Honey Trap is an action-packed thriller. Readers will speed through to see inside sinister Hollywood intrigue and down into the depths of gutter journalism.
Foreign correspondent Mike Delano barely escapes from jihadists in Iraq after his savage killing of a sadistic prison guard who beheads his victims. Safely returned to England, he writes a book that captures the attention of Maxwell Rothenberg, the wealthy owner of the most powerful media organization in the world.
Delano's gruesome bestseller leads Lord Rothenberg to hire him as editor of his flagship tabloid newspaper. But the two men become mortal enemies when Rothenberg's daughter Rachel, who should be off-limits to Delano, falls in love with the journalist. Delano falls hard for her, too. The conflict that erupts between the two men will end only when one of them is dead.
Rothenberg separates the lovers by kidnapping his own daughter and firing a disgraced Delano. Driven by revenge, Delano departs for Hollywood. There he lures Rothenberg's movie studio's biggest superstar, Morgan Masterson, into a honey trap, exploiting the actor's depravity in order to destroy Lord Rothenberg.
Delano's sordid revelations wreck Masterson's wanton movie star life, at the same time turning the formerly ethical journalist into a sleazy tabloid writer disgusted by the stench of yellow journalism clinging to his once unblemished career.
Media baron Rothenberg's need to dominate the global audience and destroy Rachel's love for Delano leads to his shameful demise. It also triggers death and destruction on the set of a blockbuster movie, the brutal murder of a glamorous top studio executive, and a massacre of Tinseltown glitterati at an Oscars night party.
The players in this violent saga of lust and greed provoke enemies from all sides as Delano struggles to rescue Rachel from her tyrannical father -- after extorting the criminal mogul for millions.
Murderous mayhem plays out on land and sea in the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and South America involving attacks by assassins, terrorists, and drug cartels.
Delano sells his soul to triumph professionally and wed Rachel, but his success brings unexpected heartbreak. Author Tony Brenna brings three decades of international journalistic experience to this superbly-crafted debut novel.