BBC Security Correspondent FRANK GARDNER’S thrillers are . . .
‘Fast, taut, tense, accurate.’ FREDERICK FORSYTH

‘Utterly authentic.’ DAILY MAIL

‘Enthralling, intelligent.’ FINANCIAL TIMES

‘Nerve-shredding.’ TONY PARSONS

‘Heart-in-mouth.’ i-NEWSPAPER

‘Compulsively readable.’ RADIO TIMES
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The world is on high alert.

Across the Strait from Taiwan, China’s armed forces appear to be readying for war. Could the People’s Republic be preparing to invade its island neighbour?

Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service has a mole deep within the Chinese Communist Party leadership – an individual in possession of intel that could defuse this fast-escalating situation. A ‘collector’ is sent to meet the spy and, in an anonymous Hong Kong café, the information is handed over. But before the collector can get the data to MI6, she is overpowered, drugged and abducted by persons unknown. Is it the MSS, China’s feared state security agency? Or has another, less predictable player entered the game?

As geo-political tensions rise, MI6 field operatives Luke Carlton and Jenny Li are dispatched to find the missing agent and the precious intel she carries. With the clock ticking and tip-offs taking them to shady Macau casinos, tawdry night clubs and multiple dead ends, Luke is convinced they are being deliberately strung along.

Then they get the vital lead they need. It points to Taiwan – a country frantically preparing for imminent invasion. And it’s there that Luke and Jenny uncover what is really going on. . .

Drawing on his years of experience reporting on global security stories and in-depth knowledge of the security services, Frank Gardner has written his most frighteningly real, unnerving and explosive thriller yet.

‘Grips from the very first page . . . this is thriller writing of a high order . . . Gardner steadily ratchets up the tension, peppering the narrative with nuggets of expertise to make an enthralling, intelligent read.’ Adam LeBor, FINANCIAL TIMES (about Outbreak)

‘Utterly authentic.’ DAILY MAIL

‘Enthralling, intelligent.’ FINANCIAL TIMES

‘Nerve-shredding.’ TONY PARSONS

‘Heart-in-mouth.’ i-NEWSPAPER

‘Compulsively readable.’ RADIO TIMES
__________________________________________

The world is on high alert.

Across the Strait from Taiwan, China’s armed forces appear to be readying for war. Could the People’s Republic be preparing to invade its island neighbour?

Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service has a mole deep within the Chinese Communist Party leadership – an individual in possession of intel that could defuse this fast-escalating situation. A ‘collector’ is sent to meet the spy and, in an anonymous Hong Kong café, the information is handed over. But before the collector can get the data to MI6, she is overpowered, drugged and abducted by persons unknown. Is it the MSS, China’s feared state security agency? Or has another, less predictable player entered the game?

As geo-political tensions rise, MI6 field operatives Luke Carlton and Jenny Li are dispatched to find the missing agent and the precious intel she carries. With the clock ticking and tip-offs taking them to shady Macau casinos, tawdry night clubs and multiple dead ends, Luke is convinced they are being deliberately strung along.

Then they get the vital lead they need. It points to Taiwan – a country frantically preparing for imminent invasion. And it’s there that Luke and Jenny uncover what is really going on. . .

Drawing on his years of experience reporting on global security stories and in-depth knowledge of the security services, Frank Gardner has written his most frighteningly real, unnerving and explosive thriller yet.

‘Grips from the very first page . . . this is thriller writing of a high order . . . Gardner steadily ratchets up the tension, peppering the narrative with nuggets of expertise to make an enthralling, intelligent read.’ Adam LeBor, FINANCIAL TIMES (about Outbreak)

Deep within the Arctic Circle, three scientists from the UK’s Arctic Research Station trudge through a blizzard in search of shelter. They see a cabin ahead. It appears abandoned. No lights. No snowmobile outside. But as they push open the door, the smell hits them. Rank and foetid: there’s something bad inside.

Then movement. A man lies slumped, his face disfigured by livid pustules. Blood runs from his nostrils; his chest glistens blackly. The team’s medic, Dr Sheila Mackenzie, pushes forward to examine him when the convulsions start. Blood, bile and mucus spray into the air. The doctor knows it’s too late – she’s been contaminated . . .

Within hours, a full-scale operation to contain this contagion is underway. Samples are rushed to the laboratories at Porton Down on high alert. What they discover changes everything. Supported by phone and data intercepts, British Intelligence reaches a terrifying conclusion: that Russia has been developing a new generation of bio-weapons.

