Less Than a Shadow  Hard Copy - $12.97 (223 pages) Ship to:   U.S.    Canada     International      (Includes FREE copy of .PDF version) You can also order from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Or from your favorite bookstore. Details. Electronic Version - $5.97 .PDF - Acrobat Reader (1126KB)      (No s&h applies)

About this book, read ...

• From the book

• What has been said about it

• About the author

The Citroen was not going to clear. ...Ender found he could not tolerate the thought of an escape. It was less a decision than a pissed-off recollection of a man who had tried to take part of his arm away. Ender stood on the accelerator and for the first time knew how that felt. He was standing, he was no longer in the seat, his body was pushing forward and he understood in the fraction of an instant there was going to be an impact of some significance if the two machines met. Would they? Then the two cars met for longer than seemed possible. The instant it took to happen also seemed elongated and pushed out of shape. The Citroen flashed by in a smear of blue that crowded out everything in Ender's vision until the noise crowded out that and everything else, too. The way metal screamed when it was pierced was the way the world would end, bumping once like an empty box and entering the second phase in a parting of steel and plastic and glass, then it would rip like animal horn, like something that was dead but living to the bone. It would only stop when the blue car paused in its velocity, and like a train off track tried to correct its course, coming about, showing its face instead of its bleeding ass, as it went over the side. more excerpts

top

Rumeli Hisari, the Ottoman fortress, with the second bridge in the background.

Ortakoy, the centrally located tourist area where the reporter, Alfred Rydell, lived. In the background is the first bridge over the Bosporus.

Readers > Chacko_D > Shadow
add to cart   view cart

Excerpts | Comments And Reviews | Author Info

When Alfred Rydell, a noted journalist, is murdered in Istanbul, his wealthy family has questions and they demand answers. Jason Ender is ordered by the State Department to find them. And he's just the man to negotiate the huge labyrinthine city that gave Byzantine its name. What secret had the journalist uncovered that cost him his life? Why does the shadow of the Turkish Mafia cling so closely to every move Ender makes? More important, is this man capable of dealing with the pending chaos that threatens to rearrange the map of the Middle East in a single night? This heart-pounding tale concludes on an autumn night when the entire city rocks to the beat of Armageddon.

top

Five Stars - Midwest Book Review

. . . An exciting novel that combines action with a labyrinth of motives and deadly perpetrators, Less Than A Shadow is very highly recommended reading for mystery/suspense enthusiasts and documents David Chacko as a gifted author who pays particular attention to background detail and character development, making both his stories and his characters come alive in the "mind's eye."

more...

I live in Istanbul most of the year, so the location and characters are ones I know well. A city of fifteen million people, Istanbul is by far the most fascinating place in the Middle East. The bridge between East and West, Europe and Asia, all lies within the same city. Less Than A Shadow works its way through the tumult, conspiracies and colors of the city that gave the world the word Byzantine. This synonym for intrigue has lost none of its meaning in the last 2000 years. Take the strange and sudden trip. David Chacko

top

Echo Five - Echo Five takes place at the end of the world where terror is the norm and the heat arrives from the rim of hell. Jason Ender, who has been assigned to debrief high value terrorists in the Horn of Africa, finds himself caught in a rising tide of violence that begins with the death of a young female interrogator—Echo Five—and ends with the discovery of a plot that threatens to pull the plug on the petroleum lifeline to the West. more...

The Severan Prophecies - When the Roman emperor Caracalla was assassinated, his family gave the task of safeguarding their dynasty to the questor Marcellus Decimus, the narrator of this story. How he led a young boy named Varius in a race against death that culminated in the restoration of the dynasty is one of the more remarkable episodes in the chaotic and violent history of Rome. more...

Martyr's Creek - When your worst enemy makes you the executor of his estate, you don't expect an easy time. What James Pandolph discovers in settling Tom Powys' considerable estate is nothing compared to what is required settling the passions of his life. This includes neo-conservative politics at the highest level and the bodies that have fallen at every step along the way. more...

Graveyard Eyes - The torture and murder of a prominent businesswoman launches a police investigation that ruffles the collar of the gigantic city of Istanbul. Inspector Levent, the man the department calls when discretion is demanded, uses all his skills to make his way through a maze of sex and hot money, obscured at every turn by the realities of power. When he reaches the pinnacle of society, the discoveries that he makes provide a scintillating top-down view of Turkey, the Moslem country on the verge of entry into the EU. more...

The Peacock Angel - Jason Ender, the acknowledged master of the espionage game, leads a team of dedicated people in a desperate hunt for a mysterious, ancient religious icon. With the future of the Middle East at stake, Ender soon discovers that despite his vast talents and skills, he may be fated for death by powerful forces determined to take and use the icon for their own purposes. From the streets of Zurich to the mountains of Italy and the hills of Mesopotamia, the action rolls inexorably toward the surprising and unexpected conclusion. more...

Like a Man - Czech paratroopers make a night-drop into their Nazi-occupied homeland during WW II. Their objective? To kill the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany. They accomplish their mission against insurmountable odds, then seek safety in the catacombs of an ancient church. When confronted by an entire SS regiment, their chances of escape are slim to none. more...

A Long Way from Eden - When a sinkhole freakishly erupts, the decaying remains of a young woman surface. Homicide detectives are forced to dig ever more deeply along twisted, dangerous paths into the past. Their journey makes for a haunting, teeth-grinding tale. more...

top

add to cart   view cart