About
David Thayer was born in Niagara Falls, New York. After moving to Long Island he took up residence in New York City, first in the Bronx, then in the Village, later in Chelsea. In between he spent four years In Europe before relocating to the west coast. Prior to the digital revolution David saved boxes of paper manuscripts every time he moved but now he’s settled down in front of a screen and saves work with the touch of a button.
BLACK FOREST is a historical thriller introducing Arthur Murray, an ex OSS man who is back in the States after the war. An Israeli agent is after a former Nazi scientist currently employed on the Redstone rocket program; Abigail Drew works deep cover and draws Arthur into a web of intrigue that threatens to engulf him and everyone he holds dear.
KILLER IN A BOX, RED MOUNTAIN, AND THE WORKING DEAD form a trilogy of novels featuring Armand DiPino and Mickey Reidel, police detectives who inhabit the gray area between good and evil struggling to decide which is which.
David and his wife Diane live in Seattle where gray areas are a local specialty.
Description
<p><span><span>Shakespeare's Witches tell Banquo, "Thou Shalt 'Get Kings Though Thou Be None". Though Banquo is murdered, his son Fleance gets away. What happened to Fleance? What Kings? As Shakespeare's audience apparently knew, Banquo was the ancestor of the royal Stewart line. But the road to kingship had a most inauspicious beginning, and we follow Fleance into exile and death, bestowing the Witches' prophecy on his illegitimate son Walter. Born in Wales and raised in disgrace, Walter's efforts to understand Banquo's murder and honor his lineage take him on a long and treacherous journey through England and France before facing his destiny in Scotland.</span></span></p>
Story Behind The Book
In 1944 Arthur Murray spent thirty one days as a prisoner of war, marched through the Black Forest by a sadistic Nazi officer. Arthur escaped, and, after the war, hunted Nazis for the OSS, always searching for the officer but never finding him. Two decades later, the OSS is now the CIA; German scientists are helping America develop the rockets that will propel them into space and Arthur Murray is an insurance investigator in Manhattan trying to let the past be the past.
Then Arthur receives a late night phone call from his father. Edgar needs Arthur to make a payoff, no questions asked, or Edgar will be tied to a murder he didn’t commit.
Soon Arthur is caught up in a web of sex, lies, murder, corruption, and international intrigue that threaten national security and the lives of those he holds dear.
Reviews
<p><span>"BLACK FOREST accomplishes what you hope every historical thriller will do. The pages flying by, you're drawn in by its serpentine plot--but before long you've been seduced, willingly, into a world that is as exhilarating as it is deeply haunting. A bravura achievement."--Megan Abbott, Edgar-winning author of <i>Queenpin</i></span><br /><span> </span><br /><span>"My test with debut novels lies in assessing the confidence of the writer, and David Thayer shows that in spades with BLACK FOREST. This is a fascinating historical thriller, driven forward with terse, hardboiled narration, but capturing time and place and the haunting power of the past with ease. BLACK FOREST is an original piece of work by a writer with talent, poise, and that great key, confidence. David Thayer has every right to be confident. He's written a damned fine novel." Michael Koryta, author of <i>The Prophet.</i></span><br /><i><span> </span></i><br />
"Fast and sharp, obviously written by a man with a hell of a lot of talent. And such a great line right up front, 'nothing good begins with one armed pushups.' I'd steal that line if I thought I could get away with it."<br />
Steve Hamilton, author of <i>The Lock Artist.</i><br /><br /><span>BLACK FOREST is not just a terrific read, but a poignant meditation on the burden of history and the unresolved conflicts between father and son. David Thayer channels the best of the old school noir writers in this riveting tale of betrayal and lies. Thayer's dialogue is razor-sharp, his descriptions of the city evocative, and his characters--especially his tough yet vulnerable femme fatale--memorably drawn.</span><br /><span> </span><br />
Jenny Siler, author of <i>PRINCE OF BAGRAM PRISON.</i></p>