Welcome to BOOK READERS HEAVEN! Books, Reviews, Short Stories, Authors, Publicity, a little poetry, music to complement...and other stuff including politics, about life... "Books, Cats: Life is Sweet..."
This is just a quick note to let you know I have a new book coming out. I don’t have an exact release date yet, but it’ll be within the next 2-3 weeks. There was one unresolved subplot left over from Dare – Invincible Season 3 (2020.) What happened to Greta? All will be revealed in the new novel – Night Shadow.
Trailer and cover reveal above! Release date and further details coming soon. I hope you’re all having a great Sunday. Best wishes, Peter
If you and I haven't talked, I'm Peter Darley, and I'm the creator of the Hold On! Universe series of novels. I took the name 'Hold On' from the most often-used song title (and lyric) used in the AOR-Melodic Rock music genre. I have since become a songwriter in that genre, and I work with recording artists across Europe.
Stop by to See me... I'd love to share about my books...and... more!
Peter
Hi Everybody... I was so excited to get this notice from one of my favorite authors, Peter Darley... We happened to touch base recently so I took the time to check out just how many reviews of his books I read. As you all can see, my reviews were extra-coverage... That's when you know that I loved the books... So, here, just for convenience are links! I've arranged them to show first, second and third... BTW, I hope you all have good eyesight... I've increased the size later, so let me know if you can't read and I'll update them as well...
Yes, I did have this written in draft form...I have NO idea why I didn't publish--My guess is that it was the beginning of my needed surgeries! But, as we all know, Books Never Are Outdated! Sorry, Peter...
A spotlight fell onto the stage at an angle that revealed a lithe, female figure in silhouette. She raised her arms over her head as the intro to a classic rock track began. Ryan recognized it immediately. The Hooters. And We Danced. The guitars began and the lights revealed Laura wearing a glitter-studded leotard. She lowered her arms and spun with dazzling speed. Ryan’s jaw dropped. He’d never seen her in such contour-hugging attire before, and her physical condition stunned him. Despite her months of tireless training, he’d never expected this. She’s so beautiful.
Prologue: Ryan Scott gazed at the floor of the subway train, too uncomfortable to make eye-contact with anyone. The general public was all around him, causing him to shudder in harmony with the low rumble of the train. It was a world in which he had no place. His experience of life had taught him that much. What are you doing? This isn’t who you are. He knew he was just trying to make something of his life. Everything he’d ever touched had been taken away. Why couldn’t he just be himself? Why did it have to be this way?
He felt perspiration on his brow as he gripped a black, leather briefcase with a sense of loathing. His designer gray suit and tie made him feel as though he was walking around in someone else’s skin. The train came to a halt at his stop. His heart raced as he waited for the last commuter to get off before exiting. Walking through the subway station, it felt like a force field was holding him back. Commuters brushed passed him as they went about their business. His fear wouldn’t go away, but he knew he had to fight it. He needed a vocation. He made it through the front entrance and stepped out onto a Chicago street.
This couldn’t really be happening. He had to be having a nightmare. He recalled the four years he’d studied at law school—a subject he hated. Going against his own heart, he’d invested himself in something he didn’t want to do in order to thwart the terrible curse that plagued him. He’d reached the top of his class within his first year, picking up several best student awards along the way. The other students looked up to him, and he wanted to connect with them. But he couldn’t bond with anyone. He just kept his distance...
~~~
Ryan Scott was cursed, or was he? Even as he was broodingly walking to his work site, it blew up...and he spent most of the time on top of a mother and child, to save them...When it was safe, he got up and walked away... The Influencer had spoken. No matter how he prepared and worked to try something meaningful in his life, he was stopped... Finally, he took drugs, drank alcohol enough to kill and worked to commit suicide... Even at that, he failed...
But the stories Ryan had told her were beginning to peak her fears like never before. She’d gone into it fearlessly in the beginning, trying not to show her concern. Gradually, the memories came back, and it was getting to her. She’d experienced it in the TV studio, and again with the death of her uncle. She knew Ryan wasn’t crazy. “OK, let’s do it,” he said. As they walked into the run-down establishment, she noticed the decor didn’t look like it had been attended to since the 1980s. The retro rock music coming from the radio in the background seemed to fit. A young couple waited at the counter. “I like it,” Ryan said. “What? This place?” “The song.” Don’t stop . . . believin’ . . . Ryan headed for the deli aisle and picked up a few sandwiches. “Are you OK with these?” She looked over what he was holding—ham and cheese, chicken salad, a pastrami on rye, and a tuna mayonnaise. It was all very basic, but she accepted this was the nature of life on the road. “They’ll keep us going,” she said.
