Praise for Stephen Leather

Praise for Stephen Leather

‘Stephen Leather should be nestling in your bookshelves alongside Frederick Forsyth and Jack Higgins’ Daily Mail

‘Exciting stuff with plenty of heart-palpitating action gingered up by mystery and intrigue . . . Leather is an intelligent thriller writer’ Daily Mail on The Tunnel Rats

‘As high-tech and as world-class as the thriller genre gets’ Express on Sunday on The Bombmaker

‘A whirlwind of action, suspense and vivid excitement’ Irish Times on The Birthday Girl

‘Atmospheric suspense’ Daily Mirror on The Eyewitness

‘Stephen Leather’s novel manages to put a contemporary spin on a timeless tale of revenge and retribution . . . Leather’s experience as a journalist brings a sturdy, gritty element to a tale of horror . . . which makes The Eyewitness a compelling read’ Evening Herald, Dublin

Also by Stephen Leather

Also by Stephen Leather

Pay Off

The Fireman

Hungry Ghost

The Chinaman

The Vets

The Long Shot

The Birthday Girl

The Double Tap

The Solitary Man

The Tunnel Rats

The Bombmaker

The Stretch

Tango One

The Eyewitness

Spider Shepherd Thrillers

Hard Landing

Soft Target

Cold Kill

Hot Blood

Dead Men

Live Fire

Rough Justice

Fair Game (July 2011)

Jack Nightingale Supernatural Thrillers

Nightfall

Midnight

About the Author

About the author

Stephen Leather was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full-time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London’s Burning, The Knock and the BBC’s Murder in Mind series.

Hard Landing

HARD LANDING

Stephen Leather

HODDER & STOUGHTON

Dedication

For Barbara

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to Ian West and John Newman who helped me to understand what it’s like to work in the prison system and I am grateful for their help and advice. Any errors of fact are mine, not theirs.

Alistair Cumming was invaluable for guidance on police matters and Sam Jenner gave me his expert advice on matters military.

I was lucky enough to have Denis O’Donoghue on hand to cast his professional eye over the manuscript and to have Hazel Orme’s editing skills on the case.

It was a pleasure to work with Carolyn Mays at Hodder and Stoughton again and Hard Landing is a better book for her creative input and unwavering support.

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