REEKS, Kerri
ISBN 978-1-923386-87-7
PAPERBACK
Cage of War
Can they escape the horrors of war, or will they consume them forever?
Captured by Viet Cong in late 1960s during the Vietnam War, Australian soldier James ‘Ned’ Kelly is imprisoned in a bamboo cage in the Mekong River, with fellow captive Brady. They’re eventually ‘rescued’ by a Special CIA Covert team.
They soon discover the rescue is part of an elaborate, corrupt and clandestine war tourism operation – ‘Tiger Hunts’, where wealthy Japanese businessmen pay to hunt & kill real VC soldiers. Kelly & Brady reluctantly join the ‘Tiger Hunts’, ultimately uncovering dark & suspenseful secrets, including war crimes, political assassinations, & drug trafficking tied to the covert teams. A catastrophic ‘Tiger Hunt’ leaves Kelly, Brady, & one Japanese ‘Tiger’ as the only survivors; they’re rescued & taken to a US Hospital ship to recover.
Years later, back to Australia, Kelly is settled on a small farm in the Adelaide Hills. A deadly chain of events is sparked, targeting Kelly, his veteran friends & loved ones. The fallout threatens to also expose the surviving ‘Tiger’, now a prominent Japanese politician, & the rogue CIA operations behind the ‘Tiger Hunts’.
To stop the violence escalating, Kelly teams up with old colleagues to expose the truth, bringing the dark past to light via exposure in the international media.
About the author
KERRI REEKS was born in Adelaide in 1953 and spent his formative years in Broken Hill, Cockburn, and later Mount Gambier. At 18, he enlisted in the Royal Australian Army, qualifying as a Sapper in the Corps of Engineers. He trained in combat engineering, earthmoving construction, minefield clearance, and demolition-though he did not serve in Vietnam. After his military service, Kerri forged a diverse career. He became a multi-award-winning landscape gardener and later owned and operated both a restaurant and a hotel. For over 30 years, he has worked as a consultant in the oil and gas industry, travelling to more than 60 countries. During this time, he completed a Graduate Diploma and a Graduate Certificate in International Disaster Management. Drawing on his global experiences and the many cultural intersections he encountered along the way, Kerri researched and wrote Cage of War, a novel inspired by the Vietnam War. He now lives in the Adelaide Hills on a small acreage with his partner and their dog, Beau. When not consulting in the energy sector or working on his next novel, he enjoys landscaping and tending to his property.
