Stephen Bentley's books are a must read for true crime lovers and historians alike. #newrelease .@StephenBentley8 #truecrime #crime #mobsters

This surely has to be a first?

Crime fiction about an undercover cop written by a former undercover cop! 

cover reveal...

Dilemma

Steve Regan is back and this time he’s alone and undercover in a seedy area of Thailand on the trail of a Texan expatriate, Les Watkins, the biggest drug smuggler in South East Asia.

Using himself as the bait, Regan attempts to score a $50,000 deal with the Thai mafia in an effort to get closer to his target.

As he finds himself embroiled deeper into the operation, Regan suspects Watkins may be connected to Regan's nemesis, ruthless Mafia boss Carlo Vitale, who has fled the United States following a triple bombing and assassination of three crime family heads.

Besides staying alive, Regan has other problems when he suddenly finds himself facing the worst dilemma an undercover cop can face.

~~

Steve Regan is a fictional undercover cop and has now been the protagonist in Books 1 and 2 of the Steve Regan Undercover Cop series.

Stephen Bentley introduces and talks about his new Steve Regan crime book...

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Some of you may know that I, the author, was a real undercover cop in the UK many years back. I wrote about it in my Amazon UK bestseller Undercover: Operation Julie - The Inside Story. Indeed, it recently became a #1 Amazon UK bestseller for the fourth time, in four different categories on four separate occasions since first publication.

The fact of my memoir morphed into the fiction of Steve Regan owing to a meeting with two mobsters who wished to involve me into a plot to smuggle huge quantities of cocaine from Bolivia, via Miami, and into Britain. Those characters remained a mystery to me, and inspired the Steve Regan series.

Now, it’s easy for a reader to say, “Steve Regan is Steve Bentley.” He’s not but of course he is loosely based on me.

One reviewer of Book 1 wrote, “… He [Regan] is too “perfect… ” That is an interesting point about the fictional character and about real-life undercover cops. It’s only a few days ago I read an article claiming, “if he seems too good to be true, he probably is…,” meaning the “he” is probably an undercover cop. There is some truth in that. The quote is in the context of a woman who knew a guy for years. He was an undercover cop but she was unaware of it at the time because he was “such a nice guy.” It also highlights how people stereotype police officers.

To infiltrate a crime group, it helps if you are a likeable character. If you are obnoxious, the chances are you will be shunned. An undercover cop is trying to “wheedle” his or her way into another’s inner circle and to gain confidences.

Steve Regan inherits the “nice guy” character trait from me, I guess, but as he is part of my imagination, I can permit him to do things I could never do in real life. That’s fun. He also has a sense of humour, and “a way” with women. I make no comment if that is any reflection on me!

He is not another Jack Reacher or Milton. He is Steve Regan, an intelligent, determined thinking-man who is rather good at his job.

As the series develops, Regan may succumb to the mental stresses of his prolonged undercover role. Again, that scenario is a reflection of reality, as is the temptation to “go rogue” - to profit from criminal enterprises, a theme explored in Book 1.

Dilemma (Book 2 Steve Regan Undercover Cop) is part hard-boiled crime fiction and part romantic suspense. It is set in a seedy bar area of Thailand. Regan lost a wife and a daughter in a road traffic accident [fiction] many years back, and readers will discover if he finds real love in such an unlikely Thai setting. Whether that last part (love) is me or Regan, readers will have to make up their own minds.

So, to sum up: Regan is a complex mix of gentleness, ruthlessness , determination, and vulnerability. By necessity, he is also a great actor!

Dilemma is available now to buy! Release date was July 11, 2018.

Book 1 Steve Regan Undercover Cop can be downloaded for free if you subscribe to his monthly newsletter on his author website.

All of Stephen Bentley’s undercover themed books, fact and fiction, may be found in digital formats here on Books2Read.

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A portion of all my book sales royalties are to be donated to the Jamie Bulger Memorial Trust, a UK Registered Charity. Please consider donating even if you never buy my books.

The real Stephen Bentley is a former police Detective Sergeant and barrister (trial attorney) from the UK. He is now a freelance writer and HuffPost UK blogger.

His memoir 'Undercover: Operation Julie - The Inside Story' is a frank account of his undercover detective experiences during Operation Julie - an elite group of detectives who successfully investigated one of the world's largest drugs rings.

When he isn't writing, Stephen follows the (mis)fortunes of Liverpool Football Club from afar and relaxes on the beaches of the Philippines with his family where he now lives.

