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!”

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 Times

Simon 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 - Telegraph

Incredibly 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!

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.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.