Matt Webster lives in a tower block and attends a failing school. He dreams of being a spy like James Bond. Little does he know that he is being watched by someone who can make him into even more than that – a superhero.
His first solo mission is to attend a ball at the Decembrian Embassy and discover who is planning to steal a priceless diamond. While there, he meets the mysterious Lady Antonia du Cane, and is powerfully drawn to her. It soon becomes clear, however, that Lady du Cane is not what she seems. Matt’s quest to discover who she really is almost costs him his career.
A modern day Guy Fawkes gathers a coterie around him with the aim of blowing up Parliament with a nuclear bomb. To achieve this, they need money. Lots of it. Selling the Heart of Decembria Diamond will provide more than enough. All that stands in their way is the Freedom League – but the League is beset by internal disagreements. Can the heroes put their differences aside in time to save the day?
Prime Minister Richard Miller and his wife Fiona grieve for their daughter, Yasmin, who has been missing for three years, and is presumed to be dead. Viper agent Violet Parker could hold the key to what happened to Yasmin, but Violet is accused of giving away the organisation’s secrets. She is to be executed without trial. Will she take her knowledge of what happened to Yasmin with her to her grave?
General Information
Pages: 294
Published: 28 November 2020
ISBN: 9798568186304
First Page
Violet Parker crouched in the bushes, her heart hammering hard against her ribs. Everything depended on the success of this mission; failure meant she wouldn’t be accepted as a member of the Viper organisation. At best, it would mean diminished career prospects; at worst… Violet didn’t like to think about that.
She’d chosen a task she was certain she could complete successfully, but the unexpected could always happen.
In front of her was a perfectly maintained lawn, with geometrically straight strips where a gardener had recently mowed it. Beyond the lawn was Parker Hall. The perfect choice, for its name alone. The house was in complete darkness. Violet had chosen tonight because she knew the couple who lived there, the Millers, would not be at home.
Even so, security would be tight. To get from her hiding place to the house meant breaking cover and crossing the grass. It would be impossible to do so without triggering motion sensors, which would light up the lawn like a floodlit soccer pitch, bringing a security guard out to investigate.
Themes
- Superheroes
- Changing identity
- Missing persons
- Secret Societies
- Secrets
- Friendship
- Organised crime
- International politics
- Assassins
- Loyalty and betrayal
Book Club Questions
- There are characters in this story who are only children and characters with siblings. How do you think having siblings, or not, affects a person’s life?
- As the story progressed, what did you think was the story behind the enigmatic Violet? Who did you think she really was?
- When Richard and Fiona were discussing their daughter’s disappearance in Chapter 1, what did you think had happened to her? Did you share Fiona’s conviction that she was still alive, or Richard’s, that she was probably dead?
- Why do you think Violet decided to fake her death and resume her birth identity?
- Discuss the role of organised crime in the story – the Viper organisation, the Dark Web, the Guy Fawkes Gang.
- Was Firebolt right to suspend Matt from the Freedom League? Was he right to let him back in?
- What do you think attracted Matt to Violet, even though he knew she had secrets and wasn’t always straight with him about her past?
- Is it ever right to betray a friend or family member for a cause, as when Matt attacks Brain Cell to stop him revealing Violet’s secret, or Yasmin shooting her father to gain the trust of the Guy Fawkes Gang?
Julie Howlin Author 