Stephen is currently working on a number of books including Book Three in the fictional Steve Regan Undercover Cop Series.

He would like you to know that he will donate a portion of all book sales royalties to the James Bulger Memorial Trust, a UK registered charity.

Credit to author and illustrator Kelly Artieri

Kelly was commissioned to produce an illustration of what Steve Regan looked like, wearing his beloved Aviators, sat astride his 1970's vintage Triumph Bonneville motorcycle.

Social Links

You may find him on Twitter as @StephenBentley8

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For those who enjoy a good thriller and #crimefiction check out The Picture by .@rogerbray22 #thriller #mustread #bynr .@rararesources

Introducing…

The Picture

by

Roger Bray

A warehouse in Japan used as an emergency shelter in the aftermath of the 2011 Tsunami. A distraught, young Japanese woman in dishevelled clothes sits on a box, holding her infant daughter.

Ben, a US rescue volunteer, kneels in front of her offering comfort. They hug, the baby between them. The moment turns into an hour as the woman sobs into his shoulder; mourning the loss of her husband, her home, the life she knew.

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A picture is taken, capturing the moment. It becomes a symbol; of help freely given and of the hope of the survivors. The faces in the picture cannot be recognised, and that is how Ben likes it. No celebrity, thanks not required.

But others believe that being identified as the person in the picture is their path to fame and fortune. Ben stands, unknowingly, in their way, but nothing a contract killing cannot fix.

Excerpt

The Picture

Context:  Ben Davis a retired Portland, Oregon police officer volunteers in the relief effort to the areas devastated be the 2011 Japanese Tsunami. He meets a young Japanese woman cradling her baby and a picture is taken of them which becomes an iconic emblem of the disaster.  A conman, Vince Brown, decides to pretend he is the man in the picture to star in a reality TV show focusing on natural disasters.  He realises that his connection to the picture could be his undoing if the truth were to come out.  Vince and his business partner decide to kill Ben to stop him exposing them and through a contact a pair of inept junkies are paid to carry out the task.  This scene is the aftermath of that attempt when a local young couple, trail bike riding in a wood hear a crash and go to investigate. 

As Brian approach the road through the trees, he saw a man standing on the road. He had his hands on his hips and appeared to be sucking in air; he straightened and ran to the passenger side of the truck. As Brian stepped onto the road, the Tahoe accelerated with a screech of the tires and took off down the road. He knew that there was no cell coverage round here, not on this bit of road, a bit further up near old Johnston’s place you could usually get a single bar, but only on clear days, any rain or even a strong wind and the signal was gone. Even so, as was usual for teenagers anywhere, Brian always carried his cell phone with him. Not understanding what was going on he understood enough to know something was and Brian quickly pulled his cell out of pocket and pointed it at the Tahoe as it skidded slightly, straightened then headed west on the highway.

Disappointed he hadn’t been able to get a picture of the man he managed a couple of quick shots of the back of the Tahoe before it disappeared from view.

“They drove off.” Alice had caught up by this time and stood next to him on the road.

“Yeah, maybe they hit a deer or something,” Brian said looking around.

The trees lining both sides of the road cut down the light and as Brian peered around through the gloom expecting to see a buck or doe lying on the road dead or maybe injured but he could see nothing, so he looked toward where he had first seen Feral standing on the road trying not to vomit. Brian took a couple of steps and saw the back tire of the Harley before he realized what else he was looking at.

It was quiet now, but he realized what he could hear was the tick, tick, tick of the contracting metal of the cooling Harley engine.

“Stay here, Alice,” he said.

She nodded, deciding that there was a good chance that whatever was there was something she didn’t want to see, anyway.

Brian walked across the road and he could see the marks running along the shiny railing. It hadn’t been there long, a couple of months maybe, the old damaged and often repaired railing replaced with a shiny new section. When he was standing in the same place that Feral had been, he looked up the railing and saw the same view he had, he forced himself to look to the right and saw the wreckage of the Harley and the crushed body.

Like Feral he took a deep breath as Alice called out.

“What is it, Brian?”

Brian walked over to where she was standing a look of fear on her face. He took her arm and turned her away from the scene and took a step with her back into the tree line and away from the road.

“Motorcycle, it looks like a hit-and-run.”

“The rider?”

Brian shook his head.

“He’s there but there’s nothing we can do for him.”

“He’s dead?”

Brian nodded, “I’m pretty sure he is, he certainly looks it. Alice, do you think you can ride the Honda home, tell your mom what’s happened, and get the sheriff out here.”

