Coast: An Act Of Burial

Two tactical thermonuclear warheads are hijacked from a navy supply vessel in the Persian Gulf, leading to an urgent and highly classified investigation by the Covert Operations And Surveillance Team. However, members of the same black-ops intelligence service are being murdered by unknown assailants with apparent inside knowledge of this top secret organization. Could these incidents somehow be linked and what will it take for Ian McKinley and his colleagues Carter and Brook to recover the bombs? 'COAST: An Act Of Burial' immerses the reader in a thrilling roller-coaster ride of action, danger, intrigue and espionage across the globe as the team race to prevent a crisis of apocalyptic proportions.

In Paris, France, special ops agent Ian McKinley carries out a most unusual 'retirement' operation, aiming to stem the flow of ultra high-tech rifles to terrorist groups. But when he returns to the Covert Operations And Surveillance Team base he learns that a navy supply vessel has foundered in the Persian Gulf with the loss of all hands, and is despatched with his team-mates to secure the thermonuclear warheads that the ship was carrying. At the same time, however, members of his super-secret organization are being murdered by unknown assailants. Are these incidents somehow connected and, as the stakes rise, can McKinley and his colleagues Carter and Brook retrieve the bombs before a city gets vaporized? As McKinley and his team hunt down clues which will lead them to the hijacked nukes, they travel to the Middle East, Russia, Britain and Canada, desperately trying to outwit a mysterious opponent who always seems to be one step ahead. They uncover intrigue and terrifying dangers as they dash from one explosive situation to another in their hunt for the warheads, leading to a climactic confrontation which could trigger a nuclear conflict. With the sinister menace of classic spy novels and the riveting action of a modern war story, 'COAST: An Act Of Burial' immerses the reader in a thrilling roller-coaster ride of action, danger, intrigue and espionage across the globe as the team race to prevent a crisis of apocalyptic proportions.

Canadian espionage writer Xander Richards was born in the early sixties in an unremarkable town in western Europe to parents whose stories of their wartime military experience enthralled him and stoked the fires of his imagination. Inspired by Fleming’s James Bond novels, Cussler’s Dirk Pitt adventure books, Clancy’s espionage thrillers, Alistair MacLean’s action stories and many other suspense and spy thrillers, he started writing at an early age. After a spell in the forces Xander was first published—under a different name—in the late eighties. Around this time the idea for 'COAST: An Act Of Burial' was conceived whilst on vacation with friends from the army. It was initially started as a film script but due to the pressures of work and family was never completed in that format. Nonetheless, the story stayed with Richards over the next two decades during which time he authored many factual articles, reviews and instructional pieces which were published in magazines and online, and relocated to Canada. After this Xander decided to author ‘COAST: An Act Of Burial’ as an espionage novel, inspired by J.K. Rowling’s rags-to-riches success story with the Harry Potter series. Compiling an enormous amount of intelligence, espionage, technical and geographical research, he wrote at every opportunity. A screenwriter friend reviewed the work leading to a number of beneficial changes and then Xander started looking into publication. Xander Richards describes himself as ‘an ordinary fella with regular interests and pastimes’. These include cars, photography, movies (especially spy movies) and garage sales. Xander lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife Mindy. They have four adult children and four grandchildren.