First Mission Paris: A Spy’s Guide to the City of Lights by Leone R. Giuliani

When the news about a stolen list of Europol’s crucial undercover agents hits the global black market, agency’s top man Enrico Moretti is sent to Paris to retrieve the list, minimize the damage and capture the traitor. Cliché? Maybe… But this young Italian isn’t James Bond – he doesn’t know much about fighting, chasing or killing. But he knows something about seducing. And gambling. And drinking. And being a former police negotiator, most of all: storytelling. So when he gets a proper cover story, unlimited amount of money to spend in the City of Lights and teams up with a beautiful but dangerous black-haired girl and tough guys from Balkan’s underground, his lifetime mission can begin…

“A sort of a mixture between The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Malcolm Gladwell’s readings” was the first thing that initial reviewers of the manuscript declared. They forgot to add “With elements of hard-boiled fiction.”

If you consider the world of super spy heroes too fictional and deep foreign policy studies too boring, but you do love mystery, thriller and suspense, you’ll read this novel in one night – with a sip of wine and a midnight saxophone. Just let this vagabond show you around – let him be your travel guide, maybe a whole new Paris will emerge. And who knows, if you end up improving your poker strategy, learn something useful about practical police psychology or increase your ability to talk your way out of trouble when necessary, you won’t blame him for that.

SKU: B01DCR0R28 Category: Mystery & Suspense

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About the author:

He is currently working on his next novel, Vienna Calling. You can e-mail him at [email protected]

What inspired you to write your book?

Life is hard. Sometimes you just need to let your imagination go…

Here is a short sample from the book:

But their trip to the hotel was not a waste of time at all. Enrico was sitting on the end of his, in between two beauties, hugging them, exploring their bodies as much as his body was being explored by them. They were still joyful, laughing and touching each other, as the force took over their bodies in turn. Their hands were gradually reaching for more and more intimate areas, the temperature was rising. Let this journey never end, Enrico asked, as he felt the zip of his trousers being pulled open.
But the end did not come too early, because it served as an introduction to something much more pleasurable.
He could not remember how they had gotten to his room. Why would he? There are certain moments in life that one needs to sacrifice for the good of his mission. And what happened after arriving in his hotel room was just another example of a selfless sacrifice.
It brought flooding back memories of his first Greek holidays. They were not exactly holidays, because he was sent there to assist the Greek police in training their police negotiators. Hellas were right in saying that training of this kind should be held in the most relaxed and peaceful environment possible, in order to get the most out of it, so they had planned for the event to be held on their most beautiful island – Santorini.
Those days had been exhausting, no doubt about that, but the nights, they were like hell. He was lodging in a remote place, a few kilometres from the nearest town. The majority of the hotel employees were from the mainland, so they stayed on the island until late autumn, when the owners closed the place up for the winter, as did all the hotels on the island. During the height of the summer season they had a wing of the hotel at their own disposal and because they were working hard every day from dawn to dusk, they did not even think of leaving the hotel in the evenings. Instead they made their own parties in their rooms, on the balconies and out on the terraces. Many were young girls, alone, far from home and their beloved ones, and so Enrico took it as his duty to comfort them. So he soothed Calliodora, Maria, another Maria and Nikoleta. Unmistakable ouzo, the intoxicating scent of myrtle, maple and rosemary, the waves of the sea and the tickle of the sand, white sheets slowly flapping in the wind; in Maria`s room while her roommate pretends to be sleeping; with Caliodora in the manager`s office when talking on the phone with her boyfriend; Nikoleta was ready to accept him whenever and wherever; the other Maria discovered what he had had with Caliodora and wanted to prove that she too could overwhelm him, this experimental hotel manager’s daughter and her girlfriend whose name he never caught, and so on and so forth…
But this night in Paris was crazier than all his Greek nights put together.
***
All of a sudden came the sound of a harmonica floating in through the window. A dream? It must be. Something this beautiful can only exist in dreams. Enrico opened his tired eyes, seeing shadows dancing slow libertango on the ceiling—what a surreal feeling. He extracted himself from the tangled embrace, got up and stepped out onto the balcony and into a gentle morning sun, draped only in his hotel robe. Empty street, sleepy facades of silent buildings, hunched beggar with his shopping cart… were all he could see. He could almost hear the creaking of the cart`s wheels.
After he finished his cigarette, he went back inside. And stopped. Pleasantly surprised. The girls were also awake. And they had already started.
Without him!
Now he would again have to sacrifice…
***
When the light came flooding through the window, the girls had woken up, almost simultaneously. They were kissing each other good morning and talking about how they slept. And chuckling about last night. Then Kiki whispered something to Enrico’s ear. He didn`t catch it so he asked her to repeat it, but instead she said aloud “…Oh nothing. You really are something special!”
It sounded sincere.
And it was.
Enrico knew why. Dragan told him yesterday. At the very end of their party, when they were waiting for their transport to arrive, the dangerous-looking Serbian had tried to convince him for the last time to choose some other girls. Because Kiki and Lulu were devoted to each other, he had warned, and less susceptible to the charms of the opposite sex. So Enrico had to teach him that one sometimes should be picky. And that is why he decided to choose the challenge instead of more easy pleasures.
And how good it feels when the challenge is met!
“I am starving,” Lulu said and ran into the bathroom. She was wearing Enrico`s light blue shirt, tied with only one button. She was naked below. Equally sexy was Kiki wearing only his boxer shorts.
He felt slightly emotional at this scene; there IS a God in heaven!
After drinking a few mouthfuls of water from the sink, Enrico telephoned reception. He generally does not mind having a croissant and a white coffee, but…
“Good morning, this is Mr. Moretti. I would like to order breakfast; crackers with caviar and salmon, tomato with mozzarella, yogurt, fruit skewers and black coffee. Illy, if possible! And some mineral water. Perrier, of course. For three. Very hungry people…” he said and nodded, while the girls chuckled.
They received what they ordered, but there was a knock on the door while they were eating. It was the porter from yesterday; this time he carried an elongated package in his gloved hands.
“Something arrived for you, sir,” he said and conspicuously stretched his neck into the room. His attempt was too obvious. Had not this poor guy heard of peripheral sight? Enrico moved a little to his left, just enough to block the porter’s view. Bad boy!
“Just a few minutes ago, sir, with the express service! Here it is!”