A Flash of Lightning by Tony Drury

Jessica agrees with her mother; it's time she had a baby. She's given up looking for the right father.   

City financier; Matthew, has raised £6 million to make a film. Now it's gone missing and his neck is on the line. 

Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Rudd has learned that there are terrorists planning to murder 400 people. She doesn't know where or how and now her brilliant career is threatened.   

Will DCI Rudd uncover the terrorist plot in time to save the nation? 

Who has taken the film money? 

Will Matthew find the love of his life and a new mother for his daughter? 

And why is The Great Train Robbery on everybody's mind?

A Flash of Lightning was published by City Fiction on 21 November 2013 and is Tony Drury's fourth novel.

This is really two modern-day stories featuring Matthew, a high-flying financier, working in the City and Jessica who is in her late-thirties, works in a bank and knows that it's time to have a baby. The second couple are DCI Sarah Rudd and her husband Nick - and both stories run alongside narrative that goes back to 1963 and tells of the Great Train Robbery.

A Flash of Lightning is packed with action, and detail. From the wheeling and dealing of the City money houses, to the intricacies of a terror plot; the detail is precise and maybe just a little too much at times. Whilst I appreciate that the author wanted to make his story as authentic as possible, there were a couple of times during the story where I would have preferred a little more plot action than background information.

However, this is still an easy read, and the romance threaded throughout is welcome and softens the story somewhat, although Matthew and Jessica's idea of romance can sometimes be questionable!

I especially enjoyed the snapshots that went back to the 1960s, and followed the plot of the Great Train Robbery, this adds a touch of intrigue to the story as the reader wonders how and why this is connected to the main story - all becomes clear towards the end, and is cleverly done.

I enjoyed A Flash of Lightning. Tony Drury writes well and has an authentic voice. Personally, I could do without quite so much detailed explanation about finance deals, but many readers will appreciate this as an added dimension to the story.

My thanks to Cathy Wright from City Fiction who sent my copy for review.

Tony is a corporate financier based in the City of London, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers and a Member of the Securities Institute. He has written extensively over the years and is particularly well known for his financial and political books. He blogs weekly for www.enterprisebritain.com - both in his name and that of his alter ego, Mr. Angry.

He decided to pursue his love for fictional novels by becoming a Romantic Thriller Writer and in May 2012 released his first book 'Megan's Game' which is being released as 'Megan's Game' - The Film. Due for cinema release in 2016.

Tony is also notching up a few credits;

He is a fully elected member of the Romantic Novelists' Association. His second novel 'The Deal' was published in October 2012 and was included in the goody bags given out at the Cosmopolitan Magazine's Ultimate Woman of the Year Award in 2012.

He is also the author of six financial books and in 1998-2006 he built St. Helen's Capital into the most successful PLUS Markets corporate advisory business. In 2004, he raised funds to get Quercus, the publisher of Stieg Larsonn's trilogy 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' off the ground.

Tony has since gone to write 'The Deal', 'Cholesterol', 'A Flash Of Lightning' and 'The Lady Who Turned' is scheduled for a summer release.

For more information about the author, visit his website www.tonydrury.com

Visit his Facebook page, follow him on Twitter @mrtonydrury

More information about City Fiction can be found at www.cityfiction.co.uk