Frank Gardner

THE NEW LUKE CARLTON THRILLER. MI6 operative Luke Carlton returns in his most exciting and unnervingly up-to-the-minute mission yet . . . Get ready for the new edge-of-your-seat spy thriller from the bestselling author. In the dying light of an Arctic afternoon a monstrous black shape slips beneath the waters of Murmansk bay. Murmansk in the Arctic Circle is where the Russian navy's fleet of nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines is based - and the Novorussiya is one of Russia's most advanced nuclear submarines . . . With a high-ranking mole deep inside Russia's FSB, Britain's security services are now convinced that Russia is poised to use a terrifying, game-changing device. As the West goes into a state of high alert, MI6 operative Luke Carlton is dropped into the hot zone that is the Finnish-Russian border. His mission to secure the safe extraction of this vital MI6 asset and secure the intel he has in his possession, because it seems that we could be staring Armageddon in the face. It's then that things start to go devastatingly wrong . . . Breathlessly exciting, brilliantly authentic and unnervingly prescient, Ballistic is the new Luke Carlton thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author and journalist who has his finger on the pulse of 21st century geo-politics and knows where the dangerous flashpoints are likely to be . . . Praise for Frank Gardner's other Luke Carlton thrillers: ‘Tensions rise to boiling point . . . Gardner cuts to the molten core of a modern flashpoint in an electric thriller.’ SUN ‘Fast, taught, tense, accurate. A terrific read.’ FREDERICK FORSYTH ‘Thriller-writing of the highest order . . . Gardner steadily ratchets up the tension, peppering the narrative with nuggets of expertise.’ FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Full of tomorrow’s headlines . . . this is intelligent, high-voltage storytelling of the very highest order.’ TONY PARSONS ‘Confirms Frank Gardner’s place among the pantheon of distinguished reporters who have become excellent thriller writers, including Gerald Seymour and Frederick Forsyth . . . utterly authentic.’ DAILY MAIL ‘Combines insider knowledge with heart-in-mouth excitement.’ i-NEWSPAPER ‘Everything is impressive in this masterly account . . . exhilarating (if alarming) topicality.’ SUNDAY TIMES

In the dying light of an Arctic afternoon a vast black shape slips beneath the waters of Murmansk bay, her full complement of crew on board. But the Russian nuclear-powered submarine the Novorussiya is carrying something else - something so diabolically destructive that not all the crew are aware of this cargo. Kilometres to the south, at a military base hidden in the frozen forests of Arctic Russia, a lone figure steps out into a blast of windblown snow. Unseen, Major Orlov makes his way to a distant corner of the base and retrieves a hidden transmitter. He knows all about the Novorussiya and what she’s carrying and he needs to alert his handlers in London. But Orlov also knows that the net of suspicion is closing in on him and he wants out. Fast. When Orlov’s extraction across the border into Finland goes disastrously wrong MI6 assign Luke Carlton to team up with the formidable Finnish Special Forces officer Sini Järvinen to spearhead the quest to find out exactly what the Russian double-agent knew so the West can prepare. Their mission takes them across the border by night-time parachute drop, to the very edge of the Kola Peninsula, home to Russia’s ballistic missile fleet, then on to the tropical island of Tobago and a vine-clad villa where a terrible truth is revealed. As tensions between the West and Russia reach fever pitch, can Luke Carlton and his Finnish accomplice discover the secrets of Moscow’s latest weapon before it’s too late?

Discover the explosive new Luke Carlton spy thriller from the Sunday Times bestseller and BBC security correspondent.‘Everything is impressive in this masterly account . . . Exhilarating’ Sunday Times‘Genuinely unnerving and fast-paced . . . highly recommended’ Irish Independent 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?A mole deep within the Chinese Communist Party leadership has some explosive intel that could defuse this geo-political timebomb. But before Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service can get hold of the data, the ‘collector’ sent to recover it is abducted.As global tensions rise, MI6 operatives Luke Carlton and Jenny Li are dispatched to find the missing agent and the precious information she carries.With the clock ticking and tip-offs taking them to shady Macau casinos, tawdry night clubs and down 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.Praise for Frank Gardner:'Fast, taut, tense, accurate.' Frederick Forsyth, bestselling author of The Day of the Jackal'Utterly authentic.' Daily Mail‘Thriller writing of a high order.' Financial Times'Nerve-shredding.' Tony Parsons, bestselling author of the Max Wolfe series'Heart-in-mouth.' i-Newspaper'Compulsively readable.' Radio Times

