Blog Tour: The Silencer by Paul Alkazraji

Hey everyone!
Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Silencer by Paul Alkazraji. I am excited to be sharing an excerpt post with you all, so you can get a little taste for the book!

A massive thank you to @LoveBooksTours for allowing me to be a part of the tour.

Title: The Silencer
Author: Paul Alkazraji
Publisher: Highland Books Ltd
Genre: Thriller
Page Count: 278
Buy It Here (affiliate links): Amazon UK

Book Blurb:

Jude Kilburn and his wife Alex have moved from London to Albania to grow the church, in particular by publishing a keen biography of a local hard-man turned Christian. But a clandestine group has made it their mission to stop this work… The Christians sense danger, but the list of potential enemies is long: unreformed ex-paramilitaries, nationalists, mobsters. How and by whom will the cycle of violence and revenge be foiled?

Excerpt:

Chapter 15. Greece. The lone wolf.

Sheref awoke suddenly with a sensation of being pressed against the wall. There was a screeching sound as the train drew to a rapid halt. He sat up and ran his fingers around the edges of his lips. His mouth felt dry again. He smelt a faint odour of burning. He drew up the blind to peer outside. Away perhaps two or three kilometres on the mountain side he could see two lines that looked like long lava flows down black rock. Above the tongues of orange fire the smoke was swirling up across the face of the moon. It seemed to him that its silvery disc at once turned blue with an eye-like pupil in the centre and then back to silver. It’s a wildfire, maybe close to the tracks ahead, he thought. He sat back down on his bed. It was then that he felt the hairs rising on the backs of his hands. There was a presence in the compartment with him. He heard the faint sound of breath being exhaled. It drew out into a snarl deep from the throat. He switched the main light on quickly and saw nothing. He went to the sink and splashed water on his face and lips. He looked at himself closely. His eyes were heavy-lidded, and he touched his nose at the point where it was a little misshapen below the bridge. Hanife had said he looked more hunched; he pushed his shoulders back. In the mirror behind him he thought he saw a grey, wolf-like form. He spun around and saw nothing. He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.
He lay back down on the bed and listened to the hum of the stationary engine. He checked the time on his watch. It was 5.30am and he felt tired. The train must be somewhere between Xanthi and Drama, he thought. He closed his eyes and felt his rib cage rising and falling. He slid into sleep. There he saw himself wrapped in the red flag of his country, stroking down the creases across its white crescent. He saw himself walking out before a stadium full of football supporters dressed in the back and yellow strip of Fenerbahçe, and holding his arms aloft as the crowd roared its approval. He saw himself standing before three senior military officers in full decorative dress as he was saluted and a medal pinned to his chest.

About The Author:

Paul Alkazraji worked as a freelance journalist in the UK from the mid-nineties. His articles were published in Christianity Magazine, The Christian Herald, The Church Times, The Baptist Times and other publications.

His travel articles were also published in The Independent. His first book Love Changes Everything, a collection of seven testimonies, was published by Scripture Union in 2001. His second book Heart of a Hooligan, a biography of ex-football hooligan Dave Jeal, was published by Highland Books in 2000. His third book Christ and the Kalashnikov, a biography of missionaries Ian and Caralee Loring, was published by Zondervan in 2001. From 2004 to 2010 he was editor and publisher of Ujëvarë magazine in Albania. His first novel, ‘The Silencer’, was published by Highland Books in 2012. His new novel, ‘The Migrant’, set in Albania and Athens during the austerity troubles, was published by Instant Apostle in February 2019.

YOU CAN FIND PAUL HERE:
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