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Ticket to Intrigue

by Alan T. Cowood

205 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #01-0545; ISBN 1-55369-143-1; US$20.50, C$22.95, EUR16.50, £12.00

One small, seemingly insignificant event turns the quiet, well-ordered life of Paul Brett upside down. His curiosity leads him to take dangerous chances while trying to find a missing man and solve a puzzling note. His powers of reason and his courage are tested on a number of occasions. His good fortune in teaming up with a very smart woman will ultimately bring successs to this very unusual adventure.

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About the book      About the author      Sample excerpts      Catalogue info

About the Book Ticket to Intrigue is an unusual story. It describes the adventures of Paul Brett, an ordinary man in his late middle age who sets out to solve the meaning of a partially completed word puzzle he has discovered. His well-ordered life is turned upside down by the events that occur in his efforts to make sense of this enigma. He is an intelligent man, with a background in foreign languages and an abiding interest in archeology. Both of these areas of interest come into full force as he works his way through to an unravelling of the missing words. He discovers that he is not the only one searching for the answers to this frustrating incomplete puzzle. Throughout his adventures, he is constantly followed by a shadowy group of powerful men who are waiting for the moment when he finds the solution. Paul becomes aware that they will stop at nothing to achieve their aim. His search leads him to France where he has the good fortune to team up with a woman archeologist, who has both the expertise in deciphering ancient languages and an abundance of courage. A genuine relationship grows between them as they team up and eventually complete the puzzle. Now they must put their lives in danger to uncover the meaning of the ensuing phase. Whether that have success at this is a moot point!! Only a masterful piece of quick thinking will allow them to succeed. This novel is full of twists and turns as the story unfolds. I'm sure you will enjoy Ticket to Intrigue!!

 

 

 

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About the Author Alan T. Cowood was born in England in 1941. He emigrated to Canada in 1965, and after living in various parts of the country he and his wife now reside in Victoria on Vancouver Island. Alan spends some of his time each week as a pianist and raconteur to a wide variety of audiences in and around the city and surrounding areas. His musical compositions have received wide praise whenever they are performed. Alan is a member of the Esquimalt Writers Group in Victoria and some of his inspiration has come from this eclectic gathering of individuals. His novel, Ticket to Intrigue is his second foray into the literary field, and his first into the genre of adventure and mystery.

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Sample Excerpts

Excerpt from Chapter One;

The following morning he set off with the hat and the pawn ticket on the passenger seat beside him. He always felt rather odd driving the car, as it had been Carla's, and he usually sat as the passenger because she loved to drive. He had not used her car much since her death, partly because of the memories it brought and because, he reminded himself, walking was much better for one than sitting and he enjoyed walking very much. He seldom listened to the radio when in the car but having mailed his letter to London before setting out, he was feeling very light hearted and decided to listen to some music. Searching around the dial he could find nothing but conversations. Then he noticed a cassette tape was still in the system so he pushed it in. "PLEASE PUT YOUR SEAT BELT ON DARLING" came a voice over the speakers.

Paul sat bolt upright; it was Carla's voice and he was not wearing his seat belt. He pulled off to the side of the road and stopped the car. For the next five minutes he listened to the tape. Carla had obviously made it shortly before her death. It was full of love and joy at the marriage that they had enjoyed and the good things that had happened to them when they had been together. The last part of the message made it very clear that she wanted him to get on with life and live it to the full by taking every opportunity that came along. The tape then played a piece of music which they had both loved. Paul sat there crying quietly to himself.

 

Excerpt from Chapter Two; Later that evening he returned to his hotel. He felt reasonably relaxed now, having eaten a good meal at one of the more expensive restaurants and finishing off the meal with a fine brandy. He had been spoken to by no one, other than his waiter. This individual was an Italian chap. Paul had enjoyed a discussion about the latest political scandal in Italy. They also spoke about the waiter's home town Padua, which Paul had visited some years ago. The whole conversation was spoken in Italian and Paul was complimented on his command of the language. He put a call in to the front desk to be wakened at seven o'clock. Then he had a very hot shower, which always relaxed him before going to bed. He opened up his toilet bag to take out toothpaste and brush, and noticed that the prescription label on his bottle of migraine pills was missing.

"Oh, no!" he said. "That label had my name on it, so whoever ransacked my room at the hotel today, now certainly knows who I am." The relaxed mood he had been enjoying disappeared and Paul knew he was in for another interrupted night, and not much sleep!

His morning call came right at seven o'clock and Paul woke up with a start, having only just fallen asleep at around four in the morning For most of the night he had tossed and turned - going over the incredible things that had happened to him. Paul regretted ever finding the hat and the pawn ticket. Instead of going on a wonderful, interesting, archeological expedition, something he had wanted to do so many times in the past, he now felt like a hunted man, trying to avoid capture by some powerful and frightening enemy.

If it wasn't for his own archeological curiosity about what he had found out so far, he would have abandoned the whole thing.

"In any case," he said to himself, "nobody knows where I am, or where I'm going. Once I get to the dig in France, it'll be like I disappeared off the face of the earth." Cheered by this thought, Paul packed his suitcase and left the hotel. He checked in at the departure gate much earlier than he needed to and got rid of his luggage. Then he went through airport security to the gate listed on his boarding pass, and waited for his flight to be called.

 

Excerpt from Chapter Four;

"You know," she said, "I think that the answer to this puzzle is to try and use some different alphabets from other languages. Maybe Captain Dearborn was just guessing or didn't know enough ancient languages to enable him to understand. I'm going to test this theory when we get back to Gaillac. I have a number of different dictionaries and material on some of the forgotten languages that are no longer in use." Paul thought this was a good idea. "Let's clear away all the paper and look at it when we get back to our base. Tomorrow I want to visit the Roman Catholic diocese or the main man of the church here and see if I can find out anything of the priest, Father Jacques. There must be someone here who knows of him or knew him." Maria agreed that it was worth searching while they were in the area. Having said that, she suggested they have another glass of wine, put their feet up and watch the fire until it was time to go and eat.

They had their dinner with the owner and his wife and eldest daughter, all sat around the same table together. The meal was excellent, the main dish being a cassoullet. Maria wanted to know what the recipe was and as many of the cooking details as she could learn. Paul watched with pleasure as the two ladies had an animated discussion on the merits of using certain spices in some dishes. Both of them were obviously excellent cooks. The owner of the vineyard was generous with his servings of wine - offering a different one for the main course, and a special dessert wine at the end of the meal, which had been the creation of his absentee manager. This was delicious and they toasted the good health of all present.

Paul and Maria made their excuses for the evening and returned to the cottage. He stoked up the fire and the two of them sat together quietly for an hour or so, until Maria announced her intention of going to bed. They stood up together, Maria held Paul's hands in hers and planted a light kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for letting me come with you this weekend," she said.

Paul was completely taken off guard by this gesture, and fumbling for words for a moment, simply said "good night."

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Catalogue Information

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