Fiction (NR)

One of the bestselling names in the British spy thriller firmament, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner's new novel sees MI6 operative Luke Carlton racing against time and the odds to prevent the next geo-political cataclysm- China's invasion of Taiwan.

2024, and China is massing troops on its coast across the Strait from Taiwan. This time it looks like they're serious about invasion - an act that would result in war between the People's Republic and the US and its allies, including the UK.

But Britain's Secret Intelligence Service has an agent in play- someone close to the top of the Chinese Communist Party and who's ready to pass on vital secrets that could defuse the escalating situation. But as the handover takes place in a Hong Kong back street cafe, the agent's MI6 handler is snatched before she can transmit the data back to London and disappears. There are few clues as to who might be responsible. Is it China's infamous state security agency, the MSS? Or has another, less predictable player entered the game?

MI6 field operative Luke Carlton is despatched to track down the missing agent. Accompanying him is his Mandarin-speaking colleague, the highly capable Jenny Li. But as they follow a succession of tip-offs that take them from shady Macau casinos to tawdry night clubs, Luke begins to sense that something's not right - that they are being deliberately strung along.

As the clock ticks, global tensions heighten and the two SIS operatives have traced their target to Taiwan - a country frantically preparing for imminent invasion. And there, in a remote mountain temple hideaway, Luke and Jenny stumble across what's really going on.

But China's People's Liberation Army has already begun to flex its hi-tech muscles, in Taiwan and closer to home, and suddenly the world is holding its breath . . .

'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)