Contents ( 84)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- Acknowledgements
To my Experts:
Lady Kay Ord. You are the only person I know who possesses detailed, in-depth, real-life experience of what it’s like to work inside the White House and to be close to the US President himself. I count myself incredibly lucky that you were willing to share it. Your help has been both generous and invaluable. Thank you.
Dr Dave, the Renaissance man. I’m sorry that my need for your expertise revolved around aircraft and flying, rather than medicine or the violin. And I remain more than a little jealous that any one man could be qualified to advise me on all three of those things. But envy aside, thank you for your advice so early on in this process; it gave me much needed guidance in how to take the plot forward, and it was genuinely appreciated. I hope the little homage you’ll find inside demonstrates that.
‘Bear’. For reasons you’ll understand, I won’t use your real name. Suffice it to say, I would be a lot more worried about the accuracy of Joe Dempsey’s action scenes if I had not had your expert advice on how these things play out. Growing up where I did, I’m qualified to write a raw, Michael Devlin-esque brawling scene. But Dempsey’s highly trained actions needed the input of a real-life special forces operative (retired). I hope I got it right.
To my Enablers:
Scott Ewing and Nicola Mitchell. I am consistently asked, ‘How do you write these books when you’re working full-time as a lawyer?’ The answer is the two of you. But for your understanding and your unending support, there is simply no way I could mix the day job with the ‘one book a year’ demands of being a thriller writer. Without you, I would still be a barrister who wants to write, rather than the ‘writer/barrister’ I can now claim to be. You guys are the difference and I cannot thank you enough. (But I hope, Scott, that the character of Will Duffy is at least a step in the right direction.)
To my ‘Borrowed’ Names:
The majority of the names in Power Play come from my imagination. A few, though, are stolen wholesale from people I have known throughout my life, or from their relatives. And so Tom, Dylan, Charlie, Heather, Paul, Scott – and anyone I may have missed out – I hope very much that you’re happy to see those names in print.
Monsignor John Kennedy. The name that somehow triggered the whole plot! Yet another thing for which we have to thank you, this time for being the inspiration to write this book in the first place.
And then the most important name. The name I cannot give here without spoiling the plot. Suffice it to say, that name’s inclusion in Power Play is the result of a very generous donation to an amazing charity (Caudwell Children) by the wife of the character’s inspiration. Thank you, Rebekah, and thank you, Mystery Man. You did an incredible thing for an incredible cause, and I hope I have done your namesake justice in return.