Two years had gone by since the explosion that destroyed the law firm where Scott had been headed... Since then, he had discovered that, for whatever reason, he could not die... It was his latest drug and drinking celebration that had brought him to the hospital, as a suicide, and he had met Dr. Richard Logan... They were able to bond like no other and Ryan Scott started on a new, almost unbelievable life that changed his future...
“For whatever reason, Mr. Scott wanted to leave this world.” “I don’t believe that. I have never believed that. What people call suicide, I call cultural homicide. This sick, diseased, bankrupt world makes them do it. They become convinced they have no place and are driven to despair. He didn’t take his own life. We killed him.” He was barely conscious of the outrage in his tone. “I understand,” she said. “I was with you all through what happened back then, remember?” He looked at her with an apologetic heart and tried to maintain his composure. “I know. It just never goes away. Every time it happens, I relive it again.”
Would you be able to adjust to knowing that you cannot die? What would you do? Be like the main character and try to kill yourself over and over... Or would you get past that first reaction--stop, pause, and consider just what has happened and where to go from here? Do I try to do good for all of mankind? Do I begin robbing banks because I could always get away from anybody who tried to stop me?
So what if another person comes into the picture? Would that make a difference in your decision-making? Ryan had moved into an isolated place away from the chaos and started looking around him, seeing the people suffering from one illness or another... And he saw that often poor people couldn't even afford to purchase the medicines that were already available! Could something good come out of all of this? But... What About The Influence?!
I'll tell you one thing, I'm anxious to see what happens in the next two parts of this extraordinary suspense thriller trilogy! Do check it out!
Dr. Frederick DeSouza gingerly entered a neon-lit laboratory, nervously passing the monitor screens. He stepped through a door at the far end in anticipation of what would be revealed within the next hour. It was a unique moment in his career as a neuro-biological scientist, a career that, hitherto, had come to an end. He’d amassed his fortune and had settled comfortably into a life of retirement. That was, until the day he received a visit from Andrew Wilmot, the director of an anti-terrorist, Homeland Security division known as SDT, asking him to come out of retirement. But what had been expected of him had been an astonishing demand. His specialist skill as a memory revisionist had never been called upon before to undo a revision. The irony struck him as he considered the particulars. Almost four years previously, he’d been asked by his late associate, Senator Garrison Treadwell, to revise the memories and personality of a particularly volatile warrior named Brandon Drake. It had been an operation to make the young soldier more manageable while maintaining his inherent skills, intellect, and extraordinary talents. However, the experiment led to the creation of a persona who had divided the American people. Drake became a hero; a selfless rescuer of the innocent— women and children alike— as he committed himself to thwarting corruption in government, and tyrants wherever he found them. He’d also leveled a media attack against Treadwell. Accompanied by his lover, Belinda Reese, a woman whose life he had saved during a terrorist attack instigated at Treadwell’s behest, Drake became a fugitive. He’d abandoned his post with the Eighty-Second Airborne Division, and chosen the path of a loner. Now, the world believed he was dead, blown to smithereens in a cataclysmic explosion. But it wasn’t so. He’d survived by virtue of incredibly sophisticated armor and hardware. Six weeks had passed since the explosion. DeSouza had been instructed to suppress all of Drake’s memories since his last revision, and restore him to his original persona— a malevolent combatant known as The Scorpion. Persistently, he questioned why Wilmot would have wanted him to do such a thing, but he didn’t voice it. Faith in the system, a touch of hubris, and, in a moment of honesty, his payment for services rendered, had silenced him. Nevertheless, a touch of guilt gnawed at him. He had no idea what he was about to awaken, and the thought of the possibilities chilled him.
~~~
RUN!
Hold On! Season 3
By Peter Darley
OMG! When evil powerful people are in control, they can create major... messes! Poor Brandon Drake has gone through hell and is now back there! Would it have been better to leave him as he once was--a psychopath? Perhaps, because he probably would have already been dead...
