THE THIRD ESTATE (Secrets of the Manor 1) by D.R. Berlin
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 31, 2024
In a busy outdoor market, in broad daylight, an apparently ordinary woman is gunned
down by a professional assassin. Twelve years later, the killer is back with a
new target – and a mysteriously sinister employer…
Sophie Allard, a promising jet pilot cadet at a prestigious military academy, finds
her world shattered when she’s summoned to the Commander’s office with
devastating news—her estranged father has died in a mysterious lab explosion at
their family estate.
What begins as a routine investigation soon spirals into something far more
dangerous. As Sophie delves deeper into the secrets surrounding her father’s
death, she uncovers hidden truths that threaten not only her career but her
very life.
Unraveling a web of deception and betrayal, Sophie discovers that her father’s involvement
with a powerful and shadowy organization—the Third Estate—could hold the key to
both her survival and her downfall.
With an assassin hunting her every step and the enigmatic Grey Lady pulling the strings
behind the scenes,
Sophie must navigate a perilous landscape of secrets, lies,
and danger.
Will Sophie uncover the truth—before it’s too late.
••••••
REVIEW: THE THIRD ESTATE is the first instalment in DR Berlin’s contemporary, adult SECRETS OF THE MANOR suspense thriller focusing on US military cadet Sophie Allard, and the people in her life.
Told from omniscient third person perspective THE THIRD ESTATE focuses on the search for the truth. Just days before her final exam and flight test, US fighter pilot cadet Sophie Allard is called home in the wake of a lab explosion that killed her father Professor Milo Anderson, a man who works for the US government. Approximately ten years earlier, Sophie’s beloved adopted mother Violet was murdered, and in the ensuing time Sophie felt the rejection of her adopted father, a man whose contract with the military was dangerous and secret. Having worked toward her accreditation as a US fighter pilot, Sophie finds herself at odds with the hierarchy, and in the face of questionable answers regarding her father’s death, begins to search for the truth but all is not as it appears to be, and Sophie finds herself on the run from an assassin, a man hired to finish the job.
The world building follows several intersecting and sensational paths including the secrets that continue to control every aspect of Sophie’s life. Raised by the manor caretakers in the wake of her mother’s death, Sophie often wonders if she was to blame but her time in the military grows increasingly controversial, and the questions surrounding her father’s death and research are at the centre of an investigation she knows nothing about, an investigation that focuses on the family’s connections to a secret group known as The Third Estate.
There is a large ensemble cast of military personnel, dark operatives, anti-government agents, spies and assassins. Not everyone is whom they appear to be: lives are lost; actions are questioned; betrayal and treason are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
THE THIRD ESTATE is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and control, government and military, treason and conspiracies. The premise is dramatic, edgy, haunting, and thrilling-with a little bit of thinking, I did figure out the people involved; the characters are questionable, dynamic and destructive. No one can be trusted-Sophie Allard finds herself on the precipice of danger and death. THE THIRD ESTATE ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
