Brass Monkey: A James Acton Thriller Book #2 (33 page)

Acton laughed. “I’m sure the Treasury had to print a few billion for both sides.”

Laura squeezed Acton’s hand then pointed at the screen.

“Look, there he is!”

On the screen, the new Pope appeared on the hastily rebuilt balcony, still covered in scaffolding. He stepped out in full regalia, including the mitre Reading had salvaged, and raised his hands to the heavens, waving at the roaring crowds below. The arms of his robes slipped to his elbows, revealing his bare wrists. The camera zoomed in, the image filling the screen.

Acton gasped, grabbing the remote and freezing the image. “Look!” He winced as he hoisted himself from the couch and pointed at the left wrist of the new representative of God on Earth.

The frozen image revealed a small tattoo. Two thin lines, with a thicker, slightly curved line underneath.

It was the symbol of the Triarii.

THE END

There are many hateful things said in this book, by fictional characters, that are sure to offend some, titillate others, but hopefully prompt thought and debate in all. Enjoy this book as the work of fiction it is, and rather than hide from the topics it discusses, confront them, and propose your own solutions, before someone takes matters into their own hands, and implements their own, perhaps as frightening as those described here.

Thank you for choosing and reading my book. If you enjoyed it, I would be grateful if you could write a review and post it on Amazon.com and / or Amazon.co.uk.

James Acton will return Spring 2012.

The concept for Brass Monkey germinated during a visit to my parents’ home several years ago. An old Air Force comrade of my father’s was visiting, and they were talking of old times when the term Brass Monkey was mentioned. The mere sound of these two words conjured up images of James Bond, old Cold War movies, and of course, a sequel to
The Protocol
.  A plausible explanation for a lost American nuclear missile had been found.

But what to do with it?

Obviously I figured that part out, this book the result. As usual, many were involved in the writing of this book. I would like to take the opportunity to thank these individuals specifically. My wife, Esperanza, of course, my daughter, Niskha (who in real life was just as adorable as her fictional namesake in this novel at that age), my parents, Hugh and Bernice Kennedy, as well as Brent Richards, Ian Kennedy, Jennifer Dunn, Klaus Rößel, Ron Blank, Deborah Wilson, Richard Jenner, Eid Choueiri, and finally my friends for supporting me, and the many thousands of readers who have embraced Depraved Difference, proving you don’t have to be a household name to be in the best sellers list.

J. Robert Kennedy wrote his first story when he was five.

Everyone in it died.

Things didn't get much better from there. After horrifying his teachers in creative writing classes he took an extended hiatus, returning to writing on a whim, haunted by the image of a woman standing in tall grass, the blades streaming through her fingers. The result was a short story,
Does It Matter?
, written in a single evening.

And then he let it sit.

A couple of years later he let several friends read it and they encouraged him to try and get it published. He submitted it to
The Sink
and it was immediately accepted. Encouraged, he wrote a second story,
Loving the Ingredients
, and it too was accepted, along with a reprint of
Does It Matter?
by
The Writers Post Journal
.

With several publishing credits under his belt, he was ready for something bigger. A phone conversation with a best friend led to Robert writing his first novel,
The Protocol
.
Lachesis Publishing
, the first publisher he sent it to, agreed to publish it and cloud nine got a little more crowded.

Robert was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, and grew up an Air Force brat, living in Halifax and Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Goose Bay, Labrador, Lahr and Baden, Germany, and finally Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. He attended university in Waterloo and settled in Ottawa, Ontario. Robert has a wife and daughter, and is hard at work on his next novel.

Visit Robert’s website at
www.jrobertkennedy.com
for the latest news and contact information including Twitter and Facebook links.

For two thousand years the Triarii have protected us, influencing history from the crusades to the discovery of America. Descendent from the Roman Empire, they pervade every level of society, and are now in a race with our own government to retrieve an ancient artifact thought to have been lost forever.

Caught in the middle is archaeology professor James Acton, relentlessly hunted by the elite Delta Force, under orders to stop at nothing to possess what he has found, and the Triarii, equally determined to prevent the discovery from falling into the wrong hands.

With his students and friends dying around him, Acton flees to find the one person who might be able to help him, but little does he know he may actually be racing directly into the hands of an organization he knows nothing about...

To sample or purchase
The Protocol
, please visit Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0059Y4QNO

For additional options as they become available, visit:

http://www.jrobertkennedy.com

Would you help, would you run, or would you just watch?

When a young woman is brutally assaulted by two men on the subway, her cries for help fall on the deaf ears of onlookers too terrified to get involved, her misery ended with the crushing stomp of a steel-toed boot. A cellphone video of her vicious murder, callously released on the Internet, its popularity a testament to today's depraved society, serves as a trigger, pulled a year later, for a killer.

Emailed a video documenting the final moments of a woman's life, entertainment reporter Aynslee Kai, rather than ask why the killer chose her to tell the story, decides to capitalize on the opportunity to further her career. Assigned to the case is Hayden Eldridge, a detective left to learn the ropes by a disgraced partner, and as videos continue to follow victims, he discovers they were all witnesses to the vicious subway murder a year earlier, proving sometimes just watching is fatal.

From the bestselling author of The Protocol and Brass Monkey comes Depraved Difference, a fast-paced murder suspense novel with enough laughs, heartbreak, terror and twists to keep you on the edge of your seat, then knock you flat on the floor with an ending so shocking, you'll read it again just to pick up the clues.

To sample or purchase
Depraved Difference
, please visit Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UB8OJE

For additional options as they become available, visit:

http://www.jrobertkennedy.com

Crime Scene tech Frank Brata digs deep and finds the courage to ask his colleague, Sarah, out for coffee after work. Their good time turns into a nightmare when Frank wakes up the next morning covered in blood, with no recollection of what happened, and Sarah’s body floating in the tub. Determined not to go to prison for a crime he’s horrified he may have committed, he scrubs the crime scene clean, and, tormented by text messages from the real killer, begins a race against the clock to solve the murder before his own co-workers, his own friends, solve it first, and find him guilty.

Billionaire Richard Tate is the toast of the town, loved by everyone but his wife. His plans for a romantic weekend with his mistress ends in disaster, waking the next morning to find her murdered, floating in the tub. After fleeing in a panic, he returns to find the hotel room spotless, and no sign of the body. An envelope found at the scene contains not the expected blackmail note, but something far more sinister.

Two murders, with the same MO, targeting both the average working man, and the richest of society, sets a rejuvenated Detective Shakespeare, and his new reluctant partner, Amber Trace, after a murderer whose motivations are a mystery, and who appears to be aided by the very people they would least expect—their own.

Tick Tock, Book #2 in the internationally bestselling Detective Shakespeare Mysteries series, picks up right where Depraved Difference left off, and asks a simple question: What would you do? What would you do if you couldn’t prove your innocence, but knew you weren’t capable of murder? Would you hide the very evidence that might clear you, or would you turn yourself in and trust the system to work?

From the internationally bestselling author of The Protocol and Brass Monkey comes the highly anticipated sequel to the smash hit Depraved Difference, Tick Tock. Filled with heart pounding terror and suspense, along with a healthy dose of humor, Tick Tock ‘s twists will keep you guessing right up to the terrifying end.

To sample or purchase
Tick Tock
, please visit Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006S2U0FE

For additional options as they become available, visit:

http://www.jrobertkennedy.com