THE NEW LUKE CARLTON THRILLER. BBC Security Correspondent FRANK GARDNER'S thrillers are . . .
'Fast taut tense accurate.' FREDERICK FORSYTH ' U tterly 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 )
