GROUP 15

Full Name:	Group 15
Nationality:	British
Organization:	Group 15
Occupation	Agency

Creator:	Mark Dawson
Time Span:	2013 - 2020

ABOUT THE SERIES

Group 15 is an agency inside the British Intelligence community.

It is an extremely hush-hush portion, so much so that to know about it without permission could get a person removed from existence. Whether that has actually happened or not remains unspoken but considering the many things that are slowly revealed about this organization, it is not a stretch to believe it. Certainly when we do see someone thinking about leaving their employ we find that extreme reaction taking place.

In the first instance of our learning about this Group, in a conversation between the head of the agency, called Control, and its Number One operative, Controls asks rhetorically what the Group was for. John Milton, that Number One, responded "Framing. Extortion. Elimination". Control agrees and adds, "Jobs that are too dirty for Her Majesty's security services to touch" and "From time to time Her Majesty's government needs to remove people whose continued existence poses a risk to the effective conduct of public order. The government requires particularly skilled professionals who are prepared to work on a non-attributable basis to deal with these problems". Hence Group 15 to fulfill that requirement.

As mentioned, the head of the Group is known as Control. Each of the field agent is assigned a number to denote his/her hierarchal position. As those higher up the chain fall in the line of duty, those below the deceased get their numbers moved up.

The first Number One we meet is John Milton, considered probably the deadliest man around. He was a specialist in "Cleaning", a euphemism for killing up until he decided to leave and was placed on the 'to-be-removed' list. It would be some time and some unfortunately Numbers being themselves 'cleaned' before Milton got his name removed from the removal list. [Milton has his own entry in this compendium.]

Prior to Milton's tenure, we learn about an extremely capable woman named Beatrix Rose. She, too, wanted to leave the organization and paid a horrible price for her 'betrayal'. [A set of adventures about her, both inside the organization and out, have also been chronicled.]

Within the pages of the adventures of both Milton and Rose as well as the few about Group 15 without those two, we find that the old adage about absolute power and its corruptibility holds true.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	8
First Appearance:	2013
Last Appearance:	2017

We first learn about Group 15 in the pages of the adventures of John Milton, a former operative who worked for and later was the lead agent of Group 15. That organization is mentioned in many of his adventures referring back to his prior life and the work that affected him so much.

The other former agent with Group 15 about whom there are several exciting stories to be read is Beatrix Rose. She has a daughter, Isabella Rose, who will also have a few escapades worth following and who will be connected to Group 15.

While there are, as of this writing, no books devoted to Group 15, those listed below belonging to the other series mentioned here are worth noting as Group 15 plays an important role in each.


1			The Cleaner Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2013 Book 1 in the John Milton series. Though he knows he is a marked man for quitting Group 15, John Milton decides to start redeeming his life by helping a woman at the end of her rope. This means taking on a street gang and its druglord leader as well as the assassin his former employer sends after him.

2			In Cold Blood Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2014 Book 1 in the Beatrix Rose series. One of the people Beatrix Rose is determined to get revenge on is being held prisoner with others by Somali pirates. Rose is given a chance to get at him but it means helping rescue all the hostages to get a shot at one who will want to shoot back.

3			Blood Moon Rising Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2014 Book 2 in the Beatrix Rose series. Beatrix Rose is out to eliminate two of those on her list but one of them is part of a small mercenary army in Basrah, Iraq. Group Fifteen will help her but they want a prisoner freed from that army as a price.

4			Blood And Roses Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2014 Book 3 in the Beatrix Rose series. With the list of those she must destroy getting shorter, Beatrix Rose heads out to find and kill the last two but they are not waiting for her to come to them and she finds herself the hunted.

5			Ghosts Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2014 Book 4 in the John Milton series. John Milton is the pawn used by a Russian spymaster to take down Milton's former boss, Control. A weapon to be used is Milton's trainer, a woman with her own desire to take down Control. Milton, though, is never anyone's pawn and he quickly makes it clear it is his game.

