Assassin (41 page)

Anyone who has ever visited Dubai, Oslo, London, Bristol or even Cascade, Idaho will, I hope, recognize those places from my descriptions. Nevertheless, they will also spot the many liberties I have taken. I would, for example, strongly advise anyone lucky enough to own an XSR superboat, a fabulous piece of kit for which they will likely have paid in excess of a million pounds, not to attempt to drive it under Bristol’s Prince Street Bridge.

Likewise, to the very best of my knowledge, there is no Karama Pearl Hotel in Dubai, nor a King Haakon Hotel in Oslo. On the other hand, the Oslo Opera House is even more astonishing than my meagre powers of description can suggest, and the Gabelshus Hotel certainly does exist. I recommend it for its elegant surroundings, charming staff and free breakfasts, afternoon teas and buffet suppers. Those familiar with the boggling restaurant prices in Oslo will understand the significance of the word ‘free’ in this context.

One other inaccuracy, however, was entirely unintended. The air-defence systems that I attribute to HMS
Daring
certainly are those planned for deployment on the Type 45 destroyers, of which she is the first. Yet it emerged after the book was written that thanks to delays, cost overruns and the matchless, life-threatening incompetence of the Ministry of Defence, HMS
Daring
has actually taken to the seas without her main Viper missile system. I can only hope that the Navy’s meagre budget has run to a Lynx helicopter and its Sea Skua missiles. If not, any real-life Damon Tyzacks will stand a very good chance of getting away.

Tom Cain, Sussex, 2009