A Toowoomba author of two books this year (during the pandemic) used his contacts at publishing houses in the UK to publish his novels.

Darren John Franklin’s books are about high-risk security missions of himself rescuing kidnapped children from around the world.  The first book featured in a story on 60 Minutes. While in Toowoomba, he went to Wilsonton State School and Toowoomba State High School before joining the Australian Army.  He then entered the world of international private security where he conducted high-risk operations in some of the world’s most dangerous countries.

From bodyguarding in South America to conducting surveillance in Moscow, he has conducted and experienced many missions where failure could end in imprisonment or death. “One such aspect of our operations was rescuing kidnapped children,” he said.

The Hostage Rescuer: The Return of a Child into a Mother’s Arms is the thrilling true story of the recovery of an abducted child against the odds. Two close encounters with death convince the author that his career in the sometimes murky world of global private security is not the healthiest. Meanwhile Scottish nurse Diane is on a life-changing route of her own after a Shirley Valentine-style romance on a Greek holiday island.

Escaping the Empire: A True Story of Abduction, Rescue and Redemption is the tale of a hostage rescuer, recalling a case which stood out from the rest. This is a tense retelling of the real events of Franklin’s work as a hostage rescuer from his insider perspective. Escaping the Empire grants an insight into the profession in general – and the events surrounding an international child rescue mission.

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