False Connections
by Steve Sheppard
Genre: Thriller, Action
"Thriller addicts won't be disappointed"
"Steve Sheppard has created another great character in Mel Milano."
Three years ago, Mel Milano was an MI5 intelligence officer with a promising career. Then, during a routine protection and surveillance operation in Wales, things went drastically wrong and three people died, including Mel’s partner and fiancé, Liam Webster.
Drummed out of the service on trumped-up charges by MI5 Deputy Director, Sarah Brook, Mel lost her career, her self-respect, her confidence and her fiancé. Nothing made sense.
Three years on, she is rebuilding her life, working for a private security outfit.
But she’s never forgiven the way she was dumped by MI5. One day she’ll discover the truth about Brook and what was really going on.
Now, though, it’s clear that Mel’s not the only one still holding a grudge. Suddenly everybody seems to want her dead. But why?
On the run from MI5, is there anyone Mel can trust to help her uncover the past?
Book Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bdr09x
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252979073
About the Author
Steve Sheppard was born and grew up in Surrey before moving to Buckinghamshire and then to Oxfordshire, where he spent a quarter of a century living in an idiosyncratic village that was the affectionate inspiration for his fourth book, Lazytown. He now lives in Hampshire. He spent forty years starting to write books but not finishing them, until belatedly realising that the key is not to give up. The other thing he has since learned is that he should have become a celebrity before writing a book, as this would have made selling it much easier.
False Connections is Steve’s fifth book, but the first one written as a straight thriller and not primarily as a comedy, although it does contain humour. He hopes it will be the first of a series featuring feisty, funny but flawed ex-MI5 agent, Mel Milano. He also has three spy thrillers with laughs to his name, all published by Claret Press: A Very Important Teapot (2019), set in Australia, Bored to Death in the Baltics (2021), not set in Australia, and Poor Table Manners (2024), which takes place in Cape Town. These feature an initially fairly hapless hero, Dawson, and a considerably less hapless heroine, Lucy, together with varied supporting casts, most of whom are not who they claim to be. Steve’s fourth book is an out-and-out comedy-murder-mystery, Lazytown (2025).
Website * Facebook * Instagram * TikTok * Goodreads
Author Links
Website: https://www.stevesheppardauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveSheppardAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevesheps22
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shepauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/233117.Steve_Sheppard
MY THOUGHTS
False Connections by Steve Sheppard was my first introduction to this author, and I always enjoy discovering new-to-me writers who can pull me into a story. This book grabbed my attention with its twists, suspense, and the way it keeps you questioning what is real and who can truly be trusted.
The author creates a storyline filled with secrets, connections, and unexpected turns that kept me trying to piece together the clues along the way. I enjoyed how the mystery unfolded and how the characters each brought their own layer to the story. The pacing kept me engaged, and I liked that the answers weren’t always easy to predict.
This was an enjoyable read for anyone who likes mysteries with plenty of intrigue, hidden motives, and moments that make you stop and rethink your theories. I’m glad I had the opportunity to discover Steve Sheppard’s work, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing what he writes next.
False Connections is currently touring with Silver Dagger Book Tours, and it was a great experience being introduced to this author through the tour. Thank you to the author, publisher and Silver Dagger Book tours for allowing me to read a copy of this book --- all thoughts are my own.
Giveaway
$15 Amazon or Paypal
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
https://www.silverdaggerbooktours.com/falseconnections
Mabel plans to bring the joys of volunteering to the masses…if she doesn’t fall victim to an ancient curse first.
Susan Kimmel Wrightbegan her life of mystery in childhood, with reading. That led her to writing kids’ mysteries and eventually to Medicine Spring with Mabel. A longtime member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, Susan’s also a prolific writer of personal experience stories, many for Chicken Soup for the Soul. She shares an 1875 farmhouse in southwestern PA with her husband, several dogs and cats, and an allegedly excessive stockpile of coffee and tea mugs.
