Stephen Leather – författare

A GLOBAL CABAL OF HITMEN. ONE MAN STOOD IN THEIR PATH.'Two things to make a Summer afternoon great: a Stephen Leather novel, and a cold beer' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Spider keeps getting better and better' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'The best series I have ever read' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐A group of professional killers, known as The Office, are carrying out hits for the Iranian government across the European continent, hitting targets amongst the wealthiest and most privileged.After a slew of murders in London, MI5 decide that enough is enough. The Office must be destroyed, root and stem.Dan 'Spider' Shepherd, the secret service's most dangerous weapon, is tasked with infiltrating the organisation and unmasking its leader. But just how far is he willing to go in the name of justice . . . ?A hundred-mile-an-hour whirlwind of a novel from one of the world's most gifted thriller authors.PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'Let Spider draw you into his web, you won't regret it' Sun'He has the uncanny knack of producing plots that are all too real' Daily Mail'Leather knows the inner workings of the security services. But beyond the enthralling storylines he also asks some tough questions about contemporary Britain' Financial Times'A master of the thriller genre' Irish Times'Stephen Leather writes really exciting action thrillers. It's like being there yourself' Chris Ryan

Buckle up for Underdogs, an adrenaline-fueled action-thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of the Spider Shepherd series. Perfect for fans of Lee Child and James Patterson.‘He has the uncanny knack of producing plots that are all too real’ – DAILY MAIL'A writer at the top of his game' – SUNDAY EXPRESS'Kickass action, high stakes and nail-biting excitement. Underdogs delivers on all with flying colors and then some' – BEST THRILLER BOOKSUnderestimate this underdog at your peril . . .Once a fearless SAS hero, Andy 'Deadman' Bird now battles the harsh streets of London after a catastrophic mission stripped him of his hearing, career, home and marriage. His only solace is Tyson, his fiercely loyal and battle-tested dog.When fate thrusts them into the path of a chilling alleyway murder, Andy and Tyson become the next targets. Who are these relentless hunters, and what dangerous secrets are they willing to kill for?Desperate and cornered, Andy reaches out to his former brothers–in–arms – a team who owe him their very lives. But as they unravel a sinister web of organised crime and deadly political plots, who will be saving who this time?Praise for Stephen Leather‘Grabs the reader by the throat’ – Daily Mail‘Explosive’ – The Sun‘Enthralling’ – Financial Times‘A master of the thriller genre’ – Irish Times'Leather’s battered hero and his loyal dog power through a gritty thriller about unfinished business' – The i Paper

Stephen Leather's BESTSELLING breakthrough thriller.The Chinaman understood death.Jungle-skilled, silent and lethal, he had killed for the Viet Cong and then for the Americans. He had watched helpless when his two eldest daughters had been raped and killed by Thai pirates.Now all that was behind him. Quiet, hard-working and unassuming, he was building up his South London take-away business.Until the day his wife and youngest daughter were destroyed by an IRA bomb in a Knightsbridge department store.Then, simply but persistently, he began to ask the authorities who were the men responsible, what was being done. And was turned away, fobbed off, treated as a nuisance.Which was when the Chinaman, denied justice, decided on revenge. And went back to war.

Hong Kong. The British administration is preparing to hand the capitalist colony back to Communist China with the minimum of fuss.Colonel Joel Tyler, however, has other plans for the British colony - plans that involve four Vietnam War veterans and a spectacular mission making use of their unique skills.But while the vets are preparing to take the country by storm, their paymaster, Anthony Chung, puts the final touches to an audacious betrayal. The future of Hong Kong is at stake . . .*********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'A writer at the top of his game'Sunday Express'In the top rank of thriller writers' Jack Higgins

Chris Hutchison is a man on the run.Imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, Hutch escapes from a British maximum-security prison and starts a new life in Hong Kong. But a ghost from his past catches up with him and gives him a choice: help a former terrorist break out of a Bangkok prison - or face life behind bars once more.Meanwhile, the DEA wants to nail the vicious drug warlord responsible for flooding the States with cheap heroin. And decides to use Hutch as a pawn in a deadly game.Hutch's bid for freedom takes him into the lawless killing fields of the Golden Triangle, where the scene is set for one final act of betrayal . . .***********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'A writer at the top of his game'Sunday Express'As tough as British thrillers get . . . gripping' Irish Independent

