Dragonfire

May 25, 2020
Two alternating, parallel stories drive bestseller Bell’s entertaining if slapdash 11th Alex Hawke novel (after 2018’s Overkill). Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Alex Black Hawke, Alex’s grandfather, meets the new Chinese ambassador, Tai Shing Tang (aka Tiger), at a party in Washington, D.C. Tiger and Alex become friends, though Tiger has a hidden agenda. Grandfather Alex later teams with British intelligence officer Ian Fleming on a dangerous mission that takes them into Nazi Germany. In the present, the Queen of England asks grandson Alex to locate her missing grandchild, Prince Henry, who is also Alex’s godson. Henry was last seen at the Dragonfire Club, which is owned by the Tang brothers, Tiger’s grandsons, on Black Dragon Island in the Bahamas. Alex’s efforts to rescue Henry unearth a nest of evil, depravity, and international intrigue. Bell leaves a number of plot lines hanging as the good guys barrel through the mayhem with barely a scratch. Fans of overblown adventure thrillers will be satisfied. Agent: Peter McGuigan, Foundry Literary + Media.