Simon Riske

From New York Times bestselling author Christopher Reich, an international spy thriller featuring Simon Riske: one part James Bond, one part Jack Reacher Riske is a freelance industrial spy who, despite his job title, lives a mostly quiet life above his auto garage in central London. He is hired to perform the odd job for a bank, an insurance company, or the British Secret Service, when he isn't expertly stealing a million-dollar watch off the wrist of a crooked Russian oligarch. Riske has maintained his quiet life by avoiding big, messy jobs; until now. A gangster by the name of Tino Coluzzi has orchestrated the greatest street heist in the history of Paris: a visiting Saudi prince had his pockets lightened of millions in cash, and something else. Hidden within a stolen briefcase is a secret letter that could upend the balance of power in the Western world. The Russians have already killed in an attempt to get it back by the time the CIA comes knocking at Simon's door. Coluzzi was once Riske's brother-in-arms, but their criminal alliance ended with Riske in prison, having narrowly avoided a hit Coluzzi ordered. Now, years later, it is thief against thief, and hot on their trail are a dangerous Parisian cop, a murderous Russian femme fatale, her equally unhinged boss, and perhaps the CIA itself. In the grand tradition of The Day of the Jackal and The Bourne Identity, Christopher Reich's The Take is a stylish, breathtaking ride.

Stolen sports cars, brilliant casino heists, and the brazen kidnapping of a prince: only the shadowy spy-for-hire Simon Riske can stop the mastermind behind it all. Monte Carlo's lavish casinos have become the target of a sophisticated and brutal team of professional gamblers; a casino dealer has been beaten to death; a German heiress's son has been kidnapped. Who better to connect the crimes and foil a daringly brilliant plot than Simon Riske, freelance industrial spy? Riske -- part Bond, part Reacher -- knows Monte Carlo well: it's where he was once a thrill-seeking thief himself, robbing armored trucks and leading police on dangerous car chases across the Côted'Azur, until he was double-crossed, served his time, and graduated as an investment genius from the Sorbonne. Now Riske is a man who solves problems, the bigger and "riskier" the better. From the baccarat tables of Europe's finest casinos to the superyachts moored in Monaco's Port Hercule to a secluded chalet deep in the Swiss Alps, Riske will do what he does best: get in over his head, throw himself into danger, and find a way to outthink and outmaneuver villains of every stripe. In one of the most clever, enjoyable, and entertaining new series to come along in years, this sequel to The Take gives readers what they want most: a hero we can root for, locales we wish we were in, and a plot that never lets up.

Rafael Castille- forty, a newlywed, and soon to be a father- is days away from opening a luxury boutique hotel on the sun-splashed island of Koh Samui, off the southern coast of Thailand. That is until the Royal Thai Police storms the hotel, arrests him, and flies him to Bangkok where he is placed in the city's most notorious, overcrowded jail. Charged with blackmail, extortion, and embezzlement, "Rafa" needs help to prove his innocence. At the request of Rafael's father-in-law Sir Nicholas, Simon Riske rushes to Bangkok to ensure Rafa's release. But the two soon find themselves in the throws of a violent interrogation deep in the jungle. On the run in a foreign country and pursued by unseen forces for the murder of a top military official, Simon Riske must fight to stay alive long enough to uncover the truth. Simon's quest takes him from Bangkok to Singapore, and, ultimately, to Rome, and the Cannes Film Festival, as he unravels a complex, audacious theft of enormous magnitude. In his greatest challenge yet, Simon must foil a plot with global implications whose masterminds will stop at nothing to ensure its success.