The Tunnel Rats - Stephen Leather
Two murders, thousands of miles apart: one in London, one in Bangkok. The bodies brutally mutilated: an ace of spades impaled upon their chests.
In Washington, a US senator receives photographs of the corpses. And realises that his past has come back to haunt him.
Nick Wright is the detective trying to solve the mystery of the double killing. His hunt for a motive takes him to the tunnels in Vietnam, where the American tunnel rats fought the dirtiest battle of the war against the Viet Cong.
But Wright's search places him in the firing line. Because another killer is on the loose, a killer who is determined to protect the secrets of the tunnels. At whatever cost...
STEPHEN LEATHER WRITES
I was still living in Thailand when I started this thriller, though I finished it in Dublin. It's the book that required the most research by far. I went down the tunnels of Cu Chi on several occasions and traveled across Vietnam, and was greatly helped by Alistair Cumming of the Transport Police. I had to research what it was like in the tunnel during the Vietnam War, and what it's like today, and I had to get inside the heads of Vietnam War veterans, something I hadn't done since The Vets.
I love the twist in the book, and hope that readers don't spot it too early. And I'm very attached to the main character, Nick Wright, and would like to bring him back in another book at some point.
I think it'd make a great film and I'm working on a screenplay of the book.
The Tunnel Rats Reviews
"Stephen Leather should be nestling in your bookshelves alongside Frederick Forsyth and Jack Higgins...authentic...tersely written...exciting stuff with plenty of heart palpitating action gingered up by mystery and intrigue...Leather is an intelligent thriller writer" Daily Mail
"In true Stephen Leather style the story cracks along at a fantastic speed, linking horrific murders in London and Thailand with political shenanigans in the States and the Vietnam War. If you enjoyed Leather's other books such as The Long Shot and The Double Tap, then this is a must. The various elements of the plot are woven together in short, action-packed chapters that take you around the world and into a frantic finale in underground tunnels built by the Vietnamese. This has everything a thriller should have - hectic action, characters you care about and some unexpected twists and turns" Coventry Evening Telegraph
"A well-constructed and fast-moving plot...stunning...another top-notch thriller...Stephen Leather is proving to be as consistent as he is capable." Yorkshire Evening Post
"One of his best...ingenious...the tension is continuous, increasing in crescendo as the tale reaches its conclusion." Oxford Times
"As readable as the best Frederick Forsyth." Shropshire Star
"A well-written thriller - a powerful tale of cover-ups, deceit, revenge, intense claustrophobia and deadly intent." Birmingham Evening Mail