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    Hard Place: The Prequel
    Hard Place: The Prequel
    Hard Place: The Prequel
    Ebook44 pages29 minutes

    Hard Place: The Prequel

    By Douglas Stewart

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    About this ebook

    Hard Place - The Prequel is set in Monte Carlo and is a short introductory teaser to HARD PLACE the first in the Det. Insp.Todd "Ratso" Holtom series of international mystery thrillers. Ratso, a London detective, is obsessed with bringing down a drug baron who for years has been above the law. The trail from Monte Carlo leads into the action in HARD PLACE, a full length thriller set in London, the Bahamas, the USA, Spain and Cyprus. The second full length Ratso thriller is soon to be released and is called DEAD FIX where Ratso is up against international sports match-fixers inthe dangerous world of black-market gambling.

    PRAISE for HARD PLACE on AMAZON

    Hard Place
    (First in the Detective Inspector Todd “Ratso” Holtom series)

    “Douglas Stewart has done a great job and has created in Detective Ratso a character who is quick-witted, clever and a worthy addition to the action thriller genre.”

    “This book engenders the same get-to-the-end compulsion for the reader as does a Harlan Coben crime suspense or a Simon Kernick or Mark Billingham police novel... the prose is easy to read and the plot is enthralling.”

    “Couldn’t stop reading, this was worth 5 stars.”

    “Fantastic read, great characters, gripping storyline. Definitely want to read more adventures from Ratso. Roaring success Mr Stewart!”

    “I read a lot of thrillers and Hard Place is high up on my list of favourites.”

    “Each chapter leaves you eager to continue reading. This was the first of Stewart’s novels I have read but I will definitely read more.”

    “Shades of David Hosp but from an English perspective - and I hope there are more books ... which develop the life and career of the engaging Ratso”

    “The author’s knowledge of his areas of operation and of the way these crimes are solved is fascinating.”

    “It is as if the author has inside knowledge of these characters and places; their portrayal is simple, effective and truly insightful.”

    “Wow! What a page turner! I can’t wait for the next release. A definite five-star from me!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDouglas Stewart
    Release dateOct 29, 2017
    ISBN9780996479844
    Hard Place: The Prequel
    Author

    Douglas Stewart

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      Book preview

      Hard Place - Douglas Stewart

      Det. Insp. Todd Ratso Holtom Series

      HARD PLACE

      THE PREQUEL

      DOUGLAS STEWART

      Det. Insp. Todd Ratso Holtom

      in

      HARD PLACE

      THE PREQUEL

      This is a Prequel – a short introduction of what’s to come in Hard Place, a full length mystery thriller with immediate tense and dramatic action. The Prequel turns back the clock to set the scene for the dramas ahead.

      I hope The Prequel gets you hooked on this new series involving Det. Insp. Todd Ratso Holtom of London’s Metropolitan Police. If so, read on with Hard Place – and then coming soon after that is Dead Fix.

      Special Offers

      Want to hear more of exciting plans and special offers?

      Please do contact me:

      Email: Doug@douglastewartbooks.com

      Facebook: www.facebook.com/DouglasstewartBooks

      Web: www. Douglas StewartBooks.com

      CHAPTER ONE

      The French Riviera

      Don’t even think about using it. Antoine Kopa, the local police chief was pointing to the over-sized four-poster as he fixed Det. Insp. Todd Ratso Holtom with a determined stare from over his pencil-thin moustache. The local police chief had pulled strings to get the vantage-point in the five-star suite without payment.

      But Ratso had thought about it – and often too. At late thirties, his imagination was well able to run riot at the prospect of a long-limbed French girl cavorting between the black silk sheets. The penthouse with its whirlpool bath and sauna was the type of luxury expected by Formula One drivers during the Grand Prix or where stars like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran might stay when performing at the Salle des Etoiles.

      You’re in here for surveillance, understood? The Frenchman’s tone had been friendly but firm.

      Though Ratso had been quick to agree, his imagination was still running wild long after he had been left alone. Given the task ahead, he knew there was nil chance of spare time to abuse the luxury with a sun-tanned beauty, scented with an expensive French perfume. Additionally, where he had stayed last night was scarcely going to attract a movie superstar … or even a movie extra come to that. Courtesy of the Met Police, he had occupied a poky room in a two-star dump with a view over a bus-depot and a line of trashcans.

      That conversation with Kopa had been yesterday and now he was still alone, seated on a thick-cushioned bench built

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