Night Heron

Tell them, the Night Heron is hunting . . .

A lone man escapes a labour camp in the dead of night, fleeing across the winter desert of north-west China.

Two decades earlier, he was a spy for the British. Now he finds Beijing transformed and crawling with danger - the fugitive must quickly disappear on its surveillance-blanketed streets or face death.

Desperate and ruthless, he reaches out to his one-time MI6 paymasters via journalist Philip Mangan, offering secrets in return for his life.

Mangan is dragged into a deeper and deeper whirlpool of lies, as the secrets prove more valuable than either of them could ever have known... and not only to the British.

Long-listed for CWA Daggers: John Creasey (New Blood) 2014 (UK)

“The pace is frenetic and Brookes does a wonderful job with both the high-tech world of cyber intelligence and survival on Beijing's gritty, smog-smothered streets. Highly recommended.”

A classic spy thriller packed with tension and detail, brilliantly paced - Peter James

Night Heron is a slow-burner up until its extended and surprisingly violent denouement, but it is absolutely gripping throughout . . . this is the best debut spy thriller by a British author in ages. - The Telegraph

An intriguing, skilful and taut novel...elegantly plotted and with a piercing eye for detail - Daily Mail

Superior espionage - The Sun

Reeks with verisimilitude in its settings and atmosphere . . . a cleverly plotted action-filled story - The Times

Debut of the month... accomplished... striking - The Sunday Times

The BBC's former China correspondent joins the ranks of John le Carre and Frederick Forsyth with a laser-sharp Beijing spy thriller . . . Brookes arrives a full formed talent, with a complete mastery of the genre - Daily Express

An outstanding first novel - Washington Post

Adam Brookes for many years a journalist and foreign correspondent for BBC News. He reported from China, Indonesia, the US and many other countries, Iraq and Afghanistan among them. His debut novel, Night Heron, was nominated for the 2014 CWA John Creasey Dagger and appeared on best of the year lists in the TLS, Kirkus and NPR; its follow-up, Spy Games was nominated for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. The Spy's Daughter is his third novel. He lives with his family in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Tell them, the Night Heron is hunting . . . A lone man escapes a labour camp in the dead of night, fleeing across the winter desert of north-west China.Two decades earlier, he was a spy for the British. Now he finds Beijing transformed and crawling with danger - the fugitive must quickly disappear on its surveillance-blanketed streets or face death. Desperate and ruthless, he reaches out to his one-time MI6 paymasters via journalist Philip Mangan, offering secrets in return for his life.Mangan is dragged into a deeper and deeper whirlpool of lies, as the secrets prove more valuable than either of them could ever have known... and not only to the British.

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