Short Range
by Stephen Leather
Book #16 in the Dan Shepherd series, published 2019
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Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd’s career path – soldier, policeman, MI5 officer – has always put a strain on his family. So he is far from happy to learn that MI5 is using teenagers as informants. Parents are being kept in the dark and Shepherd fears that the children are being exploited.
Spider Shepherd is involved in an intelligence operation aimed at far-right extremists and is uncomfortable that a teenager is being used as an agent. While he is immersed in protecting the kid and following up on the information gathered, his son Liam (in the Army now) comes home to help Spider’s girlfriend out with a problem, and it goes horribly wrong. Spider could end up losing everything precious to him, including the teenage agent, if he plays things wrong.
As an undercover specialist, Shepherd is tasked with protecting a 15-year-old schoolboy who is being used to gather evidence against violent drug dealers and a right-wing terrorist group. But when the boy’s life is threatened, Shepherd has no choice but to step in and take the heat.
And while Shepherd’s problems mount up at work, he has even greater problems closer to home. His son Liam has fallen foul of the Serbian Mafia and if Shepherd doesn’t intervene, Liam will die.