Cirrus@Austlit

'Reluctant sleuth Bromo Perkins returns to the streets of Richmond, persuaded by the tempting wiles of Liz Shapcott, to look more closely into the death of bright young student Melissa O'Grady. As he bumbles his way into the murky depths of this trendy Australian suburb, Bromo soon falls foul of devious real estate agents, housing developers and town planners as he uncovers something far more sinister than shonky real estate deals. The tentacles of a cruel and vicious trade in young Asian women drag him into a world of murder and torture simmering below the surface of a richly diverse community where he is never more than a few paces away from his beloved short blacks and a soothing shot of Lagavulin malt.' (Publication summary)

'The gruesome daylight murder of a shy young Asian woman transports disgraced secret service agent Bromo Perkins way outside his would-be reclusive life in an Australian inner-city suburb and opens up old wounds from a dangerous mission in Sri Lanka. Soon he is involved with mercenaries, a sex-crazed businesswoman and the dark and murderous international trade in blood diamonds.' (Publication summary)

'Once a spy always a spy… Former British secret agent Bromo Perkins finds his strings being pulled again in Tony Berry’s latest crime thriller, Twisted Trees.

'Bromo’s long been ‘retired’ to Australia where he runs a one-man travel agency.

'His clients are a select group – including other ‘sleepers’, acting on orders from London, people like businessman Dave McCoy.

'But Bromo soon discovers somebody has it in for the Melbourne McCoys.

'Four siblings of the family are one by one hunted, humiliated and brutally assaulted. Torture, head-shaving, arson and drowning are the means.

'Two die from their wounds, and The Tree Surgeon proclaims his mission with chilling messages.

'But where there is trouble in Bromo’s life, there is always the lovely Liz Shapcott to help dig him out.

'Together they begin the peel back the layers of McCoy’s past, eventually leading all the way back to the London Blitz.

'But not before Bromo has himself suffered his own beating at the hands of … who exactly? Who really is fellow agent Steve Stone? Under the surface, who is Dave’s new partner, the self-styled Melissa McCoy? And how does the decrepit old-timer George Smith, who lives in luxurious splendour, fit in?

'And can Bromo and Liz finally clinch it as a couple by together solving the riddle of who is the real McCoy?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A severe beating brings disabled youth Tek Firbank close to death when he decides operating a drone could be much more than a hobby and he tries selling the idea to standover man Stan Probert. His sleazy agent, Carl Larkins, ends up stripped and naked on the seafront when Probert's henchmen give him a working over. Meanwhile an elderly Greek couple are brutally beaten and their milk bar trashed for resisting Probert's demands for protection money. 

'Disgraced former spy and reluctant sleuth Bromo Perkins is prevailed upon to resurrect his past connections and investigate inroads being made by the Bulgarian mafia. Only then are connections made between the three events and a separate investigation into underworld activities attracting the attention of Bromo's former lover and Federal agent Delia Dunstan. '  (Publication summary)