Instead, one man, a Senator, had taken Brandon and had his brain revisioned. It did change him for the better, even though the Senator's plan for him was quite different! But Brandon had seen what was going on and escaped and had full four years of being a kinder, gentler, and finally loving man...
“You’re going to be fine,” Wilmot assured him. “The nature of the operation has changed, but you’re still a part of it. You’ll need some time to get yourself back to full strength, and then I have a few projects I’d like you to work on for me.” “What projects?” “All in good time.” Wilmot picked up the briefcase and made his way across to an adjacent desk. After placing the case upon it, he unlocked the combination, and clicked it open. “This is just for starters.” He opened it up to reveal neatly-arranged piles of crisp, new $ 100 bills. “How does fifty thousand sound?” ~~~
With the Senator's death, one of his own men eliminated the interim director of the special department within CIA and automatically became director! He wanted the psychopath back...so he could work for him...never realizing that The Scorpion was uncontrollable... Well, it is confirmed that my favorite of the Trilogy is Go!; however, Run is an entirely different type with an ending that uniquely carried through on the theme originally started in Season 1... Readers will have the opportunity to learn much more about Brandon's early life as well as his time in the military. Even the other soldiers were afraid of him, and his commander had taken an assault from him, without reporting it, because he considered him so valuable to the success of his unit... The Scorpion felt he was invincible and in turn did just about anything he wanted! As was his nature, Scorpion didn't want to wait and escaped from the Mohave facility, killing everybody, including the only person, the doctor, who could have helped him... Wilmot paired him with another formidable man and sent them on their first mission--to kill Jed Crane who had escaped but knew about what had been going on. There was no choice Crane must die... He was living in a favela in Brazil (I saw this style of housing when I traveled to Rio...and immediately noticed the style of house that was built up the hills! Quite a unique circumstance where the poorer sections of the cities abide closely with major hotels and other buildings...) And that's when the Interceptor returns! Readers will recall that when Brandon had been declared a hero, a comic had been developed, calling the hero Interceptor...looking, maybe, something like this... closest I can get from the book's description, LOL! You see, Wilmoth had not listened closely enough to the doctor who had returned Drake to a psychopath. That is, that the person he had become for four years would still be part of Drake's memories! And when he was sent to kill Crane and found, instead a woman with whom Crane lived, he had changed when she begged for her life! Interceptor took over and prevented his killing her! After having to be dragged out of the hovel where they'd learned Crane was living, Drake wanted to know just exactly what had happened and why he had been struck down, unable to perform... At the same time, Crane was coming home when they were leaving and snapped pictures of Drake, who was believed to be dead! Soon the two--the Scorpion and the Interceptor were in battle! Best I can think about it would be to have an individual with multiple personalities, in this case two, fighting against each other, rather than taking over and coming out when the other didn't know it. Whew! Just reading the rest of the story is an exciting battle like no other! In order to learn how to rid himself of the Interceptor, the Scorpion went home to start learning about what had happened...leaving his father beheaded once he told him all he knew...
Readers watch the trail of bodies as the Scorpion searches... How does he get rid of the Interceptor? Kill the object of The Interceptor's strong emotional feelings! Belinda Reese! Belinda Reese and Emily, Brandon's sister, are now living with Tyler and his father... Tyler has hooked up with Nikki who we met in the last book... and Tyler is helping to promote her new career as a singer...by investing in the music business, about which he knows nothing! His idea?! Add a glockenspiel to her band! Actually, in this vid, they called it a vibra harp and my cousin used to play, calling it a marimba, so I'm not sure exactly which/what Tyler proposed, especially for today's music?! Wish I could hear it! Quite a number of songs are included, as written by Nikki, so this side-plot was a fun addition to this extremely violent final novel in the trilogy.
You might say that the ending of this finale book wrote itself...it was inevitable and yet so poignantly done that you, the reader, will be satisfied... Highly recommended! GABixlerReviews
Hi, everyone. I'm Peter Darley (P.D. to my friends.) I am a British novelist, whose professional history is in showbusiness. I was a graduate of the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, and studied television drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA.) My television credits include guest-starring roles in UK productions such as BBC’s Crime Limited, Stanley’s Dragon for ITV, The Bill, Sky One’s Dream Team, and numerous TV commercials. I also worked as a model, presenter, and voice-over artiste for ten years, and I've been an agent for several variety acts.
