Fall Out is about 6 people unraveling the clues hidden in a screenplay
that explains why a movie stopped shooting and the unearthing of a
half-a-billion-dollar treasure trove…
By M.N. Grenside
“A page-turning, jaw-dropping thriller of action and surprise. A riveting debut.” – Damien Lewis, international bestselling author
An LA screenwriter is killed shortly after completing his latest script, FALL OUT – a thriller destined to be a blockbuster but written with a secret double purpose. Echoing events from the past, the screenplay is sent to a very specific group of people and will change their lives forever. All are connected to a movie that had abruptly stopped shooting in the jungles of the Philippines years before. FALL OUT exposes the truth about a conspiracy and murder that led to a half-a-billion-dollar fortune for a select few.
Follow the story of Producer Marcus Riley, who sets out on an increasingly dangerous quest to get FALL OUT made. From a powerful agent’s office in Hollywood, hidden treasures in Belgravia and a remote chalet in the Swiss Alps to murder at the Cannes Film Festival, Marcus teams up with designer Melinda (Mako) de Turris as they and the other recipients of the screenplay are pursued by an assassin from the past.
With clues cleverly concealed in the screenplay, Marcus and Mako unravel a lethal puzzle that for some will bring death, others the truth and ends in a cave with a shocking secret…
“If you want a fast-paced stand out different thriller, I can’t recommend Fall Out enough. I loved it.” —Emma Forbes, broadcaster
“Amazing . . . I agree with all the other reviews that have stated if you like Dan Brown or James Patterson, then this book is for you.” —Joyful Antidotes
“And, action! Plenty of it and super nasty bad guys and stories so outrageously crazy they can only be true . . . Fall Out is inventive and, at times intentionally filmic . . . The fun doesn’t stop for 440 pages.” —Booksplainer
Book Information
Release Date: August 27, 2021
Publisher: Bloodhound Books
Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1912666751; 400 pages; $13.46; Kindle: ASIN: B09C1PJNZ4; 480 pages; $4.99; FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED, FREE AUDIOBOOK WITH AUDIBLE TRIAL
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3M133DQ
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3Fz1DhI
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fall-out-11
Straightening up to his full height, Marcus looked down at the outstretched hand.
"Do you validate?" he asked dropping his parking ticket into it.
As Marcus drove his cheap
rental out through the
wrought iron studio gates,
he went over his options.
There were few. The best
seemed to be to get blind
drunk. He was teetering at
the tipping point; nearly
broke, his judgement was
suspect, and he’d just
been dismissed by the
entire Hollywood system.
He pulled into a liquor
store parking lot.
“A bottle of Chivas
Legend Special
Reserve,”
he said, pointing at the
most expensive whisky in
the shop.
“Celebrating?”
the girl smiled.
“Death of my
career,”
replied Marcus. “Just
want to give it a good
send-off.”
Two hours later he
collapsed fully clothed
onto the thin mattress of
the bed of his motel
room.
It was dark when he woke
up with a hangover so bad
his hair hurt. He sat up
checked, his tousled brown
locks in the mirror and
pulled his long fingers
down the sides of his
cheeks. He stuck out his
tongue and pulled down his
eyelids, the
green iris flecked with
brown, but the whites of
his eyes were bloodshot.
Not a good look at twenty.
Bad in your forties.
“Great career farewell,”
he murmured.
He gulped down a glass of
water and four Tylenol and
picked up the phone to
check his emails. A voice
mail icon flashed
reminding him of the badly
timed call from that
morning. He dialed to
retrieve the
message.
“Hi Marcus, Sam Wood
here. Tough out here, eh?
They tell me you not
staying quite at five-star
hotels these days,”
said the broad Australian
accent.
“So, I am sending you my
latest script…see what you
think…. if it rings any
bells, jogs any memories.
Oh, and Balzac was
right.”
Sam Wood. Marcus was in
shock. At the very moment
his world was collapsing
around him, one of the
most successful writers in
Hollywood had sent him a
screenplay. Sam was the
last person on earth
Marcus expected to hear
from, let alone receive a
script.
Twenty years ago, he and
Sam had been
almost brothers, but on
a
typhoon-lashed movie set, their
bond had been broken by
death and violence. They
had not spoken
since.
He stood stock still for
a moment trying to absorb
the enormity of that call.
A beat, then he rushed
down the thinly carpeted
hallway to the reception
desk.
“You have anything for
me?”
he panted as he reached
the reception desk.
The young girl on duty
looked up startled by the
tall disheveled
Englishman.
“I’m sorry. No
manners,”
Marcus took a deep
breath. “Please, did
anything come for me by
courier today, while I
was…out?”
She handed over a manila
envelope. “I knocked on
your room, but you were…no
answer…,”
she trailed off as Marcus
gave her his last
twenty-dollar bill as a
tip and ran back up the
corridor.
Shutting the door, Marcus
ripped open the envelope.
Inside was a screenplay,
titled
FALL OUT, with a handwritten note
attached.
Dear Marcus,
THE SECRET OF A GREAT
SUCCESS FOR WHICH YOU
ARE AT A LOSS TO ACCOUNT
IS A CRIME THAT HAS
NEVER BEEN FOUND OUT,
BECAUSE IT WAS PROPERLY
EXECUTED.
-Honoré de Balzac
You’ve got an eighteen-month
free option.
Sam
An hour later and with
shaking hands, Marcus put
down the screenplay. His
body was pumping pure
adrenaline.
FALL OUT was
far and away the best
thing the Australian had
ever written. A gripping
plot with box office
smash
written all over it. It
was exactly what Marcus
needed.
My Review
He went on to create and produce several television series and mini-series. At the same time, he started a music management company launching million seller artist Neneh Cherry.
In 2004 he arranged the US $250 million buy-out of the Hallmark Channel International which was then successfully sold to NBC. He returned to producing a number of movies and mini-series.
He has recently morphed into a serial entrepreneur and is now a co-founder of seed to shelf CBD producer Dragonfly Biosciences (www.dragonflybiosciences.com) and a founder in two separate digital companies.
In addition to his love of cooking, an unhealthy amount of time and money is lavished on a collection of classic cars that he has raced all over the world. He enjoys risk and has parachuted in New Zealand, scuba-dived in the Pacific, hang-glided in the Himalayas and even tobogganed down the Cresta Run. In nearly every case chasing after his wife who is utterly fearless!
He is now writing the follow up to Fall Out, entitled The Bastion. In addition, he writes a humorous blog with subscribers in more than 40 countries. www.andanotherthing.com
He has two grown sons, two daughters’-in-law, three grandchildren and lives in Malta with his wife and two French bulldogs.
Mark’s latest book is the thriller, Fall Out.
You can visit his website at www.MNGrenside.com and his blog at www.AndAnotherThing.com or connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.
0 Comments
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.