Below the Thunder

Robin Duval's follow-up to Bear in the Woods is a heart-in-mouth tale of international conspiracy, self-discovery and romance. One summer evening in Bavaria, fortyish history professor Bryn Williams – more Frasier than Bond – falls simultaneously into love and mortal danger. He becomes a target for MI6, Mossad and an American hit man. Oblivious to his predicament, he continues his holiday in America. Walking alone in a National Park, he stumbles on a newly dead body. He is arrested for murder, and released only when evidence of a third party emerges. But when he discovers the identity of the killer, and reports it to the San Francisco police, his motel room is blown up. With no-one to turn to, he flees north. He is intercepted in the mountains by a cousin, who works for MI6. And by the woman he fell in love with in Bavaria. They persuade him – against his better judgment – to help frustrate a plot to destroy the American President. He is drawn into a web of conspiracy and deceit whose true nature only gradually becomes apparent. As the narrative races towards its unexpected and shocking climax, the hero discovers untapped reserves of talent – as lover and as man of action. This is also a tale about the underbelly of American and international politics. About the secret forces that drive people and nations towards destruction One summer evening in Barvaria, a forty-something history professor called Bryn Williams falls in love and, unwittingly, into mortal danger. He continues his holiday in America, unaware that he is now under surveillance by both the British and Israeli security services, and that an American hit man has him in his sights