My lifelong admiration of heroes, and love of roller-coaster-style thrills have been a huge influence on my writings. I am also a professional close-up magician, a keen athlete and body builder, and I live with my wife in rural England.
But readers have a chance to turn this trilogy into a series... Meet B.J.
Hold On! _________________________________________ Tomorrow The year is 2042 Brandon Drake, Jr. has it all. He was raised with love. He had a family. A promising future. Everything his father never had. But something inside him tore at his soul. A force that cannot be stopped! A courage that will never die! Brandon Drake’s legacy rises to save an uncertain future.
The potential for our all new series! Cast your vote:
She dropped the last item into her case and sealed the clasps. Her heart pounded as she looked around the room she’d lived in for two years, and her stomach turned over with guilt. Her employer at Stark, Rogers, and Blake Insurance, along with all of her colleagues, would never know what had become of her. But as was her way, she hadn’t been close to any of them. She’d discovered, at the time she’d been taken on as the boss’s secretary that she could no longer relate to the banality of normalcy since Brandon. Everyday life seemed boring and uneventful. However, her colleagues were people with feelings and she was walking out on all of them without a word. They deserved better, and what she was doing attacked her conscience. But Brandon was her heart, her love, and her life. She picked up her case from the bed and made her way toward the door. After turning the handle, she paused for a moment and looked behind her to see her living room one last time. “I’m coming, Brandon. Hold on!” Hold On!— The words he had said to her as he’d rescued her for the first time, gliding her off the roof of a burning skyscraper after it had been taken over by terrorists. Or, at least, whom she’d believed at the time, were terrorists. Those two words had come to mean so much to her. They were a verbal exclamation mark with a very specific meaning: hope in a hopeless situation. After taking a deep breath, she stepped out of her apartment and closed the door behind her. Anxiety filled Belinda’s mind. She walked out onto the street, all the time fearing they would be looking for her in an attempt to locate Brandon. If they caught her before she reached him, they would interrogate her, even torture her to learn his location. Simply stepping outside immediately after his escape placed her in serious jeopardy. She wondered if the young man in the business suit who just walked past her was one of them. He’d glanced at her momentarily. It may have been simply because he found her attractive. She braved the pathway and made her way toward the Amtrak train station. There were several blocks to go, and the thought of the distance chilled her. So much could happen in the time it would take to get there. Paranoia consumed her in the open, and she persistently looked over her shoulder. A police car sped past her, its sirens blaring. She froze.
~~~
Go! Hold On! Season 2
By Peter Darley
How I wish that my new uber-Hero was really alive and working to eliminate those in Human Trafficking...If you didn't read yesterday's review, please do so before you leave!
Human Trafficking has got to stop! And in Go! Brandon Drake makes a major effort toward just that! First, let me remind you about an article I wrote some time ago suggesting to authors that, with a trilogy or series, they provide a overview of what happened in the previous book.. This author did just that, so now we are picking up where the last book left off. Brandon is confined to Leavenworth!
Mike Johnson, a deeply distressed twenty-nine-year-old MOS 31E-grade army corrections specialist at Fort Leavenworth, pondered how he should respond to Agent Wilmot’s question. Sitting across him in one of the guardrooms, he didn’t want to seem biased. “Well, sir, I suppose I’d have to say he was a model prisoner. He did what he was told, he was popular with the other detainees, and a particularly good cook.”
“A good cook?”
“Yes, sir. That’s how he got assigned to kitchen duty.”
“It’s also how he managed to break out, isn’t it?”
“With all due respect, sir, I really don’t think that’s fair. We’ve analyzed his escape, and it’s become apparent he’d been working on this breakout since he arrived.”
~~~
He had been planning his escape from the first he was imprisoned and then, when he had received one special visitor, he discovered someone willing to help him escape...along with the wonderful news that the visitor was his brother! We met him briefly at the end of the previous book--a young sophisticated man who had been adopted by a billionaire and who had been searching for his brother, Tyler, and sister, Emily, who had been divided when the courts got involved in looking into their early homelife... Of course, at that point, Brandon was not aware of his siblings, but as soon as he saw Tyler, who looked like Brandon, he accepted what he was being told! Even more reason to escape, besides getting back to his love, Belinda!
Brandon succeeded in escaping, but was seen running and was shot... But Brandon wouldn't let anything stop Tyler from finding Belinda and bringing her back to the Cabin...
