Hit them with charm: A Sunday sample from When Death Strikes

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The fourth book in the Eva Driscoll Thriller series

By Alan McDermott

“I’ll say one thing for the locals: they sure know how to make a decent beer.”

Eva was studying the menu. “I’m gonna have the Lomo Saltado,” she said.

“I’ll have the same,” Sonny told her. He was a big fan of the local marinated beef dish.

There didn’t appear to be any table service, so Sonny returned to the bar to place their order. As he waited to get the bartender’s attention, three men walked in. The first was huge, with shoulder-length black hair and a formidable build. The giant’s two companions were smaller but looked equally menacing.

The young bartender acknowledged them with a nod of the head and popped the tops on three bottles of beer. He placed them on the bar and put three glasses and a bottle of whiskey next to them before returning to the person he’d been serving.

Sonny waited patiently for his turn, then ordered the food and a couple more beers. When he turned to take the drinks back to the table, he saw the giant and his friends hovering around Eva.

He was used to guys hitting on her, but this time it was different. The way the bartender had dropped everything and rushed to serve the trio suggested they had influence, and as they didn’t look or dress like politicians or officials, that left only one explanation: they were trouble.

Most men walked away when they discovered that Eva was with him, but Sonny expected it would be different this time. The three newcomers looked like they could handle themselves, and he suspected they were used to getting what they wanted.

Sonny decided to use his two-stage approach to the problem. He’d hit them with the Baines charm, and if that didn’t work, he’d resort to swift and extreme violence. Despite being outnumbered, he had the advantage of surprise. They wouldn’t see him as a threat because of his size, and he figured he could take two out before the third knew what was happening.

He just hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Though the idea of a barroom brawl was tempting, Sonny was starving.

“Hey, guys,” Sonny smiled as he approached the table. “What’s happening?”

The trio looked at him, but Sonny’s eyes were on Eva. He saw her point a foot at one of the men, indicating which one she would take if things kicked off. That left Sonny with two targets, one of them being the big man. He was obviously the ringleader, and Sonny figured that if he took him out first, the others would soon cave in.

“We want to buy the lady a drink,” the big one said.

Sonny knew he had more than that on his mind. He held up the two bottles. “She already has one.”

One of the goons stepped between Sonny and Eva. “Go now, while you can.”

The decision was made, and it was the outcome Sonny had expected.

Dinner would have to wait.

Sonny brought his left hand up and smashed the bottle against his opponent’s teeth. Blood erupted from the mouth, and Sonny followed up with a punch to his throat. The man fell, clutching his neck, and Sonny turned to the next one, the leader of the trio.

He was a fraction slow.

When Death Strikes: Eva Driscoll Thriller Book 4

Eva Driscoll and Simon ‘Sonny’ Baines are living the good life. They have money and each other, but most importantly, their enemies think they are dead. Their new life is shattered when a bar room brawl thrusts them back into the spotlight, and they must evade a psychotic cartel boss and his skilled tracker if they are to survive.

But those are not the only dangers they face. Eva and Sonny must battle their way through unforgiving landscapes, but just when they think they are safe, their world turns upside down once more.

Tom Gray and his daughter, Melissa, are keeping their heads down in a small Canadian town. Life is good, if not a little boring, until Melissa is targeted by a school bully. That seemingly innocuous encounter leads the ESO to Gray, and this time there’s nowhere to run.

When Death Strikes is the fourth instalment of the gripping Eva Driscoll series from million-copy bestseller Alan McDermott. It was edited by The Written Word.

Learn more about it on the author’s website, and buy it from Amazon.

About Alan McDermott

When I pick up a book I want it to keep me gripped from start to finish and be something I can relate to. I couldn’t see myself delivering that with a science-fiction or romance novel. I could try, but I know I would soon get bored with it. If the subject matter doesn’t interest me, I can hardly expect my readers to become engrossed. I think it is important that you write about what you love.

Alan McDermott is a husband, father to beautiful twin girls, and a full-time author. Alan lives in the south of England, and in 2014 he swapped writing critical application for the NHS to penning thrillers that have gone on to sell over a million copies. His debut novel, Gray Justice, was well received and earned him membership of Independent Authors International. That book launched in July 2011, and by the time he’d written the follow-ups, Gray Resurrection and Gray Redemption, it had attracted the attention of a major publisher.

Alan signed with Thomas & Mercer in 2013 and has now written six novels in the Tom Gray series, plus a prequel, Gray Genesis. A spinoff called Trojan was shortlisted for ITW Best E-book Original Novel award 2018.

Alan also has four books in the Eva Driscoll thriller series: Run and Hide; Seek and Destroy ,Fight to Survive and When Death Strikes.

Motive is Alan’s first venture into the British crime scene, which he followed with his first U.S.-set crime thriller, Fifteen Times a Killer. Next up will be a new series with new characters, set in Europe.