She nodded, “What about you?”

“Well, I suppose someone should stay here, I guess that it’s the right thing to do, someone should stay with him.”

Alice hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

“Don’t rush, take your time, and be careful on the bike.”

She kissed him again, this time on the lips, “Don’t worry I will.”

She turned and taking hold of low branches to slow her down as she scrambled down the slope toward where Brian had left the trail bike.

Brian watched as her long blond hair disappeared through the trees before he turned and vomited his lunch on the ground. Taking another deep breath, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked up toward where he knew the Harley was. With a lot more bravado than he felt, he walked back to wreck and looked down at the body. He knew he was dead, he had known that from the first look before he had sent Alice for help, he knew that there was nothing he could now do except stay with the man until help showed up.

He walked up the road to well beyond the start of the marks on the rail and sat on a clear, new, and untouched piece of railing while he waited for the sheriff to show.

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Author Bio –  'I have always loved writing; putting words onto a page and bringing characters to life. I can almost feel myself becoming immersed into their lives, living with their fears and triumphs. Thus, my writing process becomes an endless series of questions. What would she or he do, how would they react, is this in keeping with their character? Strange as it sounds, I don’t like leaving characters in cliffhanging situations without giving them an ending, whichever way it develops.
My life to date is what compels me to seek a just outcome, the good will overcome and the bad will be punished. More though, I tend to see my characters as everyday people in extraordinary circumstances, but in which we may all find our selves if the planets align wrongly or for whatever reason you might consider.

Of course, most novels are autobiographical in some way. You must draw on your own experiences of life and from events you have experienced to get the inspiration. My life has been an endless adventure. Serving in the Navy, fighting in wars, serving as a Police officer and the experiences each one of those have brought have all drawn me to this point, but it was a downside to my police service that was the catalyst for my writing.

Medically retired after being seriously injured while protecting a woman in a domestic violence situation I then experienced the other side of life. Depression and rejection. Giving truth to the oft said saying that when one door closes another opens I pulled myself up and enrolled in college gaining bachelor and master degrees, for my own development rather than any professional need. The process of learning, of getting words down onto the page again relit my passion for writing in a way that I hadn’t felt since high school.

So here we are, two books published and another on track.

Where it will take me I have no idea but I am going to enjoy getting there and if my writing can bring some small pleasure into people’s lives along the way, then I consider that I will have succeeded in life.'

A thriller set in the seedy world of London's drug rings: Hamelin's Child by .@debjbennett #thriller

Hamelin’s Child

by

Debbie Bennett

Michael Redford died on his seventeenth birthday – the night Eddie picked him up off the street, shot him full of heroin and assaulted him.

Now he’s Mikey and he works for Joss. With streaked blond hair and a cute smile, he sleeps by day and services clients at night. Sometimes he remembers his old life, but with what he’s become now, he knows there is no return to his comfortable middle-class background.

Then he makes a friend in Lee. A child of the streets, Lee demands more from friendship than Mikey is prepared to give. But the police are closing in on them now and Mikey’s not sure anymore who he really is – streetwise Mikey or plain Michael Redford. 

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Hamelin’s Child was long-listed in the UK Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award.

A thriller set in the seedy world of London's drug rings, this book contains strong scenes and adult material.

Excerpt from Hamelin’s Child

Michael Redford died on his seventeenth birthday – the night Eddie picked him up off the street, shot him full of heroin and assaulted him.

Michael had been drinking steadily all night, matching Jenny’s Breezers with export-strength lager, and when he saw Jen wrapped around his mate’s brother across the dance floor, he didn’t feel at all inclined to slow down. Totally oblivious to observers, they were all hands and lips – a human octopus of limbs on the red chesterfield sofa with Jenny’s long dark hair covering both their faces. She’d dropped an E in the toilets; he could tell by the shine in her eyes and the way she moved when they’d been dancing earlier – she always came onto him when she was high, then pulled away when he got interested. Michael kicked the pillar next to him in disgust. He hated nightclubs anyway.

‘She came with you, didn’t she?’

Michael turned to see a man standing next to him. Blond hair, cream chinos, polo shirt and too much jewellery. He seemed older than the rest of the punters.

The man waved his hand in Jenny’s direction. ‘The girl,’ he added, by way of explanation. ‘I was watching the two of you earlier.’

Michael nodded. ‘Don’t think she’ll be leaving with me.’

‘Girlfriend?’

‘Ex.’

