The Rachel Redemption

When the Prime Minister’s beautiful, humanitarian and internationally adored wife, Lady Rachel Briars, apparently dies in a car crash in the centre of Rome alongside her Iranian playboy lover the world mourns her loss – but what if the whole thing is a set-up planned by the people who stand to benefit the most? A desperately unpopular Prime Minister who wants to win another term; the wife who yearns to live a life away from the paparazzi; the lover who wants to avoid an assassin’s bullet – it’s the perfect conspiracy theory, but there's a problem – in a Rome convent there is woman waking up with no memory, who happens to look very like the Prime Minister’s wife; soon everyone wants a piece of her – from the Vatican to the Russian Mafia, but is she Rachel or just destined to be part of The Rachel Redemption? Thrilling, funny, sexy: The Rachel Redemption is part blistering political satire, part breathless odyssey through a world broken by terrorism and lies where the rich and powerful conspire to resurrect the dead.

When the Prime Minister’s beautiful, humanitarian and internationally adored wife, Lady Rachel Briars, apparently dies in a car crash in the centre of Rome alongside her Iranian playboy lover the world mourns her loss – but what if the whole thing is a set-up planned by the people who stand to benefit the most? A desperately unpopular Prime Minister who wants to win another term; the wife who yearns to live a life away from the paparazzi; the lover who wants to avoid an assassin’s bullet – it’s the perfect conspiracy theory, but there's a problem – in a Rome convent there is woman waking up with no memory, who happens to look very like the Prime Minister’s wife; soon everyone wants a piece of her – from the Vatican to the Russian Mafia, but is she Rachel or just destined to be part of The Rachel Redemption? Thrilling, funny, sexy: The Rachel Redemption is part blistering political satire, part breathless odyssey through a world broken by terrorism and lies where the rich and powerful conspire to resurrect the dead. After Rachel Briars spectacularly leaves the world stage, a series of events gets set in motion that will change forever the lives of those who knew her the best: Prime Minister Briars, enjoying an outpouring of sympathy, takes this as permission to launch – with almost crusade-like zeal – an aggressive stance on a newly unstable Iran. His long-time friend, and Director of Communications: the 'Russo/Scots attack dog' that is Alex 'Alexei' Glaister, has his own problems as he plays a dangerous game arranging business contracts for Russian oligarch Grigori Rubelov, whose passion is to collect beautiful things – including Rachel. Old friend of the family: Father Francesco Lombardi – protective and caring, but is he merely a puppet of the Vatican who want to deflect from their own problems by promoting a sainthood for the Prime Minister's late wife? And offering sanctity, is the louche and decadent Lord Hugh Rawksley, but how far is he driven by his hatred of George Briars? In order to stay alive after her 'death' Rachel keeps a low profile, along with her lover – Dari Djahani – who believes the safest way to have an influence in the new Iran is from beyond the grave. Leaving, at the centre of it all, another survivor of the crash – a beautiful, amnesiac woman who perhaps knew Rachel best of all. And as people learn of her existence she is forced to go on the run: from the safety of a quiet corner of Capri via a dangerous and nervy pre-Olympics London to the refuge of a palatial manor on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors. Transforming herself from victim to resourceful heroine, she has to face tragedy, loss and addiction before emerging triumphant and ready to do battle with her demons in a thrilling climax.

Sonya Nemec was born in Edinburgh to a Scottish mother and Czech father and spent her early years touring with her variety artist parents around Europe. Despite becoming a pretty mean chess and card player – her father's influence, her mother passing on compassion and a love of animals – little Sonya had to get an education, so it was back to Edinburgh to settle down. The education was provided by James Gillespie's – Muriel Spark's old school and the inspiration for Marcia Blaine's in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'. After that, it was off to Leeds to study for a Humanities degree. The indelible mark of the Yorkshire Ripper case and the flourishing music/arts scene – post Soft Cell and pre League of Gentlemen – providing a uniquely sinister and seedy backdrop. In the mid eighties it was back to Edinburgh to manage a bookshop for five years and then as the nineties dawned Sonya relocated to a post Velvet Revolution Prague for while. Dismayed at the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as the emergence of Stag Tourism, she returned to Edinburgh to start – and hastily abandon – a career in social work. After that it was a series of office jobs but happily during this time she met her future husband, Richard, with whom she started up an Indie record label: Lone Head Records. This is pretty much Richard's baby now as Sonya concentrates on her writing. Sonya's literary inspirations are many: Ian Fleming and Italian gialli are a huge influence but look closely enough and you'll find elements of Thomas Hardy, D H Lawrence, Anthony Burgess and Daphne du Maurier – to name but a few – along with a strong cinematic-style narrative. Sonya is already working on the follow-up to The Rachel Redemption as well as a political thriller set in Edinburgh.