Eighth Hour, as the title suggests, is number eight in the Jerry and Hassan
series of adventures. My first goal in this book was to have the characters
tell the story as much as possible through their dialogue, rather than through
my narration. For example, on page 15 of the paperback version of Eighth Hour
(Page 20 in the Kindle version), the character, Mike Mahoney, describes the
layout and size of the sailboat Panacea for a new associate in the Dinner Key
Yacht Charter Company (DKYC).
My second goal in Eighth Hour was to condense the main part of the story into forty-eight hours of continuous action, starting with Chapter Two. Chapter One serves to set the scene and introduces the protagonists. But before Chapter One the Prologue provides a sense of the scope of activities required for the protagonists to be successful. You may listen to the Eighth Hour Prologue here.
Please note that before you waste time trying to locate the island of Santo
Lucas using Google Earth, it is a fictitious location in the Eastern Caribbean.
I needed it for the establishment of a company seaplane base in an undeveloped
part of the Caribbean near the actual chain of islands that form the eastern
end of that sea.
Featured in the book, Seventh Island, the PBY Catalina Flying Boat owned by (DKYC) has a prominent role in Eighth Hour. It is the launch pad for Riley Glint's daring free-fall parachute jump. Note the drop-down stairs in the aft end of the PBY in this picture. That assembly was removed to give Riley an opening from which he could locate his target landing spot and make a clean exit from the aircraft.
In this story, the retractable stairs shown here lowered to the ramp
under the tail of the aircraft, are removed to provide an exit opening.
The motor yacht Maid of Blyth in this story is similar to the one pictured here.
My second goal in Eighth Hour was to condense the main part of the story into forty-eight hours of continuous action, starting with Chapter Two. Chapter One serves to set the scene and introduces the protagonists. But before Chapter One the Prologue provides a sense of the scope of activities required for the protagonists to be successful. You may listen to the Eighth Hour Prologue here.
Images from Eighth Hour
Caribbean Location Where Hijack Occurs
Please note that before you waste time trying to locate the island of Santo
Lucas using Google Earth, it is a fictitious location in the Eastern Caribbean.
I needed it for the establishment of a company seaplane base in an undeveloped
part of the Caribbean near the actual chain of islands that form the eastern
end of that sea.
Featured in the book, Seventh Island, the PBY Catalina Flying Boat owned by (DKYC) has a prominent role in Eighth Hour. It is the launch pad for Riley Glint's daring free-fall parachute jump. Note the drop-down stairs in the aft end of the PBY in this picture. That assembly was removed to give Riley an opening from which he could locate his target landing spot and make a clean exit from the aircraft.
PBY Catalina Flying Boat
In this story, the retractable stairs shown here lowered to the ramp
under the tail of the aircraft, are removed to provide an exit opening.
Nordhaven 51 Motor Yacht
The motor yacht Maid of Blyth in this story is similar to the one pictured here.
This is the deck on which Riley Glint landed after sky diving from the
PBY catalina at 10,000 in the dark.
Featured in this picture is the Nordhaven's dinghy in which Paul ferried
the DKYC team to the Panacea just after sunrise in chapter 10.
This is the Nordhaven's Flybridge where Paul Danes was sleeping when Riley Glint landed.