Dispatched to investigate, MI6’s Luke Carlton finds himself on a serpentine trail of lies and deception. From a mysterious factory in Lithuania, via arrest and imprisonment, and ultimately back to Britain, he discovers that they’ve been looking in the wrong place all along . . .

Readers are raving about Outbreak

***** ‘A fast-paced espionage thriller with a timely premise’
***** ‘A sharp and fast-paced thriller’
***** ‘A great read for fans old and new’
***** ‘One of the best thrillers of 2021’

Deep within the Arctic Circle, three scientists from the UK’s Arctic Research Station trudge through a blizzard in search of shelter. They see a cabin ahead. It appears abandoned. No lights. No snowmobile outside. But as they push open the door, the smell hits them. Rank and foetid: there’s something bad inside.

Then movement. A man lies slumped, his face disfigured by livid pustules. Blood runs from his nostrils; his chest glistens blackly. The team’s medic, Dr Sheila Mackenzie, pushes forward to examine him when the convulsions start. Blood, bile and mucus spray into the air. The doctor knows it’s too late – she’s been contaminated . . .

Within hours, a full-scale operation to contain this contagion is underway. Samples are rushed to the laboratories at Porton Down on high alert. What they discover changes everything. Supported by phone and data intercepts, British Intelligence reaches a terrifying conclusion: that Russia has been developing a new generation of bio-weapons.

Dispatched to investigate, MI6’s Luke Carlton finds himself on a serpentine trail of lies and deception. From a mysterious factory in Lithuania, via arrest and imprisonment, and ultimately back to Britain, he discovers that they’ve been looking in the wrong place all along . . .

Readers are raving about Outbreak

***** ‘A fast-paced espionage thriller with a timely premise’
***** ‘A sharp and fast-paced thriller’
***** ‘A great read for fans old and new’
***** ‘One of the best thrillers of 2021’

‘Outstanding’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘Breathless action’ THE TIMES

Hidden from prying Western satellites, Iranian scientists are at work on a banned device . . .

They are acting on the orders of a renegade cell within Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose objective is to transform their country into a nuclear-armed nation, and so seal its domination of the Middle East.

Britain’s intelligence agencies know something is up. Someone on the inside is ready to hand over information – but the rendezvous with SIS officer Luke Carlton goes bloodily wrong . . .

Then MI6 sees an opportunity to recruit an individual with unique access to the IRGC hardliners. Luke is chosen to reel them in. Going into Iran undercover is dangerous enough, but then there’s a killing and a kidnapping and the British government is presented with a shocking ultimatum.

With time running out, it seems only Luke can stop a cataclysmic new war in the Gulf . . .
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Readers love Ultimatum:

***** ‘An action-packed thriller . . . very authentic’
***** ‘A real page turner . . . thrilling adventure’
***** ‘Gripping page turner that keeps you glued to the story’

Introducing Luke Carlton – ex-Special Boat Service commando, and now under contract to MI6 for some of its most dangerous missions.

Sent into the steaming Colombian jungle to investigate the murder of a British intelligence officer, Luke finds himself caught up in the coils of a plot that has terrifying international dimensions.

Hunted down, captured, tortured and on the run from one of South America’s most powerful and ruthless drugs cartels and its psychotic leader thirsting for revenge, Luke is in a life-or-death race against time to prevent a disaster on a truly terrifying scale: London is the target, the weapon is diabolical and the means of delivery is ingenious.

Drawing on his years of experience reporting on security matters, CRISIS is Frank Gardner’s debut novel. Combining insider knowledge, up-to-the-minute hardware, fly on the wall insights with heart-in-mouth excitement, CRISIS boasts an irresistible, visceral frisson of authenticity: smart, fast-paced and furiously entertaining, here is a thriller for the 21st century.

Readers are gripped by Crisis:
***** ‘An excellently written page turner, full of intrigue.’
***** ‘It kept me engrossed and on the edge of my seat.’
***** ‘Superb writing style. Gripping story line.’

Luke Carlton returns in Frank Gardner’s third, explosive thriller OUTBREAK. Available for pre-order now.

In June 2004, while on what should have been a routine assignment in Riyadh, his life – never mind his ability to travel the world – was nearly brought to a violent end by Islamist gunmen. Frank survived against all the odds and through force of will, has found himself looking towards far horizons once more. He’s not only been skiing in the Alps, scuba diving in the Red Sea and explored the jungles of Cambodia, he is also reporting once more from far-flung destinations like Afghanistan and Colombia – and this is a man who no longer has the use of his legs…

This is Frank Gardner’s compelling, personal account of the myriad adventures that made him the man he was on that fateful day – and of the journeys he’s made since, and how they’ve helped him to become the remarkable and inspiring individual he is today.