No Fortunate Son (40 page)

The primary person I have to thank for this novel is my wife, Elaine. While I was kicking around ideas for the plot, Elaine said, “Are you going to a dangerous place for research? Can’t you go somewhere that I would enjoy?”

I said, “Where?”

“Ireland. I want to go to Ireland.”

And the setting for the book was born. I’ve been studying terrorism for close to thirty years, and before the bad boys of ISIS, AQ, and al-Shabaab, there was the IRA. The “troubles” have mostly quieted down, but there are still diehards out there, and they still perpetuate violence. Even so, the Irish people are some of the friendliest on earth, making it almost absurd to call this research trip “work.”

War always causes strange second- and third-order effects, and, like the IRA, the Pink Panthers are real, having sprung from the Bosnian conflict. Google them for some spectacular jewel heists.

I used a few Irish slang words, and I’m sure some will say I did so incorrectly because it seems that every hamlet in Ireland has its own pet slang. I’m indebted to Denise, a bartender at the Perfect Pint Irish pub in New York City (which the reader might recognize from
The Widow’s Strike
). I was working the final draft while there and ran them by her. She wasn’t from Cork, but she had a friend named Tara who was. Through the miracle of iMessage, I got my answers in NYC from Cork City, Ireland. And believe it or not, I was right.

A big thank-you to Savannah and Darby, my daughters, for
explaining the intricacies of Snapchat, Instagram, and other social media. Thanks for letting me hijack your accounts for experiments!

To April and Mark, dear friends who happened to be stationed in England, thanks for the enormous data dump on everything from the NIFC and NATO to the strange markets at Camden Lock. April, I agree, “Little Beirut” was a bit of an exaggeration.

To Chris, a grad student at Cambridge, thanks for showing me the dorms at Queens’ College, along with information on what Kylie would be studying there. And, of course, for pointing the way to the Eagle Pub, one of the coolest places for a beer I’ve ever seen.

A special thanks to the two anonymous airmen guarding the gates to RAF Molesworth for providing basic data on what life was like there. Yes, I took a cab; yes, we drove around asking where the damn base was located; and yes, I had to walk in once there. But I got a visitor’s pass out of the deal!

To the manager at the B-Aparthotel in Brussels, thanks for the tour. Sorry, I never intended to get a room.

To the two street urchins in Goutte d’Or, Paris, thanks for chasing me down the street waving your phones after I acted interested. Sorry, I never intended to purchase one.

Once again, the Barrier Island Free Medical Clinic hosted a charity auction for the naming of an individual in the manuscript. The BIFMC provides continuing primary health care to uninsured adults living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. All of its doctors are volunteers, and all of its operating costs are donated or generated through fund-raisers. This time, it was a three-fer, as the characters up for auction were the Clute family, with the twins named in honor of two grandchildren. They’ll have to wait a few years to see it, as they don’t even read yet.

This publication marks my seventh Dutton title in four years. It’s almost hard to believe it’s been such a short amount of time. Through it all, I have had nothing but support and professionalism from the Dutton team. From my editors, Ben Sevier and Jessica Renheim; to my publicist, Liza Cassity; to Carrie Swetonic in marketing. A special thanks to Rich Hasselberger and Steve Meditz for creating this fantastic cover,
even though Rich made me sweat out a photo shoot in the July sun like I was the Next Top Model. I owe you some payback for that one.

From day one, everyone welcomed me with open arms and, along with my agent, John Talbot, has worked tirelessly to assure the success of the Pike Logan series. I can’t thank all of you enough for your work ethic and dedication.

Brad Taylor, Lieutenant Colonel (ret.),
is a twenty-one-year veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces, including eight years with the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment—Delta, popularly known as the Delta Force. Taylor retired in 2010 after serving more than two decades and participating in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as classified operations around the globe. His final military post was as assistant professor of military science at the Citadel. His first six Pike Logan thrillers were
New York Times
bestsellers. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

In 1864, E. P. Dutton & Co. bought the famous Old Corner Bookstore and its publishing division from Ticknor and Fields and began their storied publishing career. Mr. Edward Payson Dutton and his partner, Mr. Lemuel Ide, had started the company in Boston, Massachusetts, as a bookseller in 1852. Dutton expanded to New York City, and in 1869 opened both a bookstore and publishing house at 713 Broadway. In 2014, Dutton celebrates 150 years of publishing excellence. We have redesigned our longtime logotype to reflect the simple design of those earliest published books. For more information on the history of Dutton and its books and authors, please visit www.penguin.com /dutton.

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