‘Evidently.’ The man smiled sympathetically. ‘Women are bitches, aren’t they? He’s a dealer, by the way – saw him outside the bogs before. What’re you drinking?’ He pointed at Michael’s empty glass.

Michael shook his head. ‘No, thanks.’ Now fuck off, creep. Something about the stranger made him uneasy.

‘Suit yourself.’ The man shrugged and went off to the bar, returning a few moments later with a pint and what looked like a whisky chaser. He held the pint out. ‘Got you one, anyway. You look like you could use it.’ He had an impressive assortment of gold rings on his hand, which suggested serious money, even if the guy was a poser.

Oh, what the hell… ‘Cheers.’ Michael emptied half of it immediately. He had less than a fiver left from the eighty quid his dad had given him earlier that day and not enough for a taxi home. Still, he couldn’t complain – there weren’t many parents who’d let their underage son celebrate his birthday in a club, and it was largely due to the intervention of his elder sister Kate that they’d let him go at all. On top of that, she’d even managed to talk them into giving him enough money to enjoy it in style. The money had come with strings of course, but listening to the ten-minute evils of drink and drugs lecture had been a small price to pay for his freedom.

Seventeen today. Or was it yesterday now? It was well past midnight. Some of his mates were on the other side of the dance floor; Jenny and her new friend were all but shagging on the sofa and everyone seemed to be one half of a couple apart from him. Glancing sideways, he saw the man had melted into the crowd. Michael wondered whether he should just go home and he was starting to consider the idea seriously when the stranger appeared at his side again.

‘Still here?’ The man smiled. ‘D’you want me to have him warned off?’

‘No.’ Who is this prick? Some kind of gangster? ‘He can have her.’

‘What’s your name?’

‘Michael.’ His voice sounded weird – in fact, everything sounded weird. The music seemed distorted and hollow and it echoed around his head, the bass making his teeth ache. Too much booze, Redford, that’s your problem. And far too much imagination. Sure, the guy was a bit strange, but – shit – wasn’t everyone in this dump?

‘Hi, Michael. I’m Eddie.’ He touched Michael’s shoulder with an air of concern. ‘Are you OK?’

Michael shook his head, trying to clear it. His pulse was pounding in time with the music. ‘What is this?’ He held out what was left of his drink, wondering whether the man had spiked it with anything.

‘Holsten. It’s what you were drinking earlier.’ Eddie sounded hurt. ‘It’s all right, isn’t it? Chuck it, if it’s off, and I’ll get you another.’

‘No … I don’t know.’ The lights seemed brighter and sharper, the music burning into white noise. He stared at the pint in his hand. What the hell is in this drink? He took a step forward and staggered, but Eddie caught his arm and deftly took the glass out of his grip.

‘I think you’ve had enough, Michael,’ he said softly. ‘Let’s go get some fresh air, shall we?’

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Indie authors! Take those rose-tinted glasses off! by @ElkeFeuer

MY MIXED BAG RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WRITING INDUSTRY
by
Elke Feuer

When a publisher said they wanted to publish my book back in 2012, I thought I’d landed in writers’ heaven. I road euphoria waves for months, but my starry-eyed dreams about my publishing experience became tarnished. 

As a young aspiring writer, I had visions of an amazing editor and publicist who’d love and coach me, being sent on tour by my publishing company, and lines of fans at the bookstores who’d camped out hours before just to have me sign their books. Unrealistic? Perhaps, but it was my dream and I’d clung to it for years.

My aspirations changed the moment I got an email from my publisher saying I was the best person to market my book, along with the eBook Guerilla Marketing. Wait? What? I had to send out my own review requests, take myself on tour, and find my own readers? Suddenly the percentage they were taking didn’t seem in my favor.

My traditional publishing experience made me realize (1) the industry wasn’t what I thought and (2) I had a lot to learn about the art of publishing.

I entered the self-publishing world without my rose covered glasses and discovered hard truths about the industry, the people in it, and myself. I love the control self-publishing gives me, but it wreaks havoc on my life in ways I didn’t expect or anticipate.

I’m going into my third year of publishing and with all its challenges, joys, disappointments, and craziness, I wouldn’t change it. My experiences with traditional and self-publishing strengthened me and my love for writing. The journey showed me I didn’t have to wait until I retired to pursue a writing career and even with all the ups and downs, authors have more options today than twenty years ago that work in our favor.

If you’re just starting your journey, I have one main advice. DON’T GIVE UP! This industry will chew you up and spit you out, but if you love to write you’ll make it through. 

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 Introducing Deadly Race

 Race car driver Remy Borden likes fast things: bikes, cars, and men. 

