Witness intimidation! It could happen to you. It could happen to anybody. It happened to MP Simon Hughes! A man is the sole witness to a fatal accident. Thugs warn him against testifying; but nobody warned the thugs. Jack Crane retired after a hectic career in the British Army. This resourceful, unassuming mid-forties bachelor had limited romantic experiences - his only love lay in the past. He was enjoying the peace and quiet of country life, until one fateful day, he witnessed a tragic accident. He ignores the threats of some bad faces, and picks out the young man responsible. The man’s father orders the thugs to carry out their threats, however, an innocent man is killed.

The police cannot act without hard evidence, but Crane will get it come what may. Whilst striving to obtain that evidence, he re-discovers his lost love, but is she to be trusted? Crane becomes involved with a number of bad faces that try to put him out of action. Eventually, a professional hit-man is hired, but the perpetrator finds that Crane’s resolve has no bounds.

When a letter arrives asking for Jack Crane’s help, both his curiosity and his sense of duty lead him from his quiet retirement to the East of England and immediately into trouble.

Someone has seen something they shouldn’t have, and they disappear because of it. Meanwhile out in the North Sea a large criminal operation has been going unnoticed, and Jack must play a game of cat and mouse with the villains to stay alive and help the innocents caught up in it. From the coast of England to the fjords of Norway the chase is on by train, boat, car and even dog sled to stop the bad guys and save the day.

But there’s always a bigger fish and most criminals eventually find themselves out of their depth. Sea Fort Vector One, once a defensive position in the biggest war of the twentieth century could become a staging point for a major offensive but those who fight a different kind of war in the twenty first.

Jack Crane’s SAS honed skills could be all that stands in the way of indiscriminate terror.

Jack Crane's quiet retirement from the army is shattered when his iconic Red Mustang is stolen by a gang of vicious car thieves.  Jack corners one of the gang members, a feisty young woman who is being coerced into the gang by its leader, Bradley.  She agrees to help Crane, but before long they are drawn into a dangerous web, which takes them to France.

Help arrives in the form of the gang's French security guard and the trio find theselves embedded ina deadly crime syndicate. Cunning and resourceful, gang leader Bradley returns to the UK where he ensnares a close friend of Crane and holds her to ransom.  It will take all of Crane's SAS skills to stop his murderous intent....

Rights Available On Request

Rights Available On Request

Rights Available On Request

Also by Charles Hall

(aka Megaton Mornings)

Rights Available On Request

The events in this story are true, although the names of the men involved have been changed. The anecdotes may invoke the memories of some of the men that were involved in them and have been included to try and reflect the spirit and feel of the island at that time. Charles Hall's memory was aided by reference to daily letters sent home from Christmas Island during the period November 1961 - November 1962 and from fellow veteran Clelland Barrie.

When British servicemen were observing nuclear tests in the Pacific during the 1950s, the Prime Minister of the time, Sir Anthony Eden, was warned that they risked a lingering death from cancer. His response is reported to have been, 'A pity, but we cannot help it.'

D Minus One From Kentucky by is an expanded manuscript of his original book, Megaton Mornings, published in 1993.

It is Charles Hall’s personal memoirs and account of the his experiences as an RAF Radio and Signals Operator during his posting to Christmas Island in the Pacific. 

There were a total of 25 bombs detonated during his tour of duty over a period of about 12 months. 

Although the book is military history, it does include humour that would still appeal to service personnel today.

Charles has obtained some unpublished photos and a recording of an actual countdown and detonation. He also has an American Fact Sheet about Dominic I (a series of 36 nuclear detonations in  the Pacific), which could be included in the book.

Charles Hall

Born in London, Charles Hall lives in rural Essex with his wife Jacqueline. It was Jacqueline whose deep involvement set him on the ‘write track’ when it came to writing ‘Megaton Mornings’: a book about his experiences with twenty-five nuclear tests whilst serving in the RAF.

Now semi-retired from business life, and apart from playing boogie-woogie piano - one of his numbers featured in the soundtrack of BBC TV’s ‘Love Soup’ - Charles has found more time to write the kind of stories he likes to read: fast moving action thrillers.

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