private investigator who occasionally assists the authorities. Eager to take down this immoral organization, he's tasked with going full cloak-and-dagger.But when his cover is blown and he's forced to join nine other captives, will he become the hunters' ultimate prey?

Nik Morton has been writing for over forty years, honing his craft. He writes genre fiction, whether that s science fiction, horror, crime, thriller, romance or westerns. To date he has 15 books under several pseudonyms. His westerns are usually written under the name Ross Morton. Within these pages you can discover how to write a western from the initial ideas, through the preparation and research, to those all-important character studies and plots. And you can do it in 30 days!