The Double Eagle
The Double Eagle

When retired art thief Tom Kirk is asked to investigate a theft from a Synagogue, the case looks simple enough. But when the stolen painting turns up alongside an amputated human arm, Tom finds himself on the trail of a series of clues laid down by a secret order of SS Knights in the dying days of the war that appear to lead to a fabulous treasure.

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The Black Sun
The Black Sun

When retired art thief Tom Kirk is asked to investigate a theft from a Synagogue, the case looks simple enough. But when the stolen painting turns up alongside an amputated human arm, Tom finds himself on the trail of a series of clues laid down by a secret order of SS Knights in the dying days of the war that appear to lead to a fabulous treasure.

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The Gilded Seal
The Gilded Seal

As hooded penitents march their shimmering floats through Seville’s cobbled streets, a man runs for his life, determined to keep a secret that has lain hidden for 200 years. When the end finally comes it is slow and agonizing, his attackers crucifying him to a door. Determined to avenge his friend’s death, former art thief Tom Kirk abandons his enquiry into the theft of a priceless Da Vinci and begins his own investigation into the gruesome murder...

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The Geneva Deception
The Geneva Deception

In Las Vegas, reformed art thief Tom Kirk has agreed to help the FBI handle the recovery of long lost masterpiece, stolen by the Mafia in the 1960s. But the exchange is cut short by gunfire, and when the smoke clears Tom finds his world turned upside down by a brutal assassination. Vowing revenge, Tom realises that the attack was related to an Italian antiquities smuggling ring known only as the Delian League...

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Welcome to the official website of best selling author James Twining

James was not one of these people who grew up desperate to be a writer. In fact when he wrote his first book, The Double Eagle, in 2004, it was the first time he had attempted to write any fiction since a Third Form poetry competition! That said, when he was clearing out his parents’ garage a few years ago, he came across a couple of old notebooks crammed with random plot and character ideas. He didn’t remember writing any of it, but perhaps some small corner of his brain wanted to be an author all along. It just took a while for the rest of him to catch up.

The Double Eagle, the first of his novels to feature art thief Tom Kirk, was first published in 2005 and has sold over 160,000 copies in the UK alone and been translated into nearly twenty languages. It’s sequel, The Black Sun , was published in April 2006 and has also been an international bestseller. The third Tom Kirk novel, The Gilded Seal, was published in October 2007 with the fourth in the series, The Geneva Deception, published in October 2009 in the UK, and July 2010 in the USA.

“The Books of James Twining” … on Mastermind!!

To quote Wikipedia, Mastermind is “a British Quiz show well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousnesss.”

As well as a general knowledge round, contestants have to answer questions on a specialist subject of their choosing.  Typical topics include “The Life of Martin Luther King”, “Post Socratic Philosophy” and The Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.  

And now a new edition to the Mastermind cannon – “The Tom Kirk novels by James Twining”.

I can tell you that there is something a little surreal to sitting down to watch one of your favourite shows and then, with no prior warning, discovering that it is about your own books. One less thing to tick off my bucket list certainly!

Congratulations to Richard Tring, who made his way all the way to the final.  And yes, before you ask, he did get more right than me.  Twelve points to my ten! I my need to mug up a little next time…