Quest
Quest is a crime thriller and a love story in equal dimensions. Based in Carlisle, the Moray Firth, and Liverpool, this is the tale of a man with a simple mission. At least, Sam believes it’s straightforward, but is unaware that his assignment is a job within a job: a crucially important task relevant to the security of the nation. He is an asset to an organisational structure over which he has neither control nor knowledge.
Sam’s project seems easy enough until he recalls the five white feathers his colleagues awarded him when he was sacked from his previous job. The mental problems of constantly living a lie almost lead to his annihilation. It doesn’t take him long to learn that he is an unwanted man as he tries to penetrate an organised crime gang that is intent on destroying the fabric of society in return for untold wealth. Eventually, it dawns on Sam that Rafferty has been right all along. Did Jenny really overhear a conversation about a plot to murder him? Is she in the enemy camp too; the girl he was falling in love with against all the rules in this wicked game? Has she been briefed to twirl him around her little finger, to penetrate his mind?
Does the conspiracy to destroy so many lives involve the mysterious and demure Jenny?
Sam still recalled the sound of gunfire pounding in his skull when a crazed gunman tried to murder him in cold blood. A lifetime later, Sam questions his very existence when he realises that it’s not just a gang of hardened criminals he’s up against. It’s much more dangerous than that. The crooks are in cahoots with a hostile enemy State determined to destroy society as we know it. But Sam, the detective-turned-spy, is a rat caught in a trap. There’s no way out unless he risks his life taking part in a volatile journey that can only lead to his death.
Sam! Hero or zero? Is it a quest worth dying for?
The most resilient undercover operatives are those who fight battles we know nothing about. Such trailblazers engage in covert risk-taking investigations of unimaginable intricacy. They are the unknown and unspoken of who have chosen their path in life and walk it with a silent pride. It is their quest in life.
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Pre-publication Review: Paul Anthony delivers a remarkable tale of mystery and suspense. Prepare to jump into Sam’s mind on page one and experience the highs and lows of his precarious lifestyle to the last page. The author has the unique ability to feed an exceptional storyline with several threads before weaving them together to present a tremendous ending. It’s a crescendo of action then, just when you think it’s all over, he generates a thought-provoking high-octane finish that makes you wonder if you have been reading fiction or fact. A powerful story written in an easy-read style that the author has truly mastered.
(Kennedy Keighley, film director, scriptwriter, scene development manager (1AD))