The Coil
Authors: Gayle Lynds
The Coil
“A panoramic backdrop of exotic European locales, breakneck pacing, a tough and brainy protagonist, and vicious villainsâ¦spellbinding.”
âChicago Sun-Times
“
The Coil
is a spy thriller of the highest orderâ¦will leave readers slack-jawed in amazement.”
âBookPage
“Reading
The Coil
is hazardous to a good night's sleep because it's definitely a page-turner.”
âTimes Record News
“Not only is the thriller not dead, but it is alive and well and safe in the hands of outstanding authors such as Gayle Lynds.”
âJanuary Magazine
“Where are the new Robert Ludlums and Tom Clancys coming from? Here's one excellent candidate: the tough-minded and talented Gayle Lynds.”
âChicago Tribune
“A rapid-paced, white-knuckle page-turner that pulls you in on page one and keeps you reading throughout the nightâ¦this one will leave you breathless!”
âAffaire de Coeur
“Moves with stunning speed and keeps the pages turning with twists and layers in both plot and family loyaltiesâ¦
The Coil
races from beginning to end, driven by ruthless men with their own golden rule: âHe who has the gold makes the rules.'”
âSanta Barbara News-Press
“The novel moves at a blistering pace, much in the tradition of espionage legend Robert Ludlum.”
âPublishers Weekly
“A triumphâan absolutely compelling international thrillerâ¦confirms Lynds as being right at the top of the field. If you already know Lynds's work, then prepare yourself for what is definitely her best book yet. If you've never read Lynds before, then I envy you. You are in for a real treat.”
âDavid Morrell, author of
The Protector
and
First Blood
“Tantalizing, plenty of suspense and action, great characters, and settings that span the world. I love it!”
âDale Brown, author of
Flight of the Old Dog
and
Air Battle Force
“Smart, complex, and immensely entertaining. The surprises start on the first page and keep coming all the way to the end.
The Coil
is sure to be a bestseller!”
âThomas Perry, author of
Pursuit
and
The Butcher's Boy
“In this thrill-a-minute tale of secret operatives and hired assassins, Gayle Lynds proves once again why she's the leading lady on international intrigue. Her dead-on research and breakneck pacing leave youâlike former CIA agent Liz Sansboroughânavigating a maze of deadly agendas. Beware the Coil!”
âGregg Hurwitz, author of
The Kill Clause
and
Do No Harm
“
The Coil
is a terrific read, exactly the kind of fast-paced espionage thriller that I love. Great characters, a turbo-charged narrative full of surprises, dark and fabulous settingsâwhat more could you want?”
âDouglas J. Preston
“This fast-paced international espionage thriller is Lynds at her best. With an abundance of surprising twists and turns, smart and savvy writing, as well as mysterious and compelling characters, it kept me riveted to the end. A great read!”
âOld Book Barn Gazette
Masquerade
A
People
Magazine “Page Turner of the Week”
“A fantastic readâ¦I could not put this book down.”
âJohn T. Lescroart
“A disturbing link to recent headlines.”
âThe New York Times
“Watch out, Robert Ludlum! A bravura performance by Lynds, whose maiden race in the international thriller sweepstakes should make âthe boys' turn around.”
âSue Grafton
“A gloriously paranoid, immensely satisfying international thriller.”
âLos Angeles Times
“A mirror-maze of perils and pitfalls.”
âThe Wall Street Journal
“Page-turning suspenseâ¦an edge-of-the-seat spy novel.”
âFaye Kellerman
“A master of intrigue and adventure. Her rush-to-the-next-page excitement never stops.”
âClive Cussler
“Teeth-grinding suspense.”
âPublishers Weekly
For my stepdaughter, Deirdre Lynds,
who rides music and surf with equal grace and joyâ¦
showing the way for the rest of us
About eight years ago, during research I stumbled upon one of those paragraphs that are the lifeblood of a novelist. It mentioned a yearly meeting of powerful world leaders that called itself the Bilderberg Group. I was intrigued. Unlike the VIP-bristling World Economic Forum, which usually gathers in Davos, Switzerland, and Allen & Co., which is legendary for its low-key, high-level summits in Sun Valley, Idaho, the Bilderbergers were a complete unknown to me.
