Cirrus@Austlit

'The fifth novel in the John Bailey thriller series. Bailey is trying to solve two murders, ten years apart – unfinished business from his former flame Sharon Dexter. But will it cost him his life? 

'Detective Holly Sutton has been seconded to work with the New South Wales Homicide Squad to investigate the murder of Sydney socialite, Tottie Evans, who was found dead at the Palm Beach home of a millionaire property developer.

'Alec Blacksmith isn’t like other real estate guys. He’s a former mercenary soldier who shot to fame after appearing on a reality TV show. Blacksmith is refusing to cooperate with police because he has his own secrets.

'John Bailey is an old school reporter with a nose for a story.

'He gets a call from the police about a break-in at the house he inherited from his former girlfriend, Sharon Dexter – a cop murdered in the line of duty.

'Whoever crowbarred the lock was looking for Dexter’s case file about the murder of a waitress named Sally King at an exclusive Sydney gentlemen’s club a decade earlier. After examining the file, Bailey discovers something that will blow up the Homicide Squad’s investigation into Tottie Evans’s death – a link to the murder of King.

'The only problem is that a serial killer is already serving a life sentence for the crime.

'Catching killers is Holly Sutton’s job. But for John Bailey, solving the case offers him a chance to finish a job for the woman who saved his life.' (Publication summary)

'Russian millionaire, Dmitry Lebedev, has been flying under the radar in Sydney for years. Now somebody wants him dead. Desperate to make a deal to stay alive, he contacts his former CIA case officer, Ronnie Johnson, with an offer to expose a traitor inside the Australian government, threatening a key intelligence partnership with the US.

'Journalist John Bailey has spent decades risking his life to break news stories. Along the way he’s made interesting friends, including Ronnie – who saved his life in Iraq – and Scarlett Merriman – whose night in a Sydney hotel with Lebedev left her in a coma.

'Bailey’s investigation into what happened to Scarlett plunges him head-first into the global spy game. And his old friend, Ronnie Johnson, needs his help. Because the same people going after Lebedev have framed Ronnie for murder.' (Publication summary)

Investigative journalist John Bailey will risk everything to get to the truth so being kicked when he’s down comes with the territory.

Having lost the one woman who was always there to pick him up, the former war correspondent is doing his best to turn his life around without her.

'He has a new job. He’s given up the drink. He even has a dog.

'But then Federal Police raid his home with a warrant granting them unprecedented powers to take anything they want – including all his electronic devices and passwords. When Bailey protests, they threaten to put him in a prison cell if he doesn’t comply.

'Someone wants to stop Bailey doing what he does best – exposing the truth. He has been investigating the rise of a global white supremacist group and suspects that a notorious neo-Nazi in the United States has been directing deadly racist attacks on Sydney’s streets.

'When a body of one of his key sources washes up on a nearby beach, it’s clear Bailey and anyone helping him have become targets. Bailey reaches out for help from a reliable and ruthless old friend – CIA veteran, Ronnie Johnson – and the pair discover a deadly enemy emerging from the shadows.'An enemy who thought they were untouchable. Until now …' (Publication summary)

'Catching the world's most wanted terrorist was supposed to be someone else's job...

'John Bailey has a history of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The former war correspondent has been kidnapped and tortured – twice. Finally he’s living something that resembles a normal life. But all that changes when a terrorist murders a woman in front of Bailey in London.

'The mastermind behind the attack is Mustafa al-Baghdadi – No.1 on the FBI’s most wanted list – and the man who tortured Bailey in Fallujah a decade ago.

'Mustafa has a deadly axe to grind with Bailey. He taunts him with threats of more attacks in other cities, closer to home. Back in Sydney, the people who matter most to Bailey have become targets.

'Bailey turns to the only man who can help – ruthless CIA veteran Ronnie Johnson – to bring down the world’s most deadly terrorist.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'He had never killed anyone who hadn’t deserved it. The means always justified the end. He didn’t need forgiveness. He needed justification. The greater good.

'Battered war correspondent John Bailey is a man living on the edge. He’s haunted by nightmares of being kidnapped and tortured in Iraq and he’s drinking too much to drown the memories. As he battles to get his life back together, a story breaks that will force him back into the spotlight – and into the crosshairs of a deadly international player.

'When a beautiful prostitute is found murdered in her luxury Sydney apartment, Bailey is ordered to cover the story by The Journal’s editor and his old friend, Gerald Summers, because he can’t trust anyone else...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.