Thrilling Locations: Depth Charge Part 2

In my latest collaboration with Andrew Warren, Depth Charge, we have taken Thomas Caine to more international locations than in any previous book.

While a standalone story, Depth Charge is set a short time after the events of Sandfire. Many of the characters introduced in other books in the Thomas Caine series are also brought together here for the first time.

What has been particularly exciting about this book is most of the locations have been places either Andrew or I have visited. Andrew drew on his travels in the United States, China, Colombia and Indonesia, while I drew on my experiences in Bolivia, Peru, Hawaii and also Indonesia. We’ve peppered the story with scenes and sights we experienced first hand.

With the book launch a little over a week away, it’s time for Part Two of the Depth Charge Location Report (read Part One on Andrew’s website) …

Maui, Hawaii

Everyone needs a holiday, even tough assassins like Thomas Caine. He and CIA Case Officer Rebecca Freeling take a break between missions on the Pacific Island of Maui, the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands.

Maui is a dormant volcanic peak reaching three kilometres above the ocean, surrounded on all sides by tropical forests, pristine beaches and many, many holiday resorts. Caine and Rebecca might just take a relaxing and intimate dip in the ocean. But enemies lurk not that far away.

La Paz, Bolivia

La Paz is the capital of Bolivia, nestled in the Altiplano flat region of the Andes. At an altitude of over three and a half kilometres, the city is the highest capital in the world. Gritty La Paz is an urban jungle covered with dust and diesel fumes, cobblestone and maze-like streets. Overlooking La Paz is the dominating snow-capped Mount Illimani, one of the highest mountains in South America.

Caine and his partner, former Delta Force operator Jack Tyler and holed up in a safehouse in La Paz, waiting to snatch a Chinese defector. A tense street pursuit follows through the El Mercado de las Brujas, aka the Witches Market. Run by local witch doctors they sell everything from potions to dried llama foetuses.

Macau

Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, which technically makes it its own country. But China’s influence here is extensive and deep as Caine will discover. Formerly a Portuguese colony, today it is the gambling capital of the world, and one of the world’s richest and most densely populated regions.

There is a scene in Red Phoenix where Caine reflects on a past mission in Macau, recalling that the Chinese Ministry of State Security know exactly what kind of man he is and what he is capable of. Well, Depth Charge is the story that takes us back to Caine’s first mission in the Las Vegas of Asia.

Caine comes head to head with three operatives of the MSS in a skyscraper and is soon battling them on a bamboo scaffold while fireworks and billboards of supermodels distract him.

Bali, Indonesia

Bali is another volcanic tropical island surrounded by rainforests and resorts, located deep within the Indonesian archipelago on the Indian Ocean. Like Maui, it is a popular tourist destination from people all over the world.

Caine’s entry into Bali is unconventional to say the least, involving a HALO (high altitude low opening) parachute fall from thirty-five thousand feet. Then he must swim five miles through dangerous ocean currents to assassinate an enemy of the state. What could go wrong?

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a major gateway for a large portion of the world’s merchant shipping, and contains large fishing stocks and a wealth of untapped oil reserves. Hence it is an important and strategic region within Asia. Many of the islands in the South China Sea are under dispute and China is flexing its military muscle in the region creating global tensions.

The South China Sea introduces the Hai Lang, a one hundred and ten meter Chinese nuclear submarine that glides silently beneath the waves at incredible speeds. It is the most lethal nuclear submarine in China’s naval arsenal. Its mission may not be in alignment with the wishes of Chinese Communist Party, as Caine and Rebecca will soon discover.

Tumaco, Colombia

Tumaco is a coastal and port city in Colombia and a popular route for smuggling cocaine out of the country into the United States. Many of the houses in this densely packed city are built on stilts over the polluted and congested waterways. Further field, Tumaco is surrounded by jungles, mangrove swamps and river networks were the cartels grow and manufacture their cocaine paste. The DEA runs many operations here in partnership with the Colombian authorities against the cartels.

Caine and Tyler fly into Tumaco hoping to stop an illegal transaction between the local cartels and the Chinese, but soon find themselves imprisoned by a cartel leader with an unusual affinity for nightmarish mystical monsters.

 

These are only half the amazing locations we visited in Depth Charge! At nine countries and three continents in one book, we realized this is a new record in frequent flyer mileage for Caine.

To read the other half of this location report, visit Andrew Warren’s post at his website www.andrewwarrenbooks.com.

To keep up to date with the latest release information on Depth Charge, join my Facebook Readers Group and Andrews’ Reader Group where you can also discuss the book with other fans.