Email : james@jamesbaddock.co.uk
Piccolo
Book Reviews
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Clive Cussler
“The fast pace and absorbing intrigue have seldom been more formidably created than in Piccolo. James Baddock has proven beyond doubt that he leads the pack in suspense mystery.”
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A J Quinnell
“James Baddock’s Piccolo is a cracking good novel, and an exciting read.”
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Publishers Weekly
“A “new kind of treason” is afoot in England, and Baddock (The Faust Conspiracy) plays it out with his customary power and tension. The brass at Special Branch ask agent Steven Redmond to determine if any pattern links the recent deaths of computer scientists at the Ministry of Defence, but they also make it clear that they want an indeterminate report. While Redmond finds nothing tangible, his ambitious partner taps into a top-secret database and learns that most of the victims had been involved in a mysterious project known as Piccolo. When other Piccolo scientists end up dead, Redmond dives into the case, only to be ordered off by the head of MI5. Soon Redmond is shunted off to the States, where he gathers more information about Piccolo, this time implicating a multinational corporation and an agent of the Ministry of Defence. The plot twists and turns, leaving in its wake an astonishing trail of death. Vivid characters and excellent pacing intensify the punch in this knockout thriller.”
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New York Times Book Review
“Another British thriller, and a good one, is Piccolo, by James Baddock. Inspector Steven Redmond of Scotland Yard’s Special Branch is called upon to investigate the apparent suicides of computer experts. He discovers that most of the experts were engaged in a top-secret Ministry Of Defence project codenamed Piccolo. Working with Sgt Gail Harper, a computer expert, he starts to zero in on what appears to be a massive cover-up.
His superiors try to take him off the case. Redmond, who everybody thought was a mouse, turns into a lion. He persists with the investigation, even though his career and even his life are at stake. He comes across parallel ‘suicides’ in the USA. He uncovers a high level conspiracy and, finally, blows the case wide open. Is that enough? No. The last two pages bring the reader up short; life is not going to be easy for Inspector Redmond and Sergeant Harper. It may be that these final pages are an introduction to a sequel. Let’s see. Mr Baddock is a deft writer and it will be worth waiting for.”
