The Illusionists
Len Cooke
- The
- IllusionistsFor
- Detective
- Superintendent
- Harry
- (H)
- Harrington,
- life
- is
- being
- very
- unkind.
- Firstly,
- his
- wife
- is
- brutally
- murdered,
- then,
- after
- he
- nearly
- dies
- himself,
- and
- his
- assistant
- does,
- he
- is
- swept
- along
- on
- a
- grim
- journey
- of
- government
- intrigue,
- duplicity,
- and
- political
- assassination
- as
- he
- tries
- to
- uncover
- the
- truth,
- find
- the
- identity
- of
- his
- wife’s
- killer
- and
- save
- his
- rubbished
- reputation
- from
- the
- gutter.The
- Illusionists
- is
- set
- against
- the
- backdrop
- of
- the
- late
- teens
- of
- the
- twenty-first
- century.
- Already
- much
- weakened
- by
- economic
- and
- moral
- meltdown,
- Britain
- is
- facing
- an
- ongoing
- and
- ever
- increasing
- terrorist
- threat
- to
- her
- national
- security.
- A
- threat
- seen
- by
- some
- of
- those
- in
- power
- to
- be
- so
- existentially
- serious
- that
- the
- ‘Special
- Relationship’,
- with
- the
- United
- States
- of
- America,
- is
- regarded
- as
- even
- more
- sacrosanct
- than
- ever;
- a
- holy
- of
- holies
- that
- must
- be
- nurtured
- and
- maintained
- above
- virtually
- all
- other
- international
- considerations.
- Britain
- is
- also
- a
- country,
- as
- she
- secretly
- throws
- away
- centuries
- of
- reason
- and
- humanitarian
- reform
- of
- the
- criminal
- justice
- system,
- steadily
- and
- incrementally
- moving
- towards
- a
- totalitarian
- future,
- a
- future
- where
- nothing
- is
- quite
- as
- it
- should
- be,
- or
- indeed,
- as
- it
- seems.However,
- above
- all
- things,
- The
- Illusionists
- is
- also
- about
- how,
- in
- an
- ever
- more
- morally
- dystopian
- world,
- a
- thoroughly
- decent
- human
- being
- can,
- metaphorically,
- sell
- his
- soul
- to
- the
- Dark
- Side
- and
- the
- truly
- disastrous
- personal
- consequences
- such
- an
- unwise
- transaction
- can,
- and
- often
- does,
- bring
- to
- its
- forever
- unfulfilled,
- and
- truly
- hapless, owner.
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