Which included Tyler "dressing up" as Brandon
and saving Belinda from the Feds!
Which he succeeded in doing; however, neither of the brothers had realized just how bad Brandon was from the shot and he had not been able to take care of himself while Tyler was gone, even to build up the fireplace... He turned to Gin to help keep him going...
Once Tyler and Belinda made it back to the cabin, they found Brandon huddled in a blanket, nearly frozen... and delirious. They got him to his bed and Belinda immediately wrapped him with lots of covers while Tyler built a fire...
During his recuperation, they made plans to find exactly where Emily was. Emily had been a nun, having live in the Carmelite Convent since she was young... and had since been accepted into the Carmelite Life. After serving for quite some time and becoming a favored nun, she began to question
whether or not she made made a mistake taking her final vows...After much thought, she asked to be permitted to leave...and was refused..
Soooo, she escaped! There is an indication that the Church knew about Brandon's escape and that they had wanted to keep her safe inside the convent. However, from Emily's perspective, she felt that she had lost her faith if she could not be free to act on her own, making decisions for her
life...
They were right...Emily did not understand the ways of today's world...and soon was in the hands of a human trafficker! Can you image Emily being approached by a handsome man offering to help? And that's how she was on her way, depending on a beautiful man, the first she'd seen outside of the convent for years...
At the same time, Belinda was trying to convince Brandon to spend more time resting and healing and holding off going for Emily... But he quickly explained that he needed to bring his family together.
“Us?” she frowned, puzzled. “A lead on what?” “Not on what. On whom.” He looked her in the eye with a glow of hope in his own: a radiance that seemed to strengthen him against his debilitation. “We have a family. There is another Drake.” “Another Drake? Who?” “Tyler and I have a little sister. He found some information about her from the Hall of Records. Her name is Emily, and she’s in Nevada. Can you believe that?” “You have a sister?” she said, intrigued. “Yeah. That’s what this is all about. Tyler helped me to get out of Leavenworth. Together, we’re gonna find Emily. We’re gonna put our family back together. Then he’s gonna help us to get out of America, and disappear forever somewhere, where we can just live our lives in peace.”
~~~
And Tyler had a plan...that would be very dangerous...he was going try to
buy Emily...using his real name and notorious reputation as the very rich sexy playboy that he was... First Stop was the Citadel..
I think this second book might be my favorite of the trilogy, but since I've already started reading the third, I'll withhold my final decision... Now there is no doubt about it, the best is yet to come as Brandon finds that inner demon to fight against the criminal traffickers and free his sister!
But then, something happened. The pain seemed to trigger off an all-consuming rage within Drake. His eyes rapidly took on a look of unbridled hatred, and became bloodshot. The scar on his forehead deepened, and Jed knew what was happening. He remembered the details of Brandon’s rampage during his trial at Fort Bragg. It made more sense after Brandon told him that his memory had been changed, and that he used to be a psychopath known as The Scorpion. But if there was ever a time Jed would have wished for it to happen— it was now.
“Get your hands off me, motherfucker!” Brandon growled with an animalistic snarl. He drove his elbow back into the man’s solar plexus, and threw him over his shoulder into the monitor screens. Three more attackers were upon him in an instant. One grasped his throat, but he snapped the man’s wrist just as quickly. As his assailant fell to the floor, writhing in pain, his right foot shot up to collide with the jaws of the other two, shattering their teeth with blinding speed.
~~~
What's that you're thinking? You've got to read this? Well, I totally agree because it's part of my favorites this year--The entire Trilogy I am sure!
GABixlerReviews
Peter Darley (P.D. to his friends) is a British novelist, whose professional history is in showbusiness. He is a graduate of the Birmingham School of Speech and Dramatic Art, and he studied television drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA.) His television credits include guest-starring roles is UK productions such as BBC's Crime Ltd, Stanley's Dragon for ITV, The Bill, and Sky One's Dream Team, and numerous TV commercials. He has also worked as a model, presenter, and voice-over artiste for ten years, and has acted as an agent for several variety acts.
His lifelong admiration of heroes, and love of roller-coaster-style thrills have been a huge influence on his writings.
He is a keen athlete and body builder, and lives with his girlfriend in rural England.
