The Veteran

Frederick Forsyth, The Master Storyteller, presents five brilliantly ingenious tales of murder, justice, intrigue, and revenge.

A miracle in war-torn Siena begins with the persecution of a young nun in the turbulent days of the sixteenth century and culminates in the bitter German retreat from Italy. A drug-smuggling heist on an international flight finds the authorities only one step ahead of the smugglers. A ruthless urban murder sees a brilliant QC decide to defend the killers, resulting in a startling act of justice. An incandescent art scam unfolds at a famous London auction house, and a brilliantly plotted revenge shatters the elegant world of Old Masters—each story is a remarkable tour de force.

Above all, here is a brilliant novella, "Whispering Wind," which begins with the single survivor of Custer's Last Stand at the battle of Little Big Horn. It follows the defense from rape and murder of a Cheyenne girl and a flight across the mountains and forests of the West, ending in a savage present-day manhunt in the wild lands of Montana.

Whether his theme is international espionage, miraculous events in war-torn Italy, or a Customs drug bust, the stories in The Veteran all share Forsyth's trademark for compulsive storytelling, his clinical eye for authentic detail, and an unnerving sense of suspense.