★★★★★“This second book in the series does a great job of mixing action, mystery, and relationships, building on what was started in the first book while keeping things fresh and exciting.“
– Readers’ Favorite
Book-2 begins with the car explosion and our hero, Eric Pickles, surrounded by kidnappers. Safely back in DC in meetings with the team and the Americans, he then headed back to London. Meanwhile, there’s trouble stirring at FSB headquarters in Russia with an investigation into the attempted kidnapping and resulting accident.
Friends of Whitby charity shop.
“Good morning, sir. May I help you?” asked Miss Helen Procter, one of the Whitby volunteers.
“Yes, I am sure you can. I came to see Mrs Gamble, the owner of the shop. My name is Eric Pickles, and she is expecting me. I called earlier,” replied Eric, giving her a more than generous smile.
“She should be here soon. She did call, asking me to look after you,” Helen replied, offering him her hand. You must be the gentleman from Bleak House. Isn’t that the house near to where one of our delivery drivers was accidently killed in a landslide a few days ago, when the road collapsed into a disused quarry? It must have been a terrible shock for you!” she said, her eyes wanting more of him.
“Hamish, you mean. Yes, it was a shock, and I think that is why Mrs Gamble asked me if I would be so kind as to drop by the shop when I returned home from America,” replied Eric, his eyes undressing her beauty.
“Do you travel a lot? I always wanted to travel, but my mother suffers from severe muscular arthritis, so the farthest I have ever been away from Whitby is Edinburgh. My father took me there once before he passed away two years ago to see the royal yacht Brittania, which is on permanent display there at the port of Leith. That about sums up my world of travelling experiences. But you, you look like a well-travelled young man, handsome, dashing, single and desirable, I would say,” she replied, blushing and turning away from him, hiding her embarrassment.
“Thank you, that is definitely something no other woman has ever said to me before. I feel honoured, especially coming from you, a very attractive single young lady like yourself. Perhaps we will meet again somewhere more romantic on the far side of the world at some lazy bar overlooking the ocean with silver beaches where time just drifts by, cooled by a sea breeze stealing your wildest dreams and making your heart beat faster as the tide ebbs away out of reach. I read something like that in a paperback once that I bought in a WH Smith shop at the airport on one of my trips,” he replied, smiling back at her words.
“Oh my goodness me, you take my breath away talking like that. I wanted to be there with you at the bar,” she said, her words full of excitement.
“I do hope I have not offended you,” said Eric, with concern.
“Good heavens no! You have opened my Pandora’s box, and my life will never be quite the same again. What an exciting world you must live in, Mr Handsome! And please do not ask me why I have let my guard down and spoken so openly like that. That is a first for me. God, my cheeks are burning. I think we had better hope Mrs Gamble comes back soon and rescues me,” she replied, her voice choked as she desperately tried to hold back her emotions.
“Is that what you would like - to be rescued?” Eric asked, snapping back at her words.
“Goodness gracious me, no! Certainly not! I am feeling all excited,” she said, her swollen nipples showing through her paisley jumper as her emotions betrayed her thoughts. “I meant rescue myself from me, not from you!” she replied, blurting out the words, embarrassed by her own innocence.
The telltale tinkling of the shop bell announced the arrival of Mrs Gamble. Helen, her head still up there on cloud romance, or most certainly in another place, turned away from him, losing herself behind a bookcase on the other side of the shop.
“Eric, thank you for coming! Sorry I am a little late, but there are a lot of people in Whitby who knew Hamish for what he was, a generous and kind person who went out of his way to help others. He was a happy-go-lucky kind of person, well-liked by everyone and unstinting in his labours for the community, young and old. He cared about everyone and will be sadly missed.
“Now, if Helen would be so kind to put the kettle on, you and I can discuss Hamish’s replacement over a nice cup of tea and a biscuit, if that is alright with you,” she said, pleased to see him again.