Her relationships with men had led to one break-up after another. The problem arose from her longstanding trust issues and only coming into contact with men who were corporate types when she wasn’t a corporate type. She did, however, make a convincing impersonation of one when necessary. At twenty-seven, she was a woman upon whom life had inflicted great frustration. It wasn’t the first time Carringby had caught her daydreaming; always wishing to be taken away to a place of fulfillment. As she handed him the file, she noticed the serial number, XD-47, on the first page. Of late, she’d processed hundreds of papers containing that particular number. She was slightly curious as to its meaning, but the instant Carringby took the file from her, she’d forgotten all about it. He stood before her for a moment, flicking through the pages. Belinda had often considered he would have been potentially handsome in his youth. He was six feet tall with strong gray eyes and sharp, chiseled features. Nevertheless, he was pushing sixty, and even if he hadn’t been, he was still a suit...
As she made her way toward the restroom door, the bottom fell out of her world. An explosion threw Belinda off her feet, taking her breath from her. An earthquake? The sound of muffled machine-gun fire came from the lower floor, and her heart pounded with terror. The gunfire grew louder, echoing through a stairwell until she heard a door burst open. They were on Carringby’s floor. Belinda froze, trembling with the horror of what she could only hear...
With trembling fingers, she pulled it open a mere fraction of an inch and pressed her right eye into the gap. She could barely make out six men in ski masks opening fire upon members of Carringby’s entourage. Her hand came across her mouth to stifle a whimper of terror. Carringby came out of the conference room with his arms raised in surrender, but his look of stoicism remained.
“Where are the blueprints?” one of the assailants demanded. Another gunman kicked open every door along the corridor and aimed his machine gun into the rooms. Satisfied a room was empty, he would move on to the next, and he was coming closer. Panic stricken, Belinda moved away from the door and looked around, trying to locate another way out. If she set one foot through the door, she knew she would be met with a hail of bullets, but there was nothing. No escape. Unless...
~~~
Hold On!
The TV Thriller Series You Can Only Read
By Peter Darley
Nobody can blame me--when an author creates a new hero that is simply unbelievable, I fall in love... This time, his female leading character is almost as good! Of course, he's handsome, intelligent and brave, but this time, he's also quite a surprise--and he doesn't even know it...yet...
“P-please don’t kill me,” she mumbled. “I’m not going to kill—” Belinda passed out. She woke without a sense for how long she’d been out. Had she been unconscious for seconds? Or days? Why was everything upside down? She felt a tight grip on her legs below the knees, and she was moving quickly with a jerking motion. The smoke seemed to clearing, and blood rushed into her head, bringing her back to consciousness. She saw the white surface of the steps from her inverted position, and suddenly understood. He was running up the stairwell while carrying her over his shoulder. Moments later, the ground turned black and she sensed herself being turned upright in the freezing cold. In her dazed state, it took her a few moments to realize she was outside. The stranger knelt down beside her and she shivered. “Who . . . are you?” she asked. “Your only way out of here.”
“Please, trust me,” he implored her. “Can you stand up?” “Yes, I think so,” she said, but her coughing resumed. He waited for the attack to abate before speaking again. “I’m going to get you out of here. There’s only one way.” As he helped her to her feet, she realized how high up they were with the skyscrapers all around them. “I need you to listen to me,” he said. “What’s your name?” “B-Belinda. Belinda Reese,” she answered, quivering, and hugged herself tightly against the chilling effects of shock and the brutal February wind. “All right Belinda, I need you to come over here with me.” He motioned toward the edge of the roof. “There’s nothing to worry about, trust me.” As a show of good faith, he walked toward the edge before her. Once he was standing on the ledge, he reached out and beckoned her to join him. Trembling, she placed one foot in front of the other, but she froze when she saw him taking a gun-like device from his tool belt. “It’s OK,” he said in a reassuring tone. “This isn’t what you think it is. I swear to you on my life, I’m not going to hurt you.” With great trepidation, she resumed her steps toward him. As Belinda stopped inches away from him at the ledge, he aimed the device toward a skyscraper opposite and brought a small targeting sight to eye-level. Although it bore a resemblance to a gun, it didn’t have a barrel, but rather a tennis ball-sized bulb held fast by his palm. He depressed a button on the top of the metallic casing and a thin, high-tensile