
chatting about his new thriller, The
Torch Betrayal.
by the events of World War II, Glenn Dyer couples this fascination with his
passion for historical thrillers with the publication of The Torch Betrayal, the first in the Conor Thorn Series. He resides
in Park City, Utah with his wife Chris. They have three children, all of whom
live too far away.
your current release.
or damage the Allies beyond repair?
London,
1942. OSS Agent Conor Thorn is desperate for a second chance. After a botched
mission in Tangier, Thorn knows failure is not an option. When confidential
directives for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, go missing, the
agent must recover the plans before the Nazis thwart the crucial mission.
Thorn teams
up with MI6 agent Emily Bright to seek out the traitor in their midst.
Untangling the web of suspects leads them to Nazi sympathizers, double-crossing
Soviet spies, and Vatican clergymen with motives of their own. As their mission
grows more and more dangerous, Thorn and Bright have one chance to retrieve the
document before it falls into enemy hands, leaving countless Allied troops in
danger.
The Torch Betrayal is a
high-stakes World War II thriller inspired by true events.
uncovered while doing research for a World War II set novel that I wanted to
write. In Harry C. Butcher’s book, My
Three Years with Eisenhower (1946), he revealed that a top-secret document
that contained key directives of the invasion f North Africa, Operation Torch,
had gone missing. Nowhere in his fascinating book does he mention that the page
was recovered. Given that the invasion did, in fact, occur, I had to assume
that the page must have been recovered because to have launched the invasion as
it was originally scheduled with the knowledge that the missing document might
have fallen into the hands of the Nazis would have been potentially disastrous.
The Torch Betrayal is my story as to
what happened to that top-secret document.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Thursday, October 15, 1942
Anne’s Gate, London
Bright parked several doors down from No. 28. They were twenty minutes early,
giving them some time to coordinate with the backup team. He was nervously
looking out his side and rearview mirrors for that very team. Bright peeked at
her watch
second time.
well, would you look at that?” Thorn was the first to spot Toulouse heading
down Queen Anne’s Gate toward them and No. 28. Dressed in dark-colored civilian
clothes, he was walking at a brisk pace. Two steps behind him and to the side
was the Asian
the Spanish embassy.
I expected to see,” Bright said, sliding down farther into her seat. “What’s
your guess as to why he’s in the vicinity?”
only be two reasons. Our drug-dealing murder suspect is here to collect from
Montgomery, assuming he’s inside with Longworth, or to make a delivery. Maybe
both. But, even from this distance, he doesn’t look too happy.”
stopped suddenly and turned around as the Asian woman caught up to him. He
flicked a cigarette into the street. Thorn saw the woman’s mouth move rapidly.
She reached out and shoved him backward. Toulouse responded with a backhanded
face. The force of it caused her to stumble.
God,” Bright said. “He’s such a brute. Should we do—”
Not now.”
regained her composure and dabbed at the corner of her mouth with the tips of
her fingers. She examined her fingers, then, without looking at him, turned and
walked away from
No. 28.
more to that lover’s spat than we know,” Thorn said.
indifferent-looking Toulouse turned and headed toward No. 28. Reaching the
front door, he ignored the brass doorknocker and banged on the door with a
fist. The door opened slowly, creating a narrow opening of several inches.
Toulouse shouldered the
went in.
looked at his watch. “Eight minutes to the hour. That team should be here by
now.” He pounded the steering wheel with his fist, which made Bright flinch. “Jesus,
Bruce had one job—to get the backup team here early so we could brief them.” He
pulled out his 1911A1. He pulled back the slide and released it, letting it
click back into place. Seconds later, a single gunshot rang out.
. of . . . a . . . bitch,” Thorn said. “Damn it! We can’t wait
We’ve got to get in there.”
let’s leave. There’s no backup team in sight—this just doesn’t feel right.”
can’t. Not now. Listen, the task forces sail ten days from today. If I’m wrong and
this Longworth lead points to nothing but a drug ring, then we’re back to
square one. And if that happens, we need as much time as possible to regroup.”
Thorn’s adrenaline was
grabbed her forearm. “You OK?”
Yes, I believe so.” Her voice trembled.
let’s go.” Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.
released his hold on her arm.
next?
novel in the Conor Thorn Series will center around the Allied effort to crack
the German cypher codes – Ultra. It is also inspired on information uncovered
in a excellent book written by Anthony Cave Brown titled Bodyguard of Lies. Brown writes about a Polish engineer that was
smuggled out of Poland to Paris where he built a replica of the German Enigma
machine that was critical in the British efforts to break German codes. When
the Nazis invaded France in 1940, the engineer and his wife were brought to
England for safety. Shortly after his arrival, he went missing and was never
found.
had a great secret – the British had broken German codes. If this information
ever reached the Germans, they would have changed their codes, which, many
believe, would have added two to four years to the war.
happened to that Polish engineer.
writer?
completed my first draft of The Torch
Betrayal.
your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find
time to write?
retiring from a thirty-five plus year career in commercial television, my wife
and I moved back to Park City, Utah and I began writing full time. Prior to
that, I was an incredibly undisciplined writer who would write consistently for
a few months than take a long vacation from writing that might last six months!
Not good.
anywhere from two to five hours a day working on book marketing, engaging
readers on social media, researching and writing.
writing quirk?
sometimes stopping the writing process to do a little more research. The habit
torpedoes any momentum but it often adds some credibility to the story. Thank
god for Google and Wikipedia!
you grew up?
professional football player.
with the readers?
thinking of writing a book, don’t wait until your sixty years old like I did.
Life is too short.
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