This work captures personal experience of the Army’s Surgeon General as a military doctor in crisis and war, spanning 30 years from Northern Ireland; through Kosovo to the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns; culminating in the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukraine war. Poetry provides the ability to say what is otherwise difficult or unpalatable. Some of the poems are critical and challenging. Some are humorous, as dark humour is a well-recognised resilience tool of the soldier. All are observational—and all are grounded in the realities of crisis and conflict. It is likely you have read war poetry from the perspectives of the combat soldier: but this book is the alternative perspective of those who manage the consequences of war. The work exposes that saving lives in conflict, picking up the human pieces, takes a toll on the carers. Writing these poems has been a means for the author to sustain mental resilience and to cope with serial morally injurious events.

THE NEW LUKE CARLTON THRILLER.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 __________________________________________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)

2024, and China is massing troops on its coast across the Strait from Taiwan. This time it looks like they're serious about invasion - an act that would result in war between the People's Republic and the US and its allies, including the UK.But Britain's Secret Intelligence Service has an agent in play: someone close to the top of the Chinese Communist Party and who's ready to pass on vital secrets that could defuse the escalating situation. But as the handover takes place in a Hong Kong back street cafe, the agent's MI6 handler is snatched before she can transmit the data back to London and disappears. There are few clues as to who might be responsible. Is it China's infamous state security agency, the MSS? Or has another, less predictable player entered the game?MI6 field operative Luke Carlton is despatched to track down the missing agent. Accompanying him is his Mandarin-speaking colleague, the highly capable Jenny Li. But as they follow a succession of tip-offs that take them from shady Macau casinos to tawdry night clubs, Luke begins to sense that something's not right - that they are being deliberately strung along.As the clock ticks, global tensions heighten and the two SIS operatives have traced their target to Taiwan - a country frantically preparing for imminent invasion. And there, in a remote mountain temple hideaway, Luke and Jenny stumble across what's really going on.But China's People's Liberation Army has already begun to flex its hi-tech muscles, in Taiwan and closer to home, and suddenly the world is holding its breath . . .'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)

***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***The explosive new thriller featuring MI6 operative Luke Carlton on his most terrifying mission yet. 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'

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

â??It grips like a python from the first page, squeezing the breath out of the readerâ?? DAILY MAILâ??Outstandingâ?? SUNDAY TIMESâ??Breathless actionâ?? THE TIMESHidden from prying Western satellites, Iranian scientists are at work on a banned device .

On the run from one of South America's most ruthless drugs cartels and its psychotic leader thirsting for revenge, Luke Carlton - ex-Special Boat Service commando 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.

On the June 6, 2004, while on assignment in Riyadh, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner and cameraman Simon Cumbers were ambushed by Islamist gunmen. Simon was killed outright. Frank was hit in the shoulder and leg. As he lay in the dust, a figure stood over him and pumped four more bullets into his body at point-blank range...Against all the odds, Frank Gardner survived. Today, although partly paralysed, Frank continues to travel the world, reporting and making documentaries for the BBC. This acclaimed memoir was brought up to date with a new chapter that recounted his return to Saudi Arabia for the first time since he was shot and the story he tells continues to move and inspire, and remains an affirmation of his deep understanding of - and affection for - the Islamic world in these uncertain times.___'Gardner tells his remarkable tale well and bravely, with an astonishing lack of anger and enduring love and respect for the Islamic world' SUNDAY TIMES'Brave, unsentimental and genuinely inspiring' EVENING STANDARD 'What makes Gardner's moving, often humorous, deeply personal story so important is the fact that he has woven into it a brilliantly dispassionate, clear-eyed account of the Islamic world' SCOTSMAN'A witty, self-deprecating, inspiring testament' DAILY TELEGRAPH

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.