'Ryan never fails to nail the target with a well-aimed burst of rapid-fire realism.' - Crime Review
Ex-SAS heroes Bald and Porter take on the Deep State in the nail-shredding new Strike Back thriller
In a world run by rich and powerful men, Julian Cantwell is more powerful than most. A ruthless political consultant, Cantwell has manipulated elections around the world, bribing opponents and blackmailing political rivals. Doing whatever it takes for his clients to win.
But when a freelance journalist threatens to expose his alleged involvement in a terrifying conspiracy, Cantwell suddenly finds himself under threat. Backed into a corner, he is forced to take drastic action.
Meanwhile in London, former Regiment hero John Porter and ex-SAS vagabond John Bald are drafted in by their MI6 paymasters for a highly secretive - and dangerous - mission. A respected British academic has been arrested in chaos-stricken Venezuela. Accused of spying for the British government, she is being held captive by the President's notorious security forces.
Working alongside a team of ex-Navy SEALs, Bald and Porter are tasked with infiltrating Venezuela and rescuing the academic before she caves in to her interrogators. But as they get closer to their target, Bald and Porter begin to uncover a terrifying plot. A conspiracy that goes right to the very heart of power. To survive, they must face down their deadliest enemy yet, in a desperate fight to the death.
In the battle between the SAS and the Navy SEALs there can be only one winner. Will Bald and Porter prevail? Or have our heroes finally met their match?
The fifth book in the bestselling Strike Back series by SAS hero Chris Ryan.
Three years ago, Julian Norwood was the rising star of the political universe.
As the co-founder of a wildly successful London-based political consultancy, Norwood and his colleagues used controversial tactics to help win the election for the American President and played a decisive role propping up odious governments around the world. But after a scandal broke, the company's reputation was shredded. All of a sudden, Norwood was toxic. People stopped returning his calls. Nobody wanted to work with him. In desperation, he fled to the Seychelles to escape the media spotlight.
But when Norwood uncovers a terrifying secret - one that threatens to trigger a brutal new conflict - he senses an opportunity for political redemption...and a hefty payday. He reaches out to his former mentor, a close confidante of the American President and a shadowy populist puppet-master. Before he can tell his mentor what he has discovered, however, masked gunmen ambush the meeting, killing the populist and kidnapping Norwood.
In Hereford, former SAS legends John Porter and Jock Bald are brought in from the cold and tasked with a dangerous new mission. A close-knit gang of ex-Navy SEALs, dishonourably discharged from the US military, have gone rogue down in the badlands of Mexico, offering their services to the highest bidder. Now American and British intelligence experts believe that the gang is plotting a sinister new attack - and they want Bald and Porter to infiltrate the gang and find out what they're up to.
Amid the deadly carnage and daily, horrifying violence of the Mexican drug wars, Bald and Porter must earn the trust of the ex-SEALs and their charismatic leader, survive brutal cartel attacks and uncover a deadly conspiracy involving the 'Deep State' in both the US and the UK. When their cover is blown, however, Bald and Porter must act to stop a deadly plan to assassinate the Venezuelan President and trigger a bloody civil war. In a breathtaking finale, they must fight alongside their fellow SAS comrades, taking on the gang in a deadly battle of SAS versus Navy SEALs - and only the strongest will survive.
Nobody takes you to the action better than Ryan, because
he's the real deal, and this muscle-and-bone thriller will have fans' blood pumping.
