An easy to read, high-stakes hunt by an ambitious investigator and journalist for a hidden stash of gold set at the start of the Arab Spring. A mystery set during the fall of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, ‘Bullion: The Mystery of Gaddafi's Gold’ by Oggy Boytchev involves a high-stakes hunt for hidden wealth at the start of the Arab Spring. Priscilla leads a top secret team and is tasked with helping an operative to safety while planting Harry, an ambitious aspiring TV reporter and investigative journalist into a turbulent Libya to locate Gaddafi’s rumoured stockpile of gold before the regime falls and it falls into the wrong hands. With new challenges arising each day and tensions running high, Harry must navigate a country on the brink of civil war to break his story and locate the hidden stash of gold. Set within recent history, this is a thrilling story written by an author who has experience working in conflict zones on undercover assignments. I felt perhaps Harry strayed towards a James Bond parody with his relationships with women throughout the book, but the mystery and investigations held a bit more authenticity. The plotline was exciting, as new characters came on the scene and as leaks started to occur, you’re not sure who to trust as the search for the gold becomes more deadly. I found ‘Bullion’ easy to read and I think it would appeal to fans of political action thrillers. There’s a promise that there’s more to come from Harry Marks and I’m sure his next assignment will be just as jam-packed.
In March 2011, as the Arab Spring sweeps across the Middle East, NATO powers begin a bombing campaign against the forces of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. In London, a top secret team led by an abrasive Cold War veteran, Priscilla Clarke, has been given the task of finding the whereabouts of Gaddafi's gold. The unaccounted stash is rumoured to be worth at least a hundred billion dollars. The aim is to prevent the gold falling into the wrong hands. The Russian military intelligence, the GRU, is also after Gaddafi's bullion. Who will get to the treasure first? A member of Priscilla's team, a brilliant mathematician, is getting closer. An aspiring TV reporter finds himself drawn into the murky world of international espionage. Their separate nail biting adventures collide with disastrous consequences. When Priscilla discovers that somebody is betraying her, she takes the law in her own hands. The story races from London to Tripoli and Vienna, from the mysterious Bear Valley in Southern Tyrol to the heart of the Sahara Desert. If you're a fan of accurate historical detail and vivid geographical descriptions drawn on the author's first hand experience, this a book for you. The book is also an invaluable guide for anybody who wants to work as a TV reporter in a war zone.
Oggy Boytchev made a dramatic escape from behind the Iron Curtain in Bulgaria in January 1986. A few months later he joined the BBC World Service in London as a newsreader for the Bulgarian Section, before moving into mainstream journalism. In a BBC career spanning a quarter of a century he has covered the majority of international conflicts since the late eighties. Latterly, he became John Simpson's producer and accompanied him on dangerous undercover assignments around the world. He has produced television news reports and documentaries from more than forty countries and the world's major war zones.