steel cable jettisoned from the nozzle toward the building opposite. The cable reached the other side and a small steel claw at the end of line clasped a maintenance rail in the center of the roof. He pulled on the cable to ensure it was secured, and stepped away from the edge. He hurried across to a maintenance stairwell next to the entrance and climbed three steps. Once he was in position, he wrapped the wire around an iron step above him repeatedly. From the height of the roof’s ledge, the step would be approximately twelve inches above his own height. Reaching height. With a flick of a switch on top of the bulb, the cable was locked inside the casing. Belinda watched him, bewildered. “What are you doing?” He didn’t reply, clearly focused on his task. Returning to her, he took a black metal tube from his belt, approximately fourteen inches in length, and pulled out two. “Please, trust me,” he implored her. “Can you stand up?” “Yes, I think so,” she said, but her coughing resumed. He waited for the attack to abate before speaking again. “I’m going to get you out of here. There’s only one way.” As he helped her to her feet, she realized how high up they were with the skyscrapers all around them. “I need you to listen to me,” he said. “What’s your name?” “B-Belinda. Belinda Reese,” she answered, quivering, and hugged herself tightly against the chilling effects of shock and the brutal February wind. “All right Belinda, I need you to come over here with me.” He motioned toward the edge of the roof. “There’s nothing to worry about, trust me.” As a show of good faith, he walked toward the edge before her. Once he was standing on the ledge, he reached out and beckoned her to join him. Trembling, she placed one foot in front of the other, but she froze when she saw him taking a gun-like device from his tool belt. “It’s OK,” he said in a reassuring tone. “This isn’t what you think it is. I swear to you on my life, I’m not going to hurt you.” With great trepidation, she resumed her steps toward him. As Belinda stopped inches away from him at the ledge, he aimed the device toward a skyscraper opposite and brought a small targeting sight to eye-level. Although it bore a resemblance to a gun, it didn’t have a barrel, but rather a tennis ball-sized bulb held fast by his palm. He depressed a button on the top of the metallic casing and a thin, high-tensile steel cable jettisoned from the nozzle toward the building opposite. The cable reached the other side and a small steel claw at the end of line clasped a maintenance rail in the center of the roof. He pulled on the cable to ensure it was secured, and stepped away from the edge. He hurried across to a maintenance stairwell next to the entrance and climbed three steps. Once he was in position, he wrapped the wire around an iron step above him repeatedly. From the height of the roof’s ledge, the step would be approximately twelve inches above his own height. Reaching height. With a flick of a switch on top of the bulb, the cable was locked inside the casing. Belinda watched him, bewildered. “What are you doing?” He didn’t reply, clearly focused on his task. Returning to her, he took a black metal tube from his belt, approximately fourteen inches in length, and pulled out two hand-grips from either side. Belinda noticed a small pulley wheel on the underside of the tube, which he clipped onto the wire. He created a zip-line between the two buildings. Upon that realization, she panicked, believing he intended for her to hang from the hand grips and glide across to the adjacent building. “I can’t do this. Please, I’m begging you. I can’t do it.” He stepped back up onto the ledge. “You don’t have to. I do. Now, take it steady and join me here.” She raised her right leg so slowly that she thought she’d never put it down. However, eventually, the tip of her shoe settled onto the ledge. He gently placed his hand upon her shoulder. “All right. I’ve got it from here.” He grasped her under her armpits and lifted her onto the ledge. She trembled with vulnerability and vertigo. “Oh, God, please don’t let me fall.” “You’re not going to fall.” He carefully placed her arms around him. She immediately detected the solid base underneath his black, bullet-resistant attire. It was clear that, beyond the Kevlar, he was muscular. It heightened her sense of safety with him. With shaking hands, she held onto him for dear life. He gripped the pulley with his left hand and lifted the visor with his right. Belinda looked into his deep green eyes. He looked exactly the same as his voice sounded– strong, but kind. The moment ended and he pulled the visor back down into place. Holding the right hand grip, he looked at her again and gave her the most unnecessary piece of advice she had ever heard: “Hold on!”
~~~
The fun part of the novel is that our hero's got all the equipment--strange, new gimmicks to help him be a superhero... But he's definitely not a James-Bond type... Especially since he stole them...
When's he's forced to fight as he will be many times, his skills are much like an early Steven Segal, Except...