Her plans to become the first woman from the Cayman Islands to race internationally gets sidetracked when she’s injured and pulled from the final race because of a fiery confrontation with another driver.

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Life goes from bad to worse when the racetrack owner is killed and she’s suspect number one because his death puts her back in the race. But racing again proves difficult when Dr. Jackson Wilson insists she stop racing until she heals, making her wonder if his ‘doctor’s orders’ don’t have ulterior motives-the racetrack owner was his friend.

She and Jackson search for the truth behind the murder when accidents start happening at the racetrack, and an adoring fan gets too close. Soon the simmering attraction between her and Jackson boils over, forcing her to admit Jackson makes her think of a life beyond racing.

Elke was born and raised on Grand Cayman and lives there with her husband and two kids who keep her on her toes.

She’s a cof­fee­holic, check­list fanatic, and future space explorer. She has a sarcastic/quirky sense of humor and loves meet­ing new people. When not writing, she's helping other writers in Cayman through her organization CayWriters.

The author of For the Love of Jazz and Deadly Bloodlines, book one in her Deadly Series. She stumbled into writing romantic suspense because of her fascination with serial killers, but writes other genres because characters keep telling her their stories and she's a sucker for a crazy story.

What people say about Elke:

“Elke knows how to create a page turner and will leave you begging for more”.
“Elke is an up and coming author to watch”.

Click for an excerpts of Deadly Races:

Read this book at your Peril

 Ten good reasons not to read this book

 by 

R.A. Barnes

1.      Main character. The over-riding reason you shouldn’t read this novel (or maybe you already haven’t read it?) is Gerard Mayes. Ger is an anti-hero. Men want to be him, women want to convert him. But some of those anti-hero attributes should be enough to put you off.

2.      Alpha male. If you only want to read about dominant men then Peril isn’t for you. Ger is a slacker. Easily led by others. But that’s not his self-image. He’s in total denial about how others see him.

3.      Eye candy. Broad-shouldered, tall, athletic and drop-dead gorgeous. He ain’t that. Ger is a bit short, a bit rounded, a sandy-haired Scot who would be past his prime if he ever had one. But women – some women – fall under his spell.

4.      Fidelity. Faithful and dedicated to one woman. Not Ger. He’s having an affair with his wife’s best friend.

5.      Clean-living. With a taste for a pint or several and a best friend who has an expensive cocaine habit, Ger fails on this score too.

6.      High moral standards. The opening chapter leaves no doubts about Ger’s standards. Even his disposal of the body is shoddy.

7.      Good health. The only good thing about his health is Ger doesn’t smoke. If you could read his palm the lifeline wouldn’t be long.

8.      Intelligence. Not half as smart as he thinks he is. The anti-hero’s attempts to outwit his blackmailer and deceive the police can only end in disaster.

9.      Likeable. Well, I’ll let an unfortunate reader have their say on this one. If I'm honest, I wanted to punch the main character in the face. Repeatedly. I wished him nothing but suffering … I wanted to buy a plane ticket to Dublin just to hunt down Ger--a fictional character--and kick him soundly in the bollocks. Enough said.

10.  Conclusive. It should be all over for Ger at the end of Peril. Having left a trail of bodies and destroyed lives in his wake, he should get his comeuppance. But he doesn’t. Not quite anyway.

If you have been fortunate enough not to read Peril then you might also like to not read the sequel Getting Out of Dodge. I can similarly recommend not reading anything else I’ve written.

Ruby Barnes

And now, introducing that awful, awful book...

PERIL

 A moment of madness. His choices. Their lives.

Ger Mayes doesn't stand out from the crowd and life is passing him by. He thinks the world owes him a living but is held back by his own minor daily misdemeanors. That is until he kills a mugger and is blackmailed by a vicious Romanian crime gang. Ger keeps the secret from his wife, Jo, but bares all to her best friend, his mistress Renée. He also trusts his pal, high-wheeling drug dealer Tom, but gets dragged out of his depth into a world of darker deception. In a deadly struggle to cast off the gang's net, Ger becomes more entangled. Can he find a way out and save those he loves?

Contemporary crime fiction set in Ireland, PERIL is the picaresque story of an anti-hero. Men want to be him, women want to redeem him. Ger's story is fiction, but his origins are real - everyday folk living and working in a Dublin city center wracked with organized begging, drugs and violent crime. It's not all leprechauns and shillelaghs in Ireland.

PERIL is the first of the Ger Mayes crime fiction series.