Mission: Khyber

In the aftermath of Mission: Tehran, psychic spy Tana Standish crossed into Afghanistan, accompanied by agent Alan Swann. Their rendezvous with Mike Clayton was delayed and while they waited for him in Herat, Tana befriends a Soviet forces family, intent on discovering details about the presence of General Pavlovsky. They’re then caught in a devastating civil uprising.... Inexorably, the Soviets are being drawn into the politics of Afghanistan. And Clayton, Swann and Tana are linked with the heroic Massoud, the tyrant President Amin and the mujahedeen. Tana makes new friends and new enemies in her constant fight against injustice. Professor Bublyk is still trying to locate Tana – and the missing Spetsnaz agent Aksakov. Distrustful of the psychic Yakunin, he recruits killer Klimov. Together, they imprison Yakunin in order to draw Tana out to rescue him. Tana is aware that it must be a trap. But she owes her life to Yakunin, even though they have not met… A tense cat-and-mouse battle of wits stretches the length and breadth of the country – to the far reaches of the Wakhan corridor, the Special Psychiatric Hospital in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and ultimately to the Khyber Pass.

Mission: Khyber (Historical Thriller)

Tana Standish Book #3

By Nik Morton

Manatee Press

ISBN # 978-1544094342

Price $11.70 (Paperback)

Price $2.99 (Kindle)

318 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

I think I jumped ahead to the third volume by mistake, thinking it was Book #2 in the series, so some of the references made in the story to a previous action by Tana Standish left me somewhat confused. Still, you don’t need to read the books in order to enjoy each novel. In this story Tana is in Afghanistan with Alan Swann. It’s 1979, and British intelligence wants to know if Russia plans to send more military into the country. There is a lot going on, and the author knows the history quite well. So we see history in the making as Tana investigates the situation, joining the mujahedeen (remember Rambo #3?) to fight against both Russia and those supporting the takeover by Russian troops. In the meantime, the assassin, Aksakov, and Russia’s psychic team, led by Professor Bublyk is also after Tana.

I loved all the history presented here, and the way it’s woven in with the story of Tana Standish gives it a touch of reality. Even though the sex is really kept off scene, Tana appears to be a female version of James Bond, bedding whomever she wishes. However, I wonder how all that sex with different men doesn’t cause some medically debilitating STDs for our heroine? It wouldn’t hurt to drop some of the sex, in my opinion. Still, this is a great new series, and highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA

Mission: Prague

It’s 1975 and Czechoslovakia’s people are still kicking against the Soviet invasion. Tana Standish, a British psychic spy, is called in to repair the underground network. But there’s a traitor at work. And there’s an establishment in Kazakhstan, where Yakunin, one of their gifted psychics, has detected her presence in Czechoslovakia. As he gets to know her, his loyalties become strained: does he hunt her or save her? When Tana’s captured in a secret Soviet complex, London sends in Keith Tyson in a desperate attempt to get her out - or to silence her - before she breaks under interrogation. 

Mission: Prague (International Espionage Thriller)

By Nik Morton

Manatee Books

ISBN #978-1544199902

Price 10.35 (Paperback)

292 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

Tana Standish, now 38, was an orphan Jewish girl trying to escape Warsaw by sneaking on a ship with her brother. Her brother is killed trying to find food on the ship. She was also caught later but before she is killed a British submarine torpedoes the ship. The survivors included the young girl. MI6 learns that she has psychic abilities, and when she grows up they train her as an espionage agent. She doesn’t really read minds, but receives impressions, and can detect danger, hostile and friendly elements, as well as pick up hidden names. She is also studying remote viewing in connection to her abilities.

Mission Prague is not her first assignment, but it is the first published tale about this psychic spy. It’s 1975 and the height of the Cold War. Russia has their thumb on Czechoslovakia, and the underground has been broken. Britain sends Tana to Prague to help reestablish the underground, suspecting her own British organization may have a spy in their midst. Discovering something secret is going on at a mining camp she plans to penetrate the mine and find out what’s going on. But things go awry, and her every move has been watched, and the underground is demolished and she is captured and tortured. Now Russian intelligence may be able to open her mind for all the secrets she holds. The only chance she has is a rescue mission, but it’s bound to be too late.

This is a brand new British espionage thriller set in the Cold War, and Tana Standish is a great new action heroine to be watched. The novel is topnotch, though the author goes off on tangents a bit too much in order to tie the story and real people into real events. Still, if you are looking for a great new series, try this author out. You’ll like Tana Standish, the psychic spy. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of ASSIGNMENT: NINA FONTAYNE