KEVIN SHELDRAKE

Full Name:	Kevin Sheldrake
Series Name:	Shadows Passing
Nationality:	British
Organization:	Unnamed Agency
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	John Moore
Time Span:	2021 - 2021

ABOUT THE SERIES

Kevin Sheldrake is an agent with an unnamed British intelligence agency.

We are given this rather unusual description in a blurb about his adventures: "A series of satirical tales chronicling the adventures of Kevin Sheldrake while serving in a secret intelligence service and subsequently doing research in Southeast Asia. During his career he carries out a number of hazardous missions and subsequently finds himself drawn by a fugitive he agrees to help back into the secret world he had left. Devotees of spine-chilling suspense, graphic sex, exploding cigars or stomach-churning bloodshed will be disappointed. Readers will, however, find a motley cast of spooks and ruffians, shenanigans with smoke and mirrors and a diverse assortment of deadly devices."

What else the reader will find in the adventures of young Sheldrake as he enters the world of Intelligence gathering, British style, is constant stream of consciousness - except when people are actually talking, although sometimes what those people say seems to fit the narrative. Following the sequence of events will prove challenging to the reader as it at time seems difficult for Sheldrake.

Case in point - when Sheldrake is admitted to the agency, he is told soon after that he will be placed in charge of paper clips which, according to the agency's director, is a very important role because: "Computers, all fine and dandy but you can't trust anything that's come from a computer. Paper is the answer. Harder to fake". And with the need to make use of paper instead of computers comes the need to be able to hold connected pages together because "Got to stop the stuff from flying all over the place, getting into the wrong hands. What do we need? Paper clips."

If that is not enough to confuse you, that director will ask of Sheldrake, "You play the trombone? No? Vital part. Spit valve. Bloody thing would do nothing but creak and groan without the spit valve. You, Kevin, are our spit valve."

Welcome to the ... interesting ... world of Kevin Sheldrake.

Good Lines:
- "Which law of physics dictated that toothpaste could not be returned to the tube?"
- Said by the Director to Sheldrake, "History ... won't save you from making mistakes but will help you shift the blame".

BOOKS

Number of Books:	3
First Appearance:	2021
Last Appearance:	2021


1			The Day Of The Duck Written by John Moore Copyright: 2021 "Little does Kevin Sheldrake realize when he is appointed Head of Paper clips for a British secret intelligence service that his missions will pit him against money launderers, arms dealers, the CIA, the French DGSE and Mossad and that he will be blackmailed, find his life threatened by his own Service and called on to avert a major terrorist atrocity in London."

2			A Tree Full Of Owls Written by John Moore Copyright: 2021 "Is Kevin Sheldrake, Head of Paper clips for a British secret intelligence service, a loyal, dutiful servant of his spymaster superiors or is he a mole, betraying the service's innermost secrets to hostile powers? Can he resist the wiles of a skillful honey trapper and rescue a desperate hostage? After rejoining the service following a short break, Sheldrake is trained for clandestine missions overseas. Will his performances in tradecraft simulations and a successful operation aimed at a foreign Embassy save him?"

3			Indecipherable Vestige of the Night Written by John Moore Copyright: 2021 Note: I have not found any proof this book exists outside its mention at the back of the first two books. "Kevin Sheldrake is no longer in the secret intelligence service but instead of being able to devote his life to his research, he finds himself drawn into a shadowy world of intrigues and violence when he agrees to help a fugitive from a little-heard-of country. He becomes embroiled in a deadly game between his erstwhile colleagues in the Service as well as international gangsters, the CIA, missionaries and NGO's. The most deadly web, however, is that spun by the fugitive he agrees to help."

MY COMMENTS

I would love to have been able to tell more about Sheldrake and his backstory in the About The Series section above but ... oh, my goodness. That stream-of-consciousness constantly flooding the pages was so tiring just trying to understand what was happening, I needed a nap after the first chapter - and the dream I had during that nap was ... odd.

Adding to the confusion I found in the pages of the first two adventures is the fact that, having had the books on my digital TBR stack for quite a long time, when I pulled them off in preparation for this page, I found they were not only unavailable for purchase, well, anywhere, but there was not mention I could find of them on the web. None! Forget the third book that I read about but had not found. I could not find the two books I actually owned!

Which is why my appealing to anyone else who read these books to help me out is broadcast here with little hope of an answer.

GRADE

My Grade: C+

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