Bøker av Gretchen Eick

This story is based on real events that took place in 1984. When an inexperienced crew set off to bring a yacht full of cannabis resin from Lebanon to London, they had no idea they were not simply drug trafficking but participating in what the British government would call "Operation Bishop." The crew found themselves part of an international drama linked to the foreign policies of the British and U.S. governments, trapped at the nexus of the Cold War and the war against terrorism. This celebrated case was silenced by the British government, the records still classified and not to be publicly available for 80 years--until 2064. This fictionalized story imagines the crew members, their journey, their prison time, and their trials, and why the British government took such an unusual step to hide details of Operation Bishop. Actual historical figures in this book include President Reagan, CIA Director William Casey, National Security Council staff Oliver North, and Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi as well as Casey''s friends in international business. Scenes with these historical people are imagined, but their involvement in the Iran Contra affair is well documented. See Discussion of Sources. The participants in Operation Bishop presented in this novel are imagined and any resemblance to the actual participants is coincidental and unintended. A study guide and an appendix are included.

When Duncan Allan comes home early from a business trip and surprises his wife with his charming elder brother, anger and despair overwhelm him. He flees, drinks himself to oblivion, and ends up escaping to a remote fishing village on Scotland’s North Sea coast to try to survive this double betrayal. There an elderly Scot, a Dutch child and her mother rescue him and he rebuilds his life. When tragedy strikes, he is again lost and alone, shrinking again into immobilizing depression.Abandoned by her husband in Wichita, Kansas and pregnant, Duncan's wife Amy also has to reinvent her life—a single mom in a Midwestern city sharing her home with her gay brother-in-law and his partner. Her need to understand Duncan’s disappearance prevents her from fully moving on with her life.When years later her son and his travel buddy meet a gruff and unfriendly American in Scotland, all three Allans must choose must whether to wade into their family secrets and anger. Is Duncan worth finding or should they all let him go?Moving between Wichita, Kansas  and the North Sea coast of Scotland, this lyrical novel explores the impact of perceived betrayal, the devastation of severed relationships, and the capacity for rebuilding lives haunted by chronic depression and loss.