Author:Frank Gardner,Jonathan Keeble
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 . . .
Praise for Frank Gardner and the Luke Carlton series:
'Fast, taut, tense, accurate' Frederick Forsyth
'A terrific page-turner' Sunday Times
'Intelligent, high-voltage storytelling' Tony Parsons
'Utterly authentic' Daily Mail
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 TIMESTackles what must now be most governments' worst nightmare: the deliberate generation of a pandemic by bio-terrorists . . . packed with authentic detail, Outbreak is both horrifying and entertaining.
—— Natasha Cooper , LITERARY REVIEWA gripping zeitgeisty thriller . . . an authentic feel . . . plenty of action . . . a proper page turner.
—— Paul Burke , NB magazineCompulsively readable.
—— RADIO TIMESLen Deighton's spy novels are so good they make me sad the Cold War is over.
—— Malcolm GladwellLen Deighton is the Flaubert of the contemporary thriller writers.
—— Michael Howard , Times Literary SupplementThe self-conscious cool of Deighton's writing has dated in the best way possible ... Stone-cold Cold War classic.
—— Toby Litt , The GuardianJørn Lier Horst writes literary crime with high credibility and keen-eyed societal depictions - he's Norway's own Henning Mankell
—— Hjorth & RosenfeldtImpeccably crafted police procedural
Jørn Lier Horst writes some of the best Scandinavian crime fiction available. His books are superbly plotted and addictive, the characters wonderfully realised
—— Yrsa SigurdardóttirJørn Lier Horst is one of the most brilliantly understated crime novelists writing today
Horst, a former Norwegian police detective, is often compared to Sweden's Henning Mankell for his moody, sweeping crime dramas
—— New York TimesJørn Lier Horst raises the suspense level to horror proportions
—— Lotta Olsson , Dagens Nyheter, 'Best Crime Novels of 2020'Expect dark themes and plot twists a plenty
—— RedDramatic, mysterious and compelling
—— VogueKept me guessing to the end
—— SunWith secrets and intrigue, this is a compulsive read
—— Sun on SundayMoriarty rocks the drama genre
—— Courier-MailNicola Moriarty belongs to a family tree laded with writers. She more than holds her own
—— The AustralianNicola's got great pace and snappy dialogue, and I especially like her male characters
—— Liane Moriarty , Sydney Morning HeraldBrilliant! Could not put it down. It's utterly gripping and beautifully written.
—— KATIE FFORDESmart and compassionate, full of poetry and rage and shy hopes and shredded dreams and missing girls and family secrets.
—— TAMMY COHEN, author of Stop At NothingThis is a striking first novel, a chilling insight into an oppressive world, where bad thoughts and bad deeds ripple just below the surface, out of sight.
—— Alison Flood, OBSERVERChilling and compulsive... a dazzling debut.
—— KATE HAMER, author of The Girl in the Red CoatSimmering resentments and long-held prejudices boil over in this beautifully realised evocation of small-town America. I I loved it.
—— Kate Riordan, author of The HeatwaveAn elegant, mesmerizing debut-Anna Bailey explores festering secrets with a with a sharp, yet tender gaze. This book reads like a whisper in the dark.
—— DANYA KUKAFKA, author of Girl in SnowCleverly written , Anna Bailey's debut shines a light on the darker and more oppressive side of small-town society.
—— Independent