It’s been a long time since the last Alex Hawke thriller hit bookstores (almost three years ago), but trust me, his return is well worth the wait. . . Overkill, Ted Bell’s latest novel, is easily one of the best books of the year.
Different authors are great at different things — but when it comes to pure writing talent and ability, there is nobody better than Ted Bell. Seriously, if you haven’t read this guy’s stuff, he has world-class writing talent. Yes, of course, the stories are great — and Hawke is a brilliant character — but the cadence that Bell writes with is helplessly addictive and his prose is as strong as steel. Once you start an Alex Hawke novel, there’s no stopping, especially with Overkill, which I personally think might be his best work so far.
TRBS: Hawke is back! This is your first book since Patriot (2015) — what have you been up to, and what’s up with the Hawke movie?
TRBS: If you could pick any actor to play Alex Hawke on the big screen, who would be your dream casting choice?
Bell: “Tough one. I’m torn. I loved Chris Hemsworth in Ron Howard’s wonderful Formula 1 racing movie Rush. He nailed a handsome young British aristocratic hero who had his faults and weaknesses but was triumphant in the end. I think he’s incredibly smart, an actor who could bring Alex Hawke to life as a 21st Century Bond. My personal dream. And then there is Tom. I first saw Tom Hardy in a brilliant film, Legend. About the Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie, two gangsters who terrorized London in the early Beatles era. One is a sadistic psychopath, a two-legged human nightmare. The other is a handsome, charismatic charmer, a ladies’ man who tries to control his out-of-control bro. I told a pal how much I loved the film and she said, ‘Yeah, Tom Hardy’s brilliant.’ I said, ‘Was he Ronnie? Or Reggie?’ And she said, ‘Both.’ Wow. I believe Sean Connery’s sheer animal magnetism drove his success as 007. I think Tom is the closest approximation in this era. So, yeah, like I said. Torn.”
Bell: I’ve never gotten over Goldfinger. A teenager, I watched the trailer, mesmerized. Rob Ft. Knox? Yeah, right. Gimme a break. All of our gold’s in there! It’s the most heavily guarded place on the planet! I couldn’t wait to see it! So here we are, a few years later, and I’m looking to give my villains a Herculean challenge. Something manifestly beyond any chance of success. So… I know! Steal all the gold in bloody SWITZERLAND! So, that’s it. Overkill is my Goldfinger. Simple as that. And every bit of the detail about the Swiss military, their amazing defenses against armed invasion? All 100% true. You’d have to be a fool to think you could pull off that heist. But, Putin’s got other ideas.”
TRBS: Who are some of your favorite authors?
Bell: “In no particular order: Mark Twain, Scott Fitzgerald, Joseph Conrad, Hemingway, Rex Stout, Dickens, Raymond, Chandler, Tom Wolfe, Nelson DeMille, Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming, etc.”
TRBS: Lastly, what’s next for Alex Hawke after Overkill?
Bell: “After all the hardcore crap Putin goes through at the hands of Hawke in OVERKILL, I’ve decided to give the poor bastard a year off. Although he may do a cameo in a casino where he ends up at the same table as Alex and loses to him at chemin de fer! In Hawke Xl, Hawke will find himself in the clutches of a vast and powerful Oriental crime family, one that dates back to the 12th Century! A midnight call from Sir David, Chief of MI6, triggers the action. Apparently, the Queen has called. Prince Andrew’s ‘secret son,’ a 25-year-old playboy named Prince Henry, is a victim of foul play. While on vacation at an ultra-exclusive island resort in the Caribbean, the young royal, privately Her Majesty’s favorite grandchild, turns up dead. Interpol and the Bahamian Constabulary are handling the case and Her Royal Majesty is not happy with their finding: a drug overdose. She demands that Commander Hawke be dispatched to the swanky tropical crime scene immediately! And so it begins…Hawke vs. The Most Powerful Crime Syndicate on Earth!”
On a ski vacation in the Swiss Alps high above St. Moritz, Alex Hawke and his young son, Alexei, are thrust into danger when the tram carrying them to the top of the mountain bursts into flame, separating the two. Before he can reach Alexei, the boy is snatched from the burning cable car by unknown assailants in a helicopter.
Meanwhile, high above the skies of France, Vladimir Putin is aboard his presidential jet after escaping a bloodless coup in the Kremlin. When two flight attendants collapse and slip into unconsciousness, the Russian leader realizes the danger isn’t over. Killing the pilots, he grabs a parachute, steps out of the plane . . . and disappears.
Hawke has led his share of dangerous assignments, but none with stakes this high. To save his son, he summons his trusted colleagues, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard Ambrose Congreve, former U.S. Navy SEAL Stokley Jones, Jr., and recruits a crack Hostage Rescue Team—a group of elite soldiers of fortune known as “Thunder & Lighting.” Before they can devise a rescue plan, Hawke must figure out who took his boy—and why. An operative who has fought antagonists around the globe, Hawke has made many enemies; one, in particular, may hold the key to finding Alexei before it’s too late.
But an unexpected threat complicates their mission. Making his way to “Falcon’s Lair,” the former Nazi complex created for Hitler, Putin is amassing an impressive armory that he intends to use for his triumphant return to Moscow.
Only one man can smash the Russian president’s plan for domination—a master counterspy who will cross every line to save his son . . . and maybe save the world itself in the bargain.
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck (“The Godfather of the thriller genre” — Ben Coes) has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.