There was blood lust in Brandon’s eyes, and it both comforted and chilled Belinda. He was maniacal. He leaped into the air and spun around, throwing his heel into Wilmot’s head before landing in a balanced stance. The agent fell, his face bloodied and his eyes senseless. Never before had she seen such a display of aerial, acrobatic prowess outside of a martial arts movie. It was yet another mystery added to the enigma of Brandon Drake.
~~~
Except his eyes seem to change during the fight, and his whole demeanor changes... Afterward, he doesn't remember what happened, even though evidence of bodies surround him... At first, Belinda was afraid of him when she saw what he'd done... Then she realized, and accepted, that it was because he was fighting to save her life...
Brandon was there to save Belinda--but only because he was late to have prevented the massacre of all the people on the floor where Carringby's offices were, and where Belinda worked as his secretary... He had stolen files when he'd disappeared from his job and had discovered that there was a totally organized plan to eliminate specific people/areas...The problem was that he was always in the midst of decoding the files and had already missed the first attack and, now, had been late for the second one. Except he had discovered Belinda as she was trying to escape and immediately acted to get her out of harm's way...except the escape route was going to also be dangerous--at least in her mind!
“I’ve never . . .” He closed his eyes and his cheeks
flushed a bright shade of crimson. “I’ve never
been with a woman like that before.”
As the final word fell from his mouth, he lowered
his head. She looked at him dumbfounded.
He wasn’t joking. His perspiration, flushed cheeks
, and agonized expression were evidence enough
for her. But how could it be?
He was so handsome, so fit, and
so astonishingly attractive...
~~~
And before he stopped to think about it, he had brought Belinda to his cabin--a place nobody else knew about and was purposely kept secret for that reason! For Belinda, she immediately fell in love with the location, the quiet, and, slowly, with Brandon... For Brandon, he was very aware of her, but realized he'd possibly placed both of them in danger by bringing her here... Brandon had no choice but to immediately go back to work, trying to figure out the next target. In the meantime, Belinda was full of questions and wanted to help... “Well yeah, I guess. They know I have a hell of a lot of their tech. I had to get out of there, so I loaded up the Turbo Swan, and escaped in it.” “What did Carringby have to do with any of this?” “It was on the plans, along with the dates and times. With Carringby, it was all about the XD-47.” “What is that, exactly?” “What’s what?” “Those letters and numbers? XD-47? I saw them all the time. What do they mean?” “They’re just a serial number for a component in a missile.” Her hand came over her mouth. “Carringby was manufacturing a missile?” she said through her fingers. “Parts for one, but those thugs didn’t really want it. The army already had the XD-47. They’ve had it for almost a year.” “So why attack Carringby?” “They wanted to make it look like somebody else wanted it. It’s an excuse for a war.” The absurdity of what she was hearing both confused and frustrated her, as was apparent from her tone. “Why would anybody want to start a war?”
~~~
Belinda was becoming more and more confused and afraid, asking Brandon to turn to the police. It was then Brandon told her just exactly who he had been working for when he discovered the plans for war... Emphasizing that he didn't know who could be trusted, even the local police might be tied in some way...
To prevent the third attack would be up to Brandon...
Peter Darley shares about his early efforts to publish this book--I'm certainly happy he continued to try after the many possible frustrations that face writers these days... Did you notice his comments about a TV series...Well, I agree with him that it is worthy of being a movie and the first book is packed full of enough action to fulfill the needs of one Season!
Soooo, I immediately went out and got season 2 and pre-ordered season 3. That's how much I'm interested in following the Hold On! series! So, you can be on the lookout for the next two books here at BRH! But, why wait? I highly recommend you start reading Peter Darley...right now!
GABixlerReviews
Hi, everyone. I'm Peter Darley (P.D. to my friends.) I am a British novelist, whose professional history is in show business. I was a graduate of the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, and studied television drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA.) My television credits include guest-starring roles in UK productions such as BBC’s Crime Limited, Stanley’s Dragon for ITV, The Bill, Sky One’s Dream Team, and numerous TV commercials. I also worked as a model, presenter, and voice-over artiste for ten years, and I've been an agent for several variety acts.
My lifelong admiration of heroes, and love of roller-coaster-style thrills have been a huge influence on my writings. I am also a professional close-up magician, a keen athlete and body builder, and I live with my wife in rural England.
This is just a quick note to let you know I have a new book coming out. I don’t have an exact release date yet, but it’ll be within the next 2-3 weeks.