The assassin: the world's most successful contract killer. An anonymous professional with a unique calling card - one bullet in the head and one in the chest for each and every target.The Judas goat: an ex-member of the SAS, Mike Cramer is the perfect sacrificial bait. When the FBI discover the next name on the assassin's hitlist, Cramer is set up to take his place.The wild card: Cramer's past has caught up with him. Ex-IRA extremist Dermot Lynch blames Cramer for his lover's death - and he's out for revenge.As Cramer trains for the most dangerous mission of his career, Lynch hunts down his sworn enemy. And the unknown assassin silently closes in on his target. The players are in position for the final deadly game . . .***********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'A writer at the top of his game'Sunday Express'In the top rank of thriller writers' Jack Higgins

The plan is so complex, the target so well protected that the three snipers have to rehearse the killing in the seclusion of the Arizona desert.Cole Howard of the FBI knows he has only days to prevent the audacious assassination. But he doesn't know who the target is. Or where the crack marksmen will strike.Former SAS sergeant Mike Cramer is also on the trail, infiltrating the Irish community in New York as he tracks down Mary Hennessy, the ruthless killer who tore his life apart.Unless Cramer and Howard agree to co-operate, the world will witness the most spectacular terrorist coup of all time ...

Tony Freeman rescued Mersiha when she was fighting for her life in war-torn Yugoslavia. Now she's his adopted daughter, the perfect all-American girl, and it seems like her past is another country.But Mersiha has been trained to kill. And when she discovers that Freeman's company is being subjected to a sinister takeover bid, she decides to help - whatever the risks.The consequences of her actions are lethal, for Mersiha has unearthed a conspiracy of terrifying proportions . . .*********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'A writer at the top of his game'Sunday Express'In the top rank of thriller writers' Jack Higgins

Why does a wealthy Scottish financier set up a drugs deal with the IRA? Jeopardise his career, endanger his family and lover by tangling with the East End underworld and a ruthless mercenary? The motive is simple: revenge for a cold-blooded act of murder.His adversary is a dangerous gangland boss whose connections stretch from the Highlands to London and beyond. More than a match for a newcomer, especially when that newcomer's plans contain a fatal flaw which will be discovered only when it is much too late . . . *********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'As tough as British thrillers get . . . gripping' Irish Independent 'The sheer impetus of his story-telling is damned hard to resist'Sunday Express

Two murders, thousands of miles apart: one in London, one in Bangkok.The bodies are brutally mutilated, an ace of spades impaled upon their chests. In Washington, a US senator receives photographs of the corpses. And realises that his past has come back to haunt him.Nick Wright is the detective trying to solve the mystery of the double killing. His hunt for a motive takes him to the Vietnam, where the American tunnel rats fought the dirtiest battle of the war against the Viet Cong. But his search places him in grave danger with a killer determined to protect the secrets of the tunnels. At whatever cost . . .************PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'As tough as British thrillers get . . . gripping' Irish Independent 'The sheer impetus of his story-telling is damned hard to resist'Sunday Express

Andrea Hayes was one of the IRA's most deadly killers. But when a misplaced bomb ripped apart a group of passing kids, she left all that behind her.Now, years later, she lives a quiet, suburban life with her husband and young daughter, and her days of violence seem a distant memory. But then her daughter is kidnapped by persons unknown, and the past comes knocking at her door . . . *********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'As tough as British thrillers get . . . gripping' Irish Independent 'The sheer impetus of his story-telling is damned hard to resist'Sunday Express

Jack Solomon is a messenger of death.Working in the fractured remains of Yugoslavia, his task is to identify the victims of ethnic cleansing and to tell families that their loved ones are never coming home.Years of toiling in the killing fields have desensitised the former London policeman to the horrors of war, but when a truck containing twenty-six bodies is pulled from a lake, Solomon is unable to walk away from the case.He sets out to track down the only survivor of the massacre, a young girl on the run from the killers. Solomon's hunt for the last witness takes him from the brothels of Sarajevo to the high-stakes world of London's internet prostitution - where he will discover that the killers are closer to home than he thinks . . .*********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'A writer at the top of his game'Sunday Express'In the top rank of thriller writers' Jack Higgins

The first book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series. Dan 'Spider' Shepherd is used to putting his life on the line. Working for an elite undercover squad he has lied, cheated and conned in order to bring Britain's most wanted criminals to justice.But when a powerful drugs baron starts to kill off witnesses to his crimes, Shepherd is given his most dangerous assignment yet. He has to go undercover in a top security prison, a world where one wrong move will mean certain death.As Shepherd gambles everything to move in on his quarry, he soon realises that the man he is hunting is even more dangerous than the police realise. And that he is capable of striking outside the prison walls and hitting Shepherd where it hurts most.

