Brian Isgrove
Set in 1960s Auckland, amid the growing conflict in Vietnam. Monica Cook, a young exotic dancer, is hired along with her juvenile friend Diane Preston to entertain a group of visiting American and Vietnamese VIPs. Tragically, events get out of hand; when Monica witnesses the rape and murder of her friend, she narrowly escapes the same fate by hurling herself through a second-story window. The last thing the US wanted was some scandal that could jeopardise sensitive negotiations with New Zealand’s entry into the Vietnam War. Therefore, the matter was put into the hands of The Eighth Floor (a covert cell within the CIA) to find and eliminate the girl.Looking like she had just stepped out of a Renaissance masterpiece, Christopher Hunt, a twenty-year-old art student, was love-struck from the first moment he laid eyes on the beautiful life drawing model Monica Cook. However, he soon discovered that this angelic 19-year-old girl is caught up in a dark world of child abuse, prostitution, and murder. When Christopher learns a sinister assassin is hunting her, his carefree life is turned upside down, and he is propelled on a rollercoaster ride that will see him fighting for their very survival. The Eighth Floor is loosely based on actual events, and although it is set in New Zealand, the story it tells might well have arisen in any country. Drawn from the author’s firsthand knowledge, It is a page-turning romantic thriller that reads like an action movie. 3
