Stephen Cord’s third book is on the shelves, with the action set in Pattaya. Action with a capital A with somewhat of a different twist at the end.
Joe Brannan is the book’s hero, a deep sea diver who is just surviving financially in the tourism business with his motor launch for hire.
The opening scene is a beach close to Pattaya where a movie is being shot and Joe Brannan finds working as a movie extra is financially more rewarding than taking amateur divers to the islands off Pattaya.
The movie is being shot by an American group with an international consortium putting up the finance. Brannan the Movie reads like a ‘made for TV’ script complete with well-endowed ladies, handsome narcissistic leading man and the compulsory trip to a beer bar with insatiable young Thai beauties, to justify setting the book in Pattaya and a brush with terrorists to keep the interest up in the dialogue. And yes, there is the compulsory katoey doing what they do best and the very ancient Bamboo Bar in which you will find several Joe Brannans.
It is not a ‘politically correct’ book, so I applaud author Cord for sticking to a believable plot and to hell with being PC. He does indulge the reader by naming some of the guns, but quite honestly this is superfluous information, but the gun lobby will approve of the choices, no doubt. Sex? Yes, it has more than enough, to become gratuitous at times. Underwater cavorting may be titillating for some, or just more of an aquanaughty for others (sorry about the pun).
With Joe Brannan being the owner of a motor cruiser, much of the action takes place afloat with the terrorists fully armed, complete with hand grenades. Double dealing is rife, and some of the quirks and turns will keep the reader guessing. The death toll mounts with every turned page, and it is a wonder that Captain Brannan did not did not get a commendation from POTUS Trump, and a Purple Heart for his leg wound.
I almost forgot the Killer shark XXXXX which becomes soporific on cue, to add some non-terrorist drama.
If you are after action it is for sale at local book shops and a fun read for an otherwise dull weekend.
However, it is not a deep and meaningful paper back, but in an interesting twist, author Stephen Cord finishes this book with an epilogue as if written by a third person, telling what happened to the movie at the box office!
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