New Forgotten Tomes column in TopShelf Magazine

Literally meeting Bond by J. H. Bográn

It’s dark times for fans of the most enduring movie franchise of all time. Much like 2016 was the “Year without the Doctor” for fans of Doctor Who, the James Bond fans have seen nothing since 2015´s Spectre, and plans for a new movie are in the pre-production limbo, a most fearsome place to be, once that has claimed Bond for up to six years—from License to Kill (1987) to Goldeneye (1995). This has left fans with not much choice but dusting off the old DVD or newer Blue-Ray copies of the previous 24 movies. I’m here to offer another lifeline, one that perhaps has already occurred to some, but not to all fans: Get to meet James Bond, literally, by reading the books. You can start with Ian Flemming’s, then carry on to recent authors like Raymond Benson and Jeffery Deaver.

Continue reading here: http://joom.ag/l5zL/p6

About The Spy Across the Table



My work with the Big Thrill has some great perks and allows me to read awesome books before their publishing date, but sometimes there are novels I really want to read and can’t get the assignment. That is the case with The Spy Across the Table by Barry Lancet. So, obviously, I went out and got the book.


The Spy Across the Table is the fourth book in the Jim Brodie series. Brodie divides his time between San Francisco and Tokyo, he’s an art dealer who inherited an interest in his father’s security company. While the setup from the previous novels stemmed from Brodie Security, this time is personal. When two of his friends are murdered in a meeting he helped put together, Jim stumbles into more trouble than he anticipated. Yet, he wants to do justice to his dead friends as he plunges along in an spiral of action that takes him to Korea’s DMZ, China, as he fights a battle almost nobody seems to want him involved with, FLOTUS being that exception.

By the way, I really meant Korea in the last paragraph. Yes, North Korea plays such a big role in this novel that one could almost call the book prophetic when you consider recent developments in the news.
One of the best sequences in the book takes place in the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ that separates North from South Korea. Is a border like no other, infested with barbwire, land-mines and even aggressive guards. The author graciously shared these pictures. 




Fans of the series will be treated to scenes with regular characters, but one in particular that made such a splash in Tokyo Kills now returns center stage, so much that he’s referenced in the title.

Luck should have it that I’ve not read all the books in this series, so I can confirm the author does a terrific job of introducing returning characters with enough information for a newcomer, and best of all, his references to the other stories are far from a commercial to buy the other books. Of course it’s better to complete the set.

About the author:
Barry Lancet is the author of the award-winning international suspense series featuring Jim Brodie. The latest entry is THE SPY ACROSS THE TABLE, from Simon & Schuster. The first Brodie book, JAPANTOWN, won a Barry Award for "Best Debut Novel” and the second, TOKYO KILL, was a Shamus Award Finalist. The third, PACIFIC BURN, was released in paperback earlier this year. An American expat raised in California, Lancet has lived in Japan for more than twenty years. His editorial position at one of the Japan’s largest publishing houses allowed him access behind many closed doors, and lend his novels a true insider’s authenticity.

Get your copy HERE.