The Circle

Prepare for edge-of-your-seat suspense in this Thriller Short.

In this intense Thriller Short from bestselling author David Hewson, a comfortable isolation from current events is totally shattered. The Circle line runs in a perpetual loop beneath the city of London from the prosperous west to the poorer east. Melanie Darma, a clerk at the Palace of Westminster, sits with both hands curved protectively around the baby bump under her summer coat. She has traveled the circle so often she sometimes imagines herself a part of it. On the seat opposite from her, sits a young man in a dark polyester jacket and cheap jeans. Next to him is a grubby rucksack. When she exits the tube and walks toward the heavily guarded gate of Westminster, the young man – his rucksack held high above his head, wires dangling – runs toward her, screaming in a language she doesn’t understand. It’s an act of terrorism that will end in a shocking twist. One Melanie never anticipated.

Originally published in THRILLER 2 (2009), edited by No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Clive Cussler.