Author Andrew Grant

EVEN INDUSTRY PRAISE BookReporter.com—May 2009 Introducing David Trevellyan, a man trained by the Royal Navy to be, well, a kind of super agent. He's the guy you want around when a sticky situation comes up. He carries the right tools, and his cavalier attitude sends signals that he's not worried about the bad guys getting the upper hand. They haven't so far... It's a pleasure observing Trevellyan's methods. You have to love his philosophy. Take, for example, his approach to finding a needle in a haystack: "So a needle's in there, and we need it back. No problem. Get some matches. Hay burns. Needles don't." This is a man who prefers the direct approach. More importantly, he is highly capable, not to mention highly irreverent, delightfully witty, and deadly in his work. Even will blow your socks off. Andrew Grant pulls his readers in with the first page and doesn't let go until he's finished with them. Kind of like David Trevellyan. Thriller fans won't find a better book this season. —Kate Ayers Silicon Valley MercuryNews.com—24th May 2009 The first in what Grit Lit hopes will be an ongoing series. David Trevellyan has survived the Byzantine world of British Royal Navy Intelligence. He's worked undercover, on both sides of the line. Sucked into a huge international conspiracy (details of which you will not learn here because we are not going to spoil the excellent plot), Trevellyan is in trouble and suddenly, his superiors forget he exists. Even starts out great and keeps getting better and better. —Myles Knapp Bookpage.com—1st May 2009 Fans of spy novels will be familiar with the subgenre of the disenfranchised spook—the guy disavowed by his handlers, his government and everyone he ever thought of as a friend, as he races against time to bring to a halt the evil machinations of the nefarious Dr. Whoever. This vein has been mined endlessly (Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity jumps to mind), although rarely as well as in Andrew Grant's debut novel, Even. When David Trevellyan sees a body in a New York alley, he knows better than to become involved. Still, the guy may be alive, so Trevellyan steps into the alley to get a closer look. Moments later, the cops arrive, guns drawn—Trevellyan has been set up. It should be an easy fix, though; all he has to do is get in touch with British Royal Navy Intelligence, for whom Trevellyan works as an undercover operative, and they will vouch for him. But that is not to be. They hang him out to dry, and it is up to him to clear his name before he's put away for good. It will be noted in every review of this book that author Andrew Grant is the younger brother of Lee Child, creator of the iconic loner hero, Jack Reacher. There are comparisons to be drawn, but David Trevellyan is very much his own man. Perhaps a more apt comparison would be to James Bond, although Trevellyan doesn't have access to nearly as many good toys. From a personality perspective, though, he is both as violent and as humor-driven as his "double-O" predecessor, and never more than a page or two away from the next action sequence. Crimespree Magazine—April 2009 I love reading debut novels from new authors. We interviewed Andrew Grant last issue and the book is now out. And it's great. Even opens up with David Trevellyan in New York, he's just finished a job and had his last dinner in the city before heading back to London. On the way to his hotel he spots a body in an alley and he goes to investigate. Within minutes the cops are at the mouth of the alley and quickly arrest him. Custody is passed to the FBI and David knows he's in deeper than he thought. Before long he gets a handle on what's happening and who the players are, and there are a few to watch for. It's pretty obvious that the only person he can really trust is himself and he'll need all his skills to clear his name. Even is a great book and the beginning of a series, and Trevellyan is a great series character. He works for people in London that we don't talk about doing secret things. He has a no nonsense demeanor but a very even temper. Of course this doesn't mean he's not going to kick someone's ass if he needs to. Grant writes in a style that quickly gets the reader interested and on board for the ride. The plot twists around but is never hard to follow. This book moves faster than a NASCAR on airplane fuel and the payoff while amazing, also sets up the next story. I have a new author to add to my must read list. —Jon Jordan Publishers Weekly—16th March 2009 (Starred review) Jason Bourne fans will welcome Grant's thrill-packed debut, which introduces Lt. Cdr. David Trevellyan, of Royal Navy Intelligence. Near the end of a mission in New York City, Trevellyan's chance discovery late one night of a bum in an alley with six neatly arranged bullet holes in his chest makes the secret operative the NYPD's prime suspect in the man's murder. After the FBI takes over the case, Trevellyan learns the victim was an undercover agent for the bureau, the sixth to die in a series of killings. Disavowed by his British bosses, Trevellyan realizes he has to fend for himself in what is clearly some sort of frameup. A villainess with a taste for genital mutilation lends a James Bondian touch, but Grant, bestseller Lee Child's younger brother, never strikes a false note in a plot that could have gone over-the-top in lesser hands. Effortlessly filling in bits of his protagonist's backstory during breathing spaces between action scenes, Grant closes on a nicely dark note. Booklist—12th March 2009 The thriller genre has a compelling new hero, the creation of Andrew Grant, the younger brother of Lee Child. While on assignment in New York, Royal Navy secret agent David Trevellyan discovers a dead body in an alley. When he is thrown in jail for the man's murder, he quickly realizes he was set up to be the fall guy. Left hanging by his superiors in the UK, Trevellyan must outwit the NYPD, the FBI, and the group responsible for the killing if he is to clear his name. Of course, the murder turns out to be far more than the simple death of a vagrant. There is some no-holds-barred violence here—a couple scenes require avoiding food before, during, and immediately after reading—but the intensity of the narrative will keep even the timid furiously turning pages. Trevellyan is likely to be compared to his brother's hero, Jack Reacher, or even to James Bond, and while there is a bit of hyperbole in such claims, there can be no doubt that we have a new guy on the block who requires attention. —Jeff Ayers Library Journal—1st March 2009 (Starred review) Grant's debut thriller introduces British naval intelligence officer David Trevellyan, who's just finished a job in New York when he's framed for the murder of an undercover FBI agent. To clear himself, Trevellyan burrows into the multimillion-dollar operation headed by Lesley, surely one of the most diabolical women in fiction, who takes pleasure in removing the testicles of men whose performance displeases her. With her capture in midbook, the plot sags a bit until one crime morphs into another, from the murders of a team of skilled ex-military contractors just back from Iraq to organ harvesting to terrorism. Military-trained Trevellyan is big, strong, resourceful, independent, and thinks outside the box; if he's reminiscent of Jack Reacher, note that Grant is Lee Child's younger brother, and the two authors will do some joint promotional appearances. An overly complicated plot notwithstanding, this is a stylish, suspenseful, and overall stunning debut, essential for all thriller collections. —Michele Leber, Arlington, VA Bookseller Magazine Even, a stunning debut novel from Lee Child's younger brother Andrew Grant. Our hero here is Royal Navy intelligence agent David Trevellyan, a hard-nosed operative up against the FBI and a gang of particularly vicious criminals. Although he extricates himself from one impossible situation after another and puts down his opponents with astonishing ease, he remains one step behind and desperate for revenge. Thrilling from the first pages, it does not let up until the shocker of an ending.