“Yes, that will be fine. I really came to assure you that the funding we provide for your charity will continue to be paid as usual at the end of each month. That is the least we can do under the circumstances until you find a replacement for Hamish,” replied Eric, his thoughts somewhere else.
“Yes, that is what I wanted to talk to you about. You and Helen seemed to be getting on well together. She would have been my obvious choice, but her invalid mother needs her more than we do, unfortunately.
“Yes she told me about her mother’s illness. A shame, really, because she is a very attractive young woman trapped in circumstances that give her very little in return. I am surprised she has not been swept off her feet and married to a local boy. That would perhaps give her the freedom she desires to live a more normal life,” replied Eric, his thoughts still in another place.
“One can only live in hope. I am thinking of taking on Hamish’s deliveries myself until I can find a suitable replacement for him. Would that be acceptable to you? I do have someone in mind, but she is not available until sometime in June. A local girl, very presentable and of a good nature and responsible, which is what that position is all about. So all I can do at the moment is to remain determined and patient, I’m afraid.
A cup of tea and a malted cream biscuit later, Eric left the shop as he found it, although his thoughts were already asking him questions he could not answer.
He found himself in a situation that even his Ispirian powers could not help him with. You must never use these powers for your own personal gain, your position in life or financial standing, whispered Zacharias, as she, the woman with no name, prodded his ribs with her stick. You still have unfinished business to deal with, Mr Eric Pickles, she whispered in his ear as he left the shop and said his goodbyes. He was still asking himself what the meeting was really all about, because it was certainly not about finding a replacement for Hamish Kruger or exchanging condolences. No, there were other issues that needed his attention, he was busy telling himself.
“That, Helen, is the enemy I was telling you about, and I am sure he is the person responsible for the deaths of Liv Jenko and Hamish Kruger, two of our top field agents,” Mrs Gamble said. “Did you do as I asked and openly flirt with him, letting him believe that there was plenty more honey left in the pot where that came from?” she asked, wanting to know more about him, anything that could explain why a very good toy salesman with a Ph.D. from Cambridge University was visiting Bleak House, the home of an impoverished artist barely making a living from the sales of his non-descript canvasses. “There must be something more than friendship involved there. Does he prefer men, perhaps? That would be good blackmail bait if he were gay,” she said, with a smirk on her face wanting to hurt him.
“Well, he certainly is not gay. I can guarantee you that because he most definitely stirred my sex drive, I can tell you. I am still wearing wet silk for God’s sake! That should tell you all you need to know about his sexual preferences,” interrupted Helen, still excited by his visit.
I wonder, said Aesop, repeating her words to himself.
*****
★★★★★“…an intriguing blend of political thriller with paranormal fiction, sci-fi, and romance.”
– Readers’ Favorite
It’s 2020 and our protagonist, a Mr Eric Pickles, has embarked on a coach journey when he meets the beautiful Gabrielle Smith-Rawlings. They sit together for the duration, getting acquainted, and he invites her to the house in the seaside town of Whitby in North Yorkshire where he’s staying, owned by Edith Crumble, the kind lady of the house and a dear friend of Eric’s.
“Eric, you are a very successful toy salesman and a most valued agent of MI6 with the destiny of planet Earth in your hands wearing your clothes with my mind and gifted with an intelligence that is way beyond your wildest dreams! What you must understand, Eric, is that the Ispirian people have searched every planet in every universe in the Milky Way and beyond for tens of thousands of years searching for you, the chosen one, Aesop.”
In the third book of The Book of Aesop series, Walking with Shadows, our protagonist, Eric Pickles, known as Aesop, finds himself and his loyal companions Gymslip (Xalis) and Rupert (Relus) facing a dire threat from an unknown adversary. As they delve deeper into uncovering the mystery, a shocking twist unfolds: a beloved character is viciously attacked, her life hanging in the balance, sending shockwaves through the entire group. 
.png)
Click Here for the list!
(Google gives me a small commission if you click on ads)
Sounds like a good novel.
ReplyDeleteI would enjoy reading this one. Sounds really good.
ReplyDelete