{"product_id":"bonded-the-dan-calder-series-by-ian-austin","title":"Bonded (The Dan Calder Series) by Ian Austin","description":"\u003cp\u003eSome families shouldn’t stick together. Dan Calder’s thrown in at the deep end to help Police unravel the evidence of a terrorist bombing plot at Auckland International Airport, but the one thing he needs most of all is the one thing he doesn’t have… Time!\u003cbr\u003eWhen Calder challenges the authorities view, he’s summarily dumped from the investigation. Aggrieved and hell bent on solving the outrageously audacious crime, he takes off to St Louis in search of a missing sister and preventing the family reunion to end all reunions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen men with seemingly unlimited wealth and power become fascinated with any subject, that fascination can be distorted and eventually corrupted as it grows and grows. But if it’s then passed on from one generation to the next, the fascination, distortion and corrosive corruption becomes magnified, maybe even boundless.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Plate 77 Penny Red postage stamp, printed in England in 1863. The fabled Plate 77, 240 alphabetised squares of pinky red paper; transformed over the years into the Holy Grail of philately because of a mistake in their printing which wasn’t discovered until after they went into circulation. 160 years later, only ten are known to exist and each with a tale to tell. When combined their stories are legend.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCharles Drake IV is a multi-generational man of wealth and power with a fascination for collecting postage stamps.\u003cbr\u003eBut there aren’t ten Plate 77’s, he knows there are eleven and Charles Drake IV has waited decades to bring them all together for the first time since 1841. Legends require nothing less and also require that no one and nothing must come between the crusader and the subject of his quest. Only his enigmatic Personal Assistant, Miss Giselle shares his knowledge.\u003cbr\u003eDrake recruits a mercenary, ‘The man’ to complete the task of obtaining the eleventh 77. The stamp known as LC will be in Auckland, New Zealand for a week and it might be the only time its location will be known in Drake’s remaining lifetime. Unlimited wealth, unlimited power equals unlimited means to justify the ending of his crusade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe stage is set for one of the greatest robberies of all time, but it cannot be just a larceny. In order for Drake to protect himself and his eleven precious daughters, a fraud of epic proportions must also be committed to secure the legend forever and for that ‘the man’ also needs expert help to authenticate and safely procure LC in New Zealand.\u003cbr\u003eIn Auckland, Dan Calder’s run of luck continues and it always seems to be bad. Finding himself in exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time; conducting security staff training at the International Airport on the day LC arrives.\u003cbr\u003eHe’s still struggling to come to terms with life as a de facto single parent. Substituting happiness at home for pretend job satisfaction is only a further recipe for disaster.\u003cbr\u003eSwiftly and with little choice Dan’s injected into the Police investigation of an apparently botched bomb attack at the airport, but he soon finds his take on things are at odds with the authorities. Ejected just as swiftly, he finds disturbing parallels to life at home and cannot simply walk away.\u003cbr\u003eOut on his own, Dan Calder is on a mission of multi-discovery with only his moral compass to guide him. Heading to the broken heart city… St Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. and an epic meeting with adversaries whose resources drown his own in a sea of money and power.\u003cbr\u003eHe’s also heading to an appointment with his whole family’s destiny. A journey which will take him right to the wire before that destiny is known.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeginning in November 2021, everything is on the line for Dan Calder, in Ian Austin’s gripping new novel. Convergent stories interwoven by time and blood into one… Bonded!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Book Express","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42643988742218,"sku":"5758bc","price":11.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/9101\/8826\/files\/5758bc_6e0fcf26-cf67-4587-b807-7675e5f08802.jpg?v=1765835380","url":"https:\/\/www.bookexpress.nz\/products\/bonded-the-dan-calder-series-by-ian-austin","provider":"Book Express","version":"1.0","type":"link"}