Each month I will post Top-5 Lists covering a variety of topics: books, movies, foods, etc. If you have a topic you want me to provide a list for, contact me.
It’s always fun, and sometimes a challenge, to transport readers to exotic locations in my stories. The choice of backdrops involves a great many factors: putting characters in difficult settings, architectural or cultural interest, or political considerations. Here are the Top 5 favorite settings I’ve used to date.
Picking Greenwich, England, for the climax of The Perfect Assassin was a no-brainer. I set much of the story in England, and having been to Greenwich a number of times, I’d always been struck by the park’s contrast—broad expanses surrounded by the urban density of London. Also, Greenwich is, by a myriad of conventions, the accepted “center of the world.”
Assassin’s Run begins on the Isle of Capri. There’s a twisted sense of satisfaction when bad things happen in the playgrounds of the rich and famous. Mega-yachts and oligarchs beware, there is no safe place when David Slaton is involved.
I was thoroughly impressed when I first visited the island of Malta, so much so that I immediately incorporated it into Assassin’s Silence. It’s a captivating blend of new and old, and the fortress harbor of Valetta is not to be missed. It’s also exactly the kind of place Slaton would go to disappear.
Slaton gets around, but the most tropical setting he’s found himself navigating was the South Pacific in Assassin’s Code. He and his family did their best to go off-grid, but even endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean can’t protect Slaton from his past.
The last venue comes from one of my standalone books, Cutting Edge. This story is steeped in technology, and it highlights amazing abilities that will soon be within our grasp. What better backdrop than one of Europe’s grandest old cities? Old meets new as Trey DeBolt, warrior for the next generation, strives to comprehend what he is capable of.