Final Orbit

1975. A new Apollo mission launches into orbit, on course to dock with a Russian Soyuz spacecraft: three NASA astronauts and three cosmonauts, joining to celebrate a new dawn of Soviet-American cooperation. But a third power is rising, in the race to dominate Space. As NASA Flight Controller Kaz Zemeckis listens in from Earth, three of the six astronauts are killed in an unexplained accident. And from a remote location in east Asia, a capsule secretly launches with China''s very first astronaut aboard, purpose unknown . . Full of Cold War intrigue and real historical characters, Final Orbit accelerates to a thrilling conclusion - and brings to life the loneliness, majesty and pure rush of Space flight, with all of the hard-won experience of a writer who is himself one of the most decorated astronauts alive. Praise for the Apollo Murders series ''A nail-biting Cold War thriller'' James Cameron ''An exciting journey to an alternate past'' Andy Weir ''Not to be missed'' Frederick Forsyth ''Explosive'' Gregg Hurwitz ''Exciting, authentic'' Linwood Barclay