Cirrus@Austlit

'The execution of a Mexican drug cartel hit man in a Carlton laneway draws Vic Cavalier to Thailand and back to a past he'd rather forget in this tense, action-packed thriller.

'Vic Cavalier has certainly had better weeks. His newspaper editor is hell-bent on showing him the door, his footy team lost its last game, and his drinking habit is winning the war with his better angels. And then there's the man with the bullet in his head and links to a Mexican drug-cartel lying in a Carlton laneway. When his editor wants the story Cavalier finds himself in Bangkok uncomfortably close to the action and under the watchful eye of a local cop with an intriguing background herself.

'In the steamy violent world of Thai elite power plays and the chaos of a coup Cavalier's motivation becomes clear - this same cartel is implicated in the disappearance and possible murder of his daughter. He has no choice but to pursue them - whatever it takes.

'Weaving together a face-paced, all-too-real story The Honourable Assassin is part psychological thriller and part today's headlines about massive illegal drug trafficking in Australia and corruption at the highest levels in South East Asia.' (Publication summary)

'A sequel to Perry’s first book, The Honourable Assassin (2016) in a new series of thrillers that incorporate actual events, criminal organisations and key figures in the underworld of Asia as they play out globally, involving international law enforcement and intelligence operations.

'The Honourable Assassin finishes with the main protagonist, Victor Cavalier, learning from former Thai supercop and boxer, Jacinta Cin Lai, that his daughter may be alive although a mysterious video sent to him which seemed to show that she had been decapitated by Mexican drug warlord, Mendez.

'Now, in The Assassin on the Bangkok Express, he learns that the video may have been doctored to ensure that Cavalier accepted the assassination assignment to eliminate Mendez. However, Cavalier has now heard that his daughter is alive but is a sex slave for the Mexican drug gang operating in the Golden Triangle.' (Publication summary)

'Victor Cavalier has received the phone call every parent dreads: his daughter is lying in a coma after a motorcycle accident and given little chance of survival. But when a mysterious scientist known as the Shaman intervenes to save his daughter's life, Victor decides he must meet this maverick genius.

'The Shaman has developed cold-fusion technology that harnesses atomic energy from water. It can be used to replace combustion engines, revolutionising transport and power generation, but also to make terrifying weaponry - making him the target of a ruthless international organisation that will do anything to gain control of this new technology. Now all that stands in their way is Victor - an investigative reporter and undercover operative with lethal skills and a talent for getting to the bottom of the story.

'From Thailand to Tasmania, London to New York, The Shaman is the new international techno-thriller from bestselling author Roland Perry - and a grim warning that the world's corporate cartels will stop at nothing to destroy those who threaten them.' (Publication summary)