The Stranger

The new novel from the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award-winning author of A Loyal Spy

ISIS can't control him.

MI6 can't find him.

But he's coming...

Things change quickly in the world of espionage and clandestine operations. Jude Lyon of MI6 remembers the captured terrorist bomb-maker. He watched him being flown off to Syria, back when Syria was 'friendly'. No-one expected him to survive interrogation there.

Yet the man is alive and someone has broken him out of jail.

Bad news for the former foreign secretary who authorised his rendition. And Jude's boss Queen Bee who knew he wasn't a terrorist at all, but an innocent bystander. Now she calls Jude back from a dangerously enjoyable mission involving a Russian diplomat's wife.

He has a new job: close down this embarrassment. Fast.

But embarrassment is only the beginning. Someone is using the former prisoner to front a new and unspeakably terrifying campaign. Someone not even ISIS can control.

He is like a rumour, a myth, a whisper on the desert wind. But he is real and he is coming for us ...

He is the genius known only as ...

The Stranger.

From the corridors of Westminster to the refugee camps of Jordan, the back streets of East London to the badlands of Iraq, The Stranger is a nerve-shredding journey of suspense as Jude Lyon pieces together the shape of an implacable horror coming towards him - and a conspiracy of lies behind him.

“Praise for A Loyal Spy - :Complex and detailed . . . Conway has concocted a credible, and wholly cynical, tale of dirt, death and double-dealing, of deracine anti-heroes for whom perpetual conflict has become both lifeblood and poison - The TimesSimon Conway boldly illustrates the anarchy of "asymmetric warfare". . . our reward for grasping the complexities is an enhanced sense of the authenticity of Conway's personal experience and a conventionally stonking action climax - TelegraphIncredibly well drawn characters, evocative descriptive passages, and a superbly balanced narrative structure - the twists are unexpected but convincing and the final extended sequence is truly nail-biting. Terrific!”

Conway . . . has devised one of the greatest villains in 21st Century spy literature The Sunday Times
Top echelon, adrenalin-pumping entertainment all the way Irish Independent
The sense of danger is deep and unsettling The Financial Times
Skilfully balancing elements of the action thriller with a deeper look at the war in Syria and its refugee crisis, Simon Conway deserves to be a bigger name in the spy firmament. James Owen, The Times (Saturday Review)
a bit of Homeland, a touch of Spooks and an undercurrent of The Thick Of It Sunday Mail
A story SO strong, you suspect it MUST be true! The Stranger renders Simon Conway one of the 21st century's masters of the thriller genre Jon Snow
Probably my favourite book of the year . . . a fabulous thriller, full on, remarkable and ingenious. If you don't read it, you're missing out big time! Michael Jecks
The plot delivers chilling terrorist action and plenty of surprises Sunday Times Crime Club
All the ingredients of a classic spy thriller, expertly executed. Heart-pounding stuff Michael Ridpath
A novel with visceral thrills and the grand chess of international espionage. Throw in a hero and an anti-hero for our times, and you have one of the best thrillers of recent years Misha Glenny, author of McMafia
It seems wrong somehow that events so terrible should be so enjoyable. It's testament to Conway's skill as a writer and his experience of conflict that this novel is so bloody thrilling Rowan Somerville, author of Beat
Top echelon adrenaline-pumping entertainment all the way The National
Conway is the master of the modern thriller . . . A taut, tight tale of divided loyalties The i
A white-knuckle ride to hell and back delivered with exhilarating authenticity Chris Brookmyre
Sharp, topical, contemporary and full of great action Robert McCrum
This book puts Simon Conway into the top flight of thriller writers probing the darker corners of the 'war on terror' Allan Little, BBC special correspondent and Chairman of the Edinburgh Book Festival
Conway doesn't just talk the talk, he's walked minefields in war zones making them safe . . . this story of terror plots and British agents charged with stopping them reeks of authenticity Peterborough Telegraph

Simon Conway is a former British Army officer and international aid worker. He has cleared landmines and the other debris of war across the world. As Co-Chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition he successfully campaigned to achieve an international ban on cluster bombs. He currently works for the charity The HALO Trust opening up access to hazardous areas.

He lives in Glasgow with his wife, the journalist and broadcaster Sarah Smith. He has two daughters.

A LOYAL SPY, his third novel, won the 2010 CWA Steel Dagger Award for Best Thriller of the year.

Visit Simon Conway's website at and follow Simon on Twitter @simongconway and Instagram @simongconway

The new novel from the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award-winning author of A Loyal Spy ISIS can't control him. MI6 can't find him. But he's coming... Things change quickly in the world of espionage and clandestine operations. Jude Lyon of MI6 remembers the captured terrorist bomb-maker. He watched him being flown off to Syria, back when Syria was 'friendly'. No-one expected him to survive interrogation there.Yet the man is alive and someone has broken him out of jail.Bad news for the former foreign secretary who authorised his rendition. And Jude's boss Queen Bee who knew he wasn't a terrorist at all, but an innocent bystander. Now she calls Jude back from a dangerously enjoyable mission involving a Russian diplomat's wife.He has a new job: close down this embarrassment. Fast.But embarrassment is only the beginning. Someone is using the former prisoner to front a new and unspeakably terrifying campaign. Someone not even ISIS can control.He is like a rumour, a myth, a whisper on the desert wind. But he is real and he is coming for us ...He is the genius known only as ... The Stranger. From the corridors of Westminster to the refugee camps of Jordan, the back streets of East London to the badlands of Iraq, The Stranger is a nerve-shredding journey of suspense as Jude Lyon pieces together the shape of an implacable horror coming towards him - and a conspiracy of lies behind him.

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