It’s New Year’s Eve. A major terrorist cell is planning a series of attacks across London over the next forty-eight hours. The government has surveillance on the group, a man undercover, and prepare to move in, to take out the terrorists before they can strike. But they lose contact with their inside man. And the cell vanishes into thin air, dispersing into the streets, armed and intent on completing their assault on London. The best Counter-Terrorist teams in the country are told to take them down before it's too late.
Nine terrorists. Nine lives.
The Armed Response Unit is one of these teams. Efficient and ruthless, the task force is ordered to locate the leader of the cell. As they hunt him down, they begin to realise that this is far bigger than any of them could ever have imagined. Bombings, rocket attacks, betrayal and a series of unexpected and shocking twists leave the ARU fighting to stay alive.
There's Archer, the youngest member of the team, keen to prove himself and justify his spot on the task force. His best friend, Chalky, who is forced to fight both the terrorists and his own demons. Porter, Deakins and Fox, tough and experienced men who’ve never dealt with anything of this magnitude. And Mac, their sergeant, who must make the quickest of decisions and lead his men against the invisible enemy.
As events unfold, other people are drawn into the danger. The Prime Minister, desperately trying to find a solution and protect the capital. A mysterious female Mossad agent, who appears out of nowhere and joins the fight against the cell. Two Special Agents from the DEA, one of whom was a member of the SEAL team that stormed Osama Bin Laden’s compound and who for some reason is struggling with the memory. And the vicious, powerful leader of a Middle Eastern drug cartel, who operates in the shadows and is somehow connected to the terrorists.
With crowds all over London celebrating the New Year, and with nine terrorists somewhere amongst them, the Armed Response Unit is faced with the most dangerous night of their lives. As the savage, shocking plans of the enemy are fully revealed, the ARU officers are faced with the ultimate question.
How many times can a man cheat Death before Death evens the score?
“‘I’ve read a lot of books in the past two years since I owned a Kindle, but this was the most compulsive reading I have come across.”
“An impressive start to a great series. I've now read all 6 books, and it just gets better and better”
Born in Sydney, Australia and raised in England and Brunei, Tom Barber has always had a passion for writing and story-telling. It took him to Nottingham University, England, where he graduated in 2009 with a BA in English Studies. Post-graduation, Tom moved to New York City and completed the two-year Meisner Acting training programme at The William Esper Studio, furthering his love of acting and screen-writing. Upon his return to the UK in late 2011, Tom set to work on his debut novel, Nine Lives, which has since become a five-star rated Amazon UK Kindle hit. The following books in the series, The Getaway, Blackout, Silent Night, One Way, Return Fire, Green Light and Last Breath have been equally successful, garnering five-star reviews in the US, UK, France, Australia and Canada. The Sam Archer series has sold over 62,000 books worldwide.
In his late-twenties, Tom spends most of his time flying back and forth between the US and the UK. He loves movies and good thrillers and hates coffee and bad weather. Tom can be contacted at http://www.tom-barber.co.uk/
John Sackville began work as an actor after studying at St. Andrews University and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Leading roles in regional theatre and the West End were followed by a period with the Royal Shakespeare Company. While there, John voiced an award-winning series of excerpts from plays and poetry—Lifespan—for the BBC World Service. Since then John has appeared in various film & TV productions, including the title role in Young John Paul II for BBC1. Recent projects include the BBC's The Secret of Crickley Hall and lead roles in the British feature film Fossil. John worked on a number of voice projects for corporate videos, awards ceremonies, museum guides and television documentaries before being taken in by Red 24 Voices and, subsequently, the London Voice Boutique. His experience has since extended to TV documentaries, audio books, language learning, computer games narration as well as numerous TV, radio and internet commercials. In 2011 john was accepted onto the reading panel for the RNIB Talking Books Service.