Thomas Mogford Livres

A traditional and thoroughly satisfying crime novel Joan Smith, Sunday Times

At the heart of Gibraltar lies the Rock. At the heart of the Rock lies darkness. The late-morning sun beats down on the Rock of Gibraltar as bored tourists photograph the Barbary Apes. A child's scream pierces the silence as she sees a monkey cradling a macabre trophy. A man's severed arm. In the narrow streets of the Old Town below, lawyer Spike Sanguinetti's friend and colleague is critically injured in a mysterious hit-and-run. Spike must drop everything and return home to Gibraltar, where he is drawn into a case defending a ruthless salvage company hunting for treasure in the Straits. As Spike battles to save his business, he realises that his investigations have triggered a terrifying sequence of events, and that everything he holds dear is under threat.

The author, T Mogford, after working within the security sector for over 25 years wanted to write this book to give the public an insight into the work and things that they see on a day-to-day basis within this industry. From his time working as a doorman to eventually working as a Crown Court Security Supervisor, it is filled with insights of the author’s years working in this environment and in his opinion how two days are never the same, where one quiet day could turn very volatile on the turn of a sixpence. ‘You just never know who is going to come through the front doors’ is just one of his sayings. How he works on the front line with his staff so they are the first point of contact. The author explains the qualities you need to be able to do this work to the best of your ability. Terry has written this from extracts from his diaries that he has kept over the years as well as from memories.

A domestic dispute has escalated into a bloodbath. When his uncle and aunt are found dead, Spike Sanguinetti must cross the Mediterranean to Malta for their funerals, leaving the courtroom behind. But the more he learns about their violent deaths, the more he is troubled by one thing- what could have prompted a mild-mannered art historian to stab his wife before turning the knife upon himself? Reunited with his ex-girlfriend, Zahra, Spike embarks on a trail that leads from the island's squalid immigrant camps to the ornate palazzos of the legendary Knights of St John. In Malta, it seems, brutality, greed and danger lie nearer to the surface than might first appear.

An old friend persuades Gibraltarian lawyer Spike Sanguinetti to take a well-earned rest on Corfu's beautiful north-east coast. But when the bloodied body of a young Albanian is found and a local man accused of his murder, Spike reluctantly agrees to take the case. Beneath the island's veneer of wealth and privilege Spike uncovers truths so damaging that those involved will go to any lengths to protect them. And when a vulnerable young woman disappears, Spike knows that there are some sleeping dogs he cannot let lie.

When plant hunter Harry Compton receives a rare specimen and a map, he sets out to find fame and fortune. But where there is wealth there is corruption, and soon Harry is fleeing England, sailing up the Yangtze alongside a young widow - both in pursuit of the plant that could change their futures.

A humid summer night in Gibraltar. Lawyer Spike Sanguinetti arrives home to find an old friend, Solomon Hassan, waiting on his doorstep. Solomon is on the run. A Spanish girl has been found with her throat cut on a beach in Tangiers and he is accused of her murder. He has managed to skip across the Straits but the Moroccan authorities want him back. Spike travels to Tangiers to try to delay Solomon's extradition, and there meets a beautiful Bedouin girl. Zahra is investigating the disappearance of her father, a trail which leads mysteriously back to Solomon. Questioning how well he really knows his friend, Spike finds himself drawn into a dangerous game of secrets, corruption and murderous lies.