For good reason. As it turned out, the elite organization not only shuns publicity, it forbids it. Or as the Toronto
National Post
explained later, on May 24, 2001, “The conferences are held under absolute secrecy and tight security, with no media coverage allowed.”
But back in 1995, I had no idea what I faced. I dived in, setting up shop in the library, hunting through thousands of U.S. newspapers, magazines, and books. I'm a researcher. I know how to find the most arcane data, but I was stymied, until I discovered
Spotlight,
a right-wing populist newsweekly based in Washington, D.C., which claimed to have reported Bilderberger's annual assemblies for more than two decades. Taking away
Spotlight
's extreme political and emotional spin, but figuring in its on-the-scene photos, lists of attendees, and lists of yearly venues dating back to 1954, I began to believe the Bilderberg Group might not only be real but an idea for a book.
The test came a year later, when
Spotlight
predicted Bilderberg would hold its next covert confab at a luxury resort outside Toronto. I ordered the
Toronto Star
and held my breath. On June 6, 1996, I had confirmation at last from a mainstream news source: “The Bilderberg Conference of 120 world business and political leaders is unfolding in secrecy,” the
Star
reported, “just as they planned” at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's leadership center at the former King City Ranch.
That night, I enjoyed a large glass of excellent pinot noir in celebration.
Over the years, as I wrote other novels, I continued to research the Bilderbergersâa hobby, perhaps an obsession. As a result, in
The Coil,
the Nautilus Group is based loosely on the Bilderberg Group. Both have headquarters in The Hague, both were named for the hotels in which they first officially met, and both employ extreme security, color-coded badges, and sniffer dogs. But after that, the facts diverge. For instance, I have no information or knowledge that a diabolical inner circle such as the Coil exists within Bilderberg.
I'm pleased to report that because of the doggedness of some journalists and protesters and the vast resources of the Internet, news coverage of the group is widening. In fact, London's
Sunday Times
jokes that Bilderberg meetings are “the world's greatest networking opportunity,” while Portugal's
The News
refers gravely to the group's members and guests as “the world's unelected leaders.”
In a tongue-in-cheek article,
The Guardian
of England and Wales points out, “It is, according to some, a sinister shadow world government dedicated to seizing control of the levers of the global economy. So whyâ¦put Lord Carrington's picture at the top of this column? He runs [Bilderberg] along with Henry Kissinger and David Rockefeller, billionaire owner of New York's Chase Manhattan Bankâ¦. What will they discuss? Don't know. There are no statements, no sound bites, no photo callsâ¦.”
The Atlanta Constitution
seems to think it has a better handle on the situation: “â¦the Bilderbergers say the required pledge of delegates not to discuss what goes on at their meetings is simply to provide a private, informal environment in which those who influence national policies and international affairs can get to know each other and discuss, without commitment, their common problems.”
Still, with media giants like Donald Graham of
The Washington Post
and billionaire bankers like Edmond de Rothschild and auto tycoons like Jurgen Schrempp of DaimlerChrysler and politicians with global clout like James D. Wolfensohn of the World Bank and Donald Rumsfeld of the U.S. Department of Defense in attendanceâ¦the Bilderbergers continue to hold my interest.
They may just be talking shop, but the clandestine nature of their gatherings provokes all sorts of reactions. As
The Financial Times
once pointed out, “If the Bilderberg group is not a conspiracy of some sort, it is conducted in such a way as to give a remarkably good imitation of one.”
Its current secretary-general, Martin Taylor of WH Smith, says he's done his best to increase its openness, according to the
Sunday Times.
But then, the minutes of its meetings have been secret for the past half century, which likely hinders that goal. When
Time
magazine analyzed the top six “Business Power Camps” in its July 20, 1998, issue, it awarded exclusivity ratings. Ten meant the most exclusive. Only one group rated itâthe Bilderbergers.
For more reading, I suggest two books originally published in Britain:
MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service,
by Stephen Dorril, published by the Free Press in 2000.
Them: Adventures with Extremists
by Jon Ronson, published by Simon & Schuster in 2002.
Gayle Lynds
Santa Barbara, California
August 18, 2003
