In Switzerland, a pharmaceutical company is conducting experiments on human guinea-pigs who are terminally ill. One escapes to tell the world of the Swiss militarys best kept secret and soon enough, British secret agents Tweed and Bob Newman are on the case, cheating death, escaping from their enemies on Swiss trains and staying in the best hotels and drinking liters of champagne and coffee! Ah, but Forbes's books are fun in this respect. What is the secret project of the Swiss army, or rather a renegade battalion who is guarding the Berne Clinic? When Tweed finds out, the results could change the stability of western Europe for good.
Raymond Harold Sawkins was a British novelist, who mainly published under the pseudonym Colin Forbes, but also as Richard Raine, Jay Bernard and Harold English. He only published three of his first books under his own name.Sawkins wrote over 40 books, mostly as Colin Forbes. He was most famous for his long-running series of thriller novels in which the principal character is Tweed, Deputy Director of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Sawkins attended The Lower School of John Lyon in Harrow, London. At the age of 16 he started work as a sub-editor with a magazine and book publishing company. He served with the British Army in North Africa and the Middle East during World War II. Before his demobilization he was attached to the Army Newspaper Unit in Rome. On his return to civilian life he joined a publishing and printing company, commuting to London for 20 years, until he became successful enough to be a full-time novelist.
Sawkins was married to a Scots-Canadian, Jane Robertson (born 31 March 1925, died 1993). Together they had one daughter, Janet.Sawkins died of a heart attack on August 23, 2006.
Sawkins was often quoted as personally visiting every location he features in his books to aid the authenticity of the writing. As a result, there is detailed description of the places where the action in his books takes place.
Fury (1995) was inspired by the courage of his wife before she died, and he set it apart from his other novels “because of the strong emotion and sense of loss that runs through it”.
Just one of Forbes' novels was made into a film: Avalanche Express, directed by Mark Robson and starring Lee Marvin and Robert Shaw, which was released in 1979 to generally poor reviews.
A good read, I am currently reading the series but not in order. I found terminal is less exciting than the janus man and Double jeopardy. In this part, Tweed has a secondary role, and Bob Newman took the lead . The book is about experiments from medical world.
This is an exciting, tension filled thriller with the nerves building right through the book until the end.
The ending based on the two characters whose love affair always seems to be lacking in genuine warmth is shown to be that in the way they used each other for their own ends and in a way that is central to the thrilling story that unfolds in the book. I also liked how we didn't have a fairytale ending, but quite a dark one, which for me was more fitting, realistic and based on human nature.
I was a fan of the setting of Switzerland and the backdrop of the Cold War. The way both were drawn was realistic and added atmosphere, as well as interest to the story.
Its just a bit off perfect for me, which is why I gave 4.5 not 5 stars. Some of the characters, particularly the women were not the best drawn, but this was saved by the writing and story itself.
This is a thriller that I would definitely recommend reading and I look forward to reading other books by Colin Forbes.
Typical Colin Forbes in so far as the story is good and fast paced. However the writing style is appalling with ridiculous dialogue and holes in the story. What ultimately lets this novel down is the very abrupt ending. It seems like he had to rush off and just ended it without tying things up properly. My Kindle said I was at 100% read whilst the story was still at 97%. Very odd but not suprising in a Forbes.
While the book is a Tweed & Company, Tweed plays a secondary role.. Reason for 2 stars, totally abrupt ending, with so many loose ends, so many unresolved issues. It was no ending at all. As if the writer just got bored and didnt complete it.
This is good, old fashioned espionage at it’s best. Think the 70’s & 80’s when Forsyth, Higgins and those masters of the craft were writing the very best spy thrillers with very decent plots, twists & cleverness!
How did I not know of Colin Forbes?? What excellent novels of the world of spies and all things espionage. Great characters excellent well researched locations.
Fast-paced, but an abrupt ending. Some more detailing towards the finish would've been nice. This is not a Tweed's novel, it is more of Bob Newman's show.
This is an excellent read, impossible to put down. The characters are very realistic and you are kept guessing until the final chapter. I highly recommend this book.
This was the first book I read involving Tweed and from them on I was hooked! Now that I can read the first six on Kindle Unlimited,I have the pleasure of reading them again. I hope all the Tweed books will be available soon.
Iets te vaak net te ongeloofwaardig. Vooral het personage Nancy kon mij niet overtuigen. Daarnaast een complex en verwarrend plot waarbij je als lezer constant achter de feiten aanholt aangezien de auteur heel bewust heel wat informatie achterhoudt. Werkt frustrerend.
In my opinion, this book was not up to the standard set by the "Bahamas Crisis." While a lot was going on, it would be as frustrating to be one of the protagonist's assisting characters as it was to read the book. Every character was told exactly what they were to do or what to get, and exactly when to do it or get it. Nobody was given any part of the plan except their specific part. This was not a spy novel but this isolation of each role was treated as a positive, however it was very frustrating for the reader.
As a reader of a certain type of action thriller, I am used to knowing at least some parts of the plan. The author then uses the plot to determine the outcome of the action. In this book, Forbes unleashes virtually all his action in the last 20 or so page. Of course it all succeeds brilliantly except maybe the part of a minor player or mercenary who accomplishes his major role then gets killed off. Great book if you like that style; otherwise average. Three stars.
A good read. Very enjoyable. It may be titled "Tweed and Co." and you would expect Tweed to play a major role. In reality, he has a secondary part. It is a stand alone book using other characters. I think the idea works well. I was disappointed by the end. It seemed to have come to an abrupt stop without some issues resolved.
A good Tweed thriller. I am currently reading the series in order and this is book 2 of the Tweed & Co Series. There is the usual Colin Forbes mix of characters (some of whom are not what they appear), a good mix of action and intrigue as the story builds to a good climax
I read that as an eBook from the interwebs, and I am not sure if it included the last pages or not. The end was very abrupt, with plenty of questions unanswered, things not followed up. If that really was the end (and I have problems believing that), then I would give that book 1 star.