As a big player in the 90s London underworld, Terry Greene has always made a priority of 'taking care of business' personally. Preston Snow was out of line. So the up-close-and-personal visit was in no way out of character.It was a messy hit. But the job was done.More messy however, was the aftermath. Fingered by one of his own crew, Terry finds himself taking the fall and is put away for life. The only person he can trust in the entire world is his estranged wife, Sam. She must now take over the reins of his organisation, find the snitch and - in theory - get Terry off the hook. But after a shaky start, she quickly starts to get her own ideas . . .***********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'As tough as British thrillers get . . . gripping' Irish Independent 'The sheer impetus of his story-telling is damned hard to resist'Sunday Express

***Now a motion picture, out 5th March 2018*** In different parts of London, three recruits prepare for their first day at the Metropolitan Police's training centre at Hendon. All three had succeeded in getting into the police in spite of weaknesses. But on their first day, the assistant commissioner announces that he wants them to join a team of undercover detectives. Their brief? To become criminals; to work their way up through whatever criminal organisations they can get access to, and to collate evidence against the criminals they come across. Their target? One of the world's biggest drug dealers, Den Donovan, alias 'Tango One' - number one on HM Customs and Excise's List of most wanted criminals. Three years later all the recruits are getting close to their target. Too close, perhaps, to remember the rules . . .***********Praise for Stephen Leather'[Leather] has the uncanny knack of producing plots that are all too real' Daily Mail'Let Spider draw you into his web, you won't regret it' - Sun

The second book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series.There's only one thing more dangerous than a corrupt cop . . . and that's a corrupt cop with a gun.When a group of armed police in an elite unit turn maverick and start to rip off drug dealers at gunpoint, undercover cop Dan 'Spider' Shepherd is given his most dangerous mission so far.Shepherd is ordered to infiltrate the tight-knit team, to gain their confidence and to ultimately betray them.Facing men with guns is nothing new for the former SAS trooper, but it's the first time he's had to investigate his own. And the job couldn't have come at a worse time for him.As Shepherd finds himself in the firing line, he has to decide exactly where his loyalties lie.

The third book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series. Even deadlier than terrorists . . . are the men trying to stop them.People-smuggling, counterfeit currency and attempted murder. It's all in a day's work for undercover cop Dan 'Spider' Shepherd. But what starts as a run-of-the mill investigation quickly turns into a matter of life and death when he uncovers a terrorist cell on a mission of death and destruction. The target: hundreds of passengers on a cross-channel train deep below the English Channel.With the clock ticking and the explosives primed, Shepherd and his colleagues have to decide just how far they are prepared to go to save innocent lives. And they realise that to avoid catastrophe, they have to be even more merciless than the terrorists.

The fourth book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series.Dan 'Spider' Shepherd is used to putting his life on the line. It goes with the turf when you're an undercover cop. Now working for the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Shepherd is pitting his wits against the toughest criminals in the country. But when the man who once saved his life is kidnapped in the badlands of Iraq, thrown into a basement and threatened with execution, Shepherd has to decide whether his loyalties lie with his country, his career, or his friend. Shepherd and his former SAS colleagues realise that the hostage has been abandoned by the Government and that officially nothing is being done to rescue him. And with the execution deadline only days away, Shepherd knows that the only way to stop his friend being murdered is to put himself in the firing line in the most dangerous city in the world - Baghdad.

