ISBN: 0-620-37035-1
108,741 words
KILL THE PRESIDENT:- Aided by a renegade Israeli element, the ‘Third Force’ attempt to kill South Africa’s President Nelson Mandela in 1994 and disrupt the West Bank peace initiative.
On 22nd September 1979 the CIA satellite surveillance system Vela, detected a nuclear explosion in mid-Indian Ocean. No radiation levels were recorded and when challenged the apartheid government of South Africa denied any involvement. U.S nuclear scientists postulated the existence of a `clean' nuclear bomb - American Professor Cohen called it the ultimate terrorist weapon.
In 1994, after the demise of apartheid, South Africa's first democratically elected government is led by President Nelson Mandela.
A group known only as the Third Force are killing and inciting black on black violence and have stolen two nuclear devices from Pelindaba the South African Nuclear Research Centre. Aided by a renegade Israeli right wing element, it aims to kill President Mandela and his cabinet and end the West Bank Israeli peace initiative.
The British SIS need Harry Canham an ex-SIS case officer shipwrecked on the Kwa Zulu Natal coast. Canham's task - the British government's desperate bid to avert a nuclear disaster in Africa and the Middle East.
Three books by South African writer Michael Bowery recently hit the shelves.
The three form part of a trilogy, introducing intelligence operative Harry Canham as he solves a series of high-profile crimes. Bowery has republished The Centaur File under the title Canham's Run for the sake of this trilogy, which revives the "spy versus spy" tradition of stories that were popular in the 70s and 80s.
All three books are loosely based on real events –
Canham's Run focuses on the murder of Dr Gerald Bull, who supplied the Iraqis with the technology to build the much feared super-gun that led to Saddam Hussein's downfall.
The Sligo Piper has as its central theme the murder of Lord Mountbatten, involving the Real IRA and a plot to assassinate another member of the British Royal family in 1992.
Kill the President is based on a plot to assassinate President Nelson Mandela and his cabinet during the political turmoil of the 1994 period in South Africa involving what was known as The Third Force.
Bowery has thoroughly researched all three of the subjects he focuses on, keeping the reader transfixed up until the end of the very last page. –
ANDREW BEET - Pretoria News
South Africa, where a radical group known only as "The Third Force" is killing and inciting black-on-black violence. President Mandela and his cabinet are in danger. Aided by a renegade Israeli right wing element, this group has stolen nuclear devices. They mean business, and along the way they also intend to end the West Bank Israeli peace initiative.
Harry Canham, an ex British SIS officer is asked to prevent a nuclear disaster in South Africa and the Middle East. Experienced Canham has an exacting and dangerous task ahead of him. A nail-biting thriller that keeps the reader turning the pages until the final climax.
This is the third book of Bowery's in which Canham puts his life on the line to solve the problems of others. The first book was Canham's Run (previously published as The Centaur File) and The Sligo Piper.
The authenticity of this exciting plot comes from South African author Michael Bowery's background in intelligence and years of writing political commentary for international publications.
TALKING TRAVEL