If Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, and Ian Fleming's James Bond walked into a room to cross swords, knives or pistols with Christmas Pendle, the female hero of Deadly Pretty Strangers, there'd be only one person walking out again. And it wouldn't be any of the men. This novel reads like the best action movies, fast paced, with an intriguing plot and conflicted heroes. Set mostly in London 2017, the city's landmarks are the backdrop to a modern tale of murder, cyber tracking, chases and shootings. But let's start somewhere near the beginning... 'HELP ME FIND OUT WHO KILLED MY SON. PLEASE.'A REASONABLE REQUEST. AND THERE WAS A LITTLE MONEY INVOLVED.A young Polish lorry driver is found dead. An unremarkable man killed in a strange way. And a large, lethal spider is left nearby. The police investigation stalls. The dead man's mother intervenes and, finding little sympathy from the authorities, she persuades an unassuming desk worker, Zav Fox, to ask a few questions. Soon Zav meets Christmas, a beautiful girl with more guns than credit cards. She is gleeful in her planning, fearsome and relentless in execution, and tenderly compassionate to a deserving few. And though Zav doesn't like guns, his fearless ally thinks they're the best way to dispense justice. But her lethal power comes from a dark secret which could make her friend or foe.Zav seeks answers from the ever present web of surveillance, while haunted by strange dreams and attacked by brutal villains. The answer to the mystery death is somehow connected to a long forgotten military research programme. But in trying to find one killer, an ordinary man must confront an existential crisis greater than anyone's worst nightmares.