The fifth book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series.Former SAS trooper turned undercover cop Dan Spider Shepherd knows there are no easy solutions in the war against terrorism. But when a killer starts to target pardoned IRA terrorists, Shepherd has to put his life on the line to protect his former enemies. While he is undercover in Belfast, a grief-stricken Saudi whose two sons died under torture in the name of the War on Terror is planning to avenge their deaths by striking out at two people close to Shepherd. As the Muslim assassin closes in on his prey, Shepherd realises that the only way to save lives is to become a killer himself.

The sixth book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series. Mickey and Mark Moore are Ordinary Decent Criminals - hard men who live by their own code and leaders of a gang that has made millions at the point of a gun. But when Dan 'Spider' Shepherd is sent to infiltrate the tightly-knit team of bank robbers, he discovers that he has more in common with them then he first thought. And that perhaps being a career criminal isn't the worst thing in the world. As Shepherd and his Serious Organised Crime Agency colleagues plot the downfall of the Moore brothers, a more sinister threat stalks the streets of London. A group of home-grown Islamic fundamentalist fanatics embark on a campaign of terror the like of which Britain has never seen. Car bombs and beheadings are only the prelude of what they have planned. And Shepherd is the only man who can stop them.

The seventh book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series. Villains across London are being beaten, crippled and killed by vigilante cops. Crime rates are falling, but the powers that be want Dan 'Spider' Shepherd to bring the wave of rough justice to an end. Shepherd has always known that there are grey areas in the fight against crime. And that sometimes justice gets lost in the process.He has never been comfortable investigating cops, but working for the Serious Organised Crime Agency means that he has no choice. He has to go undercover with an elite group of officers who are at the sharp end of policing, risking their lives daily on the toughest streets in the Capital.But Shepherd has hard decisions of his own to make when his family is in the firing line.

The eighth book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series. Kidnapping is one of the cruellest crimes - lives are put at risk for cold, hard cash. But when Somali pirates seize the crew of a yacht off the coast of Africa, they bite off more than they can chew.One of the hostages has friends in high places and Spider Shepherd is put on the case. He goes deep undercover in an audacious plan to bring an end to the pirate gang's reign of terror.But as Shepherd closes in on his quarry he realises that there's much more at stake than the lives of the hostages and that the pirates are involved in a terrorist plot that will strike at the heart of London.

✨ PRE-ORDER LAST CHANCE, THE NEW SPIDER SHEPHERD THRILLER, OUT 31 JULY 2025 ✨ READERS CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THE SPIDER SHEPHERD SERIES'A terrific tale of terrorism' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Stephen Leather always delivers the goods' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'All too real, and simply unputdownable' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Spider is the new James Bond!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'My three favourite authors: Stephen Leather, David Baldacci and Michael Connelly' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Five stars are simply not enough' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐The most wanted man in the world is dead... When Navy Seals track down and kill Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, it's obvious there was a traitor on the inside.After the false friends are revealed to be two British students, Malik and Chaudhry - former Islamic fundamentalists recruited by MI5 - they become targets themselves.Dan 'Spider' Shepherd must teach the pair how to survive undercover with al-Qaeda closing in. But with the line between mentor and friend beginning to blur, and a terrorist plot putting thousands of lives at stake, can he protect everyone before it's too late? ...now those loyal to him seek revenge. From legendary, bestselling author Stephen Leather, a truly gripping thriller with its finger on the pulse of geopolitics.

Sally is a young, talented journalist living life to the full. So why would she leap fifteen floors to her death?When the Hong Kong authorities decide it was suicide, Sally's brother, a London-based crime reporter, begins his own investigation to find out what really happened . . .And to exact his revenge.***********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'A writer at the top of his game'Sunday Express'In the top rank of thriller writers' Jack Higgins

Hong Kong, 1991. The colony is preparing for Chinese rule.Geoff Howells, a government-trained killing machine, is brought out of retirement and sent to there. His brief: to assassinate Chinese Mafia leader, Simon Ng. Howells devises a dangerous and complicated plan to reach his intended victim - only to find himself the next target.Patrick Dugan, a Hong Kong policeman, has been held back in his career because of his family connections: his sister is married to Simon Ng. But when Ng's daughter is kidnapped and Ng himself disappears, Dugan gets caught up in a series of violent events and an international spy ring that has spun out of control . . .***********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'As tough as British thrillers get . . . gripping' Irish Independent 'The sheer impetus of his story-telling is damned hard to resist'Sunday Express