6			The Angel Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2015 Book 1 in the Isabella Rose series. When terrorists destroy a subway car in London, Group Fifteen leader Michael Pope knows it is just the beginning. He needs a special agent to infiltrate the home of the group leader and he chooses young Isabella Rose to become friends with the leader's son.

7			The Asset Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2016 Book 2 in the Isabella Rose series. Having been abducted at the end of the previous adventure, Isabella Rose finds her life getting more complicated when her kidnappers are themselves snatched by agents of ISIS.

8			The Agent Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2017 Book 3 in the Isabella Rose series. When the people she used to work for decide Isabella Rose and her handler Michael Pope are too dangerous to live, they both must go on the lam. Then words comes about the whereabouts of Pope's family and now the two must switch gears and go on the offensive.

NOVELLAS AND SHORT STORIES

Number of Stories:	5
First Appearance:	2013
Last Appearance:	2020

The adventures of the personnel working for Group 15 are contained in several novellas in the John Milton and Beatrix Rose series as well as a few specifically marked as Group 15 thrillers.


0			Phoenix Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: Novella #1 in the John Milton series and the Beatrix Rose series. As Number One for Group 15, Beatrix Rose is sent to Venezuela to find a missing scientist. While in country, she gets the help of a young special forces soldier named John Milton.

2			1000 Yards Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2013 Novella #2 in the John Milton series. A prequel adventure from his Group 15 days. Sent into North Korea to take out one person, John Milton finds an entire nation is soon after him.

3			Tarantula Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2014 Novella #3 in the John Milton series. Sent to Italy to investigate the death of a fellow agent, John Milton finds the assassin, nicknamed Tarantula, worked for a major crime family. Now the assassin and his bosses are the targets of a determined Milton.

4			Witness X Written by Mark Dawson, Scott Mariani Copyright: 2017 Bryan Duffy is Witness X - a government agent implicated in a national scandal and banished to Spain until the agenda can be moved on. But when North Korean hitmen attack a seeming innocent on the streets of London, Duffy is called back to the fold. He is tasked with finding the woman's assailants and bringing them to justice. Why has the woman been attacked? Duffy investigates, and finds himself sucked into a whirlwind of action and mayhem that is particularly well suited to his special set of skills...

5			Little Sister Written by Mark Dawson, Michael Ridpath Copyright: 2018 Bjorn Thorsson joined the Special Air Service to forget the horrors of his childhood. He killed for Queen and country, and he was good at it. He quits the army and settles down, looking for a quieter life. When his beautiful sister Gudrun finds herself in trouble with the owner of a hedge fund, Bjorn promises to get her out of danger. But there’s another factor in play. Group 15, a clandestine government agency, has plans for the financier, and Bjorn is in their way. Bjorn must outwit the Group in the streets of London and in the Highlands of Scotland if he is to protect his sister and survive.

6			The Vault Written by Mark Dawson Copyright: 2020 When Harry Mackintosh is called upon to exfiltrate a valuable asset from East to West Berlin, what could have been an intelligence coup becomes an international embarrassment. Mackintosh’s men and his lover are killed by the East German secret police in a brutal crossfire and he barely escapes with his life. He flees to the West and promises himself that he will have vengeance. Mackintosh is the head of Berlin Station but he doesn’t have the staff to compete with the Stasi. He returns to London to plead for the resources to fight back. But instead of the seasoned operatives that he needs, Mackintosh is given a single man: Jimmy Walker, a petty criminal with a record for robbing banks.

MY COMMENTS

I am a huge fan of Mark Dawson and anything the man has blessed up by writing. Each of his main series characters (Milton and both Roses) are fascinating and unique and well worth the time to savor.

I am also a big, big fan of short stories and novellas. Far too many potentially good adventures were ruined by being overloaded with what amounts to as filler.

As a result, I really enjoyed the adventures of Group 15 since, except for the books from these other series that deal with Group 15, the principal tales of this organization are in novella format.

Long or short, these are highly entertaining stories.

GRADE

My Grade: A-

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