The Break Line

Fans of Andy McNab, Orphan X and Frederick Forsyth, will love this unputdownable and action-packed debut thriller. 
 
'BREATHLESS, COMPLEX AND SERIOUSLY HARDCORE' LEE CHILD 
 
Officially Max McLean doesn't exist. 
 
Sniper. Spy. Assassin. His job is top secret, deadly... and often Max is the only thing keeping his country safe. 
 
Fortunately, he's bloody good at it. 
 
But Max is growing tired of unquestioned loyalty to his political masters. And when his latest job takes him deep into West African jungle, where a remote village has been quarantined after a sinister virus takes hold, it's time for answers. 
 
As the mission darkens further than he ever thought possible, Max faces a perilous, breath-taking quest for the truth, that will call into question everything that he once believed in, and leave the fate of humanity itself in his hands . . . 
 
The Break Line drips with authenticity, menace and first-hand knowledge of the frontline. Smart, unputdownable and packed with jaw-dropping plot twists, this is a thriller like no other. 
_______________ 
 
'Beautifully written and extensively researched, The Break Line is a riveting page-turner, a gruesome delight, and a study of what lies in the shadowed corners of the human heart' Gregg Hurwitz, author of Orphan X 
 
'A thriller of an unusually classy calibre. Eloquently written, intensively researched ... Brabazon has crafted hugely gripping, thought-provoking yarn' Financial Times 
 
'War correspondent James Brabazon brings his experience of the world's most dangerous places to this brutally compelling thriller . . .' Mail on Sunday 
 
'A taut, razor-edged thriller, packed with granular detail and authenticity' James Swallow, bestselling author of Nomad 
 
'It is insanely immersive, brilliantly blurring the lines between fiction and reality. I couldn't put it down' Tom Marcus, bestselling author of Soldier Spy

A thriller of an unusually classy calibre. Eloquently written, intensively researched ... Brabazon has crafted hugely gripping, thought-provoking yarn, grounding its outlandish elements in solid realism and vivid characterisation

The Break Line delivers a full-throttle exercise in tension

The Break Line is a distillation of a quarter of a century of travel with a camera in one and and a notebook in the other. Set in Sierra Leone, it sees Special Forces veteran Mac McLean on a mission that is non-routine even by his own black ops standards . . . It's so twisty and multilayered it would be easy to imagine it as a computer game.

Echoes of Joseph Conrad &amp; Frederick Forsyth's Dogs of War: not for the faint-hearted, as ferocious a portrait of an assassin as you will find

Veteran war correspondent Brabazon brings his experience of the world's most dangerous places to this brutally compelling thriller . . . Andy McNab meets Heart of Darkness

A natural-born writer . . . strong, lucid, non-stop suspense

Ted Bell New York Times Bestselling author of Overkill

The Break Line punches you in the stomach on the first page and then plunges you into the most extraordinary and exciting world of covert operations that I have ever read . I have worked in those places and covered those wars... Brabazon's novel gets it exactly right. With a terrifyingly precise eye and an irresistible prose style, he has creates a world that is almost impossible to leave. I finished the book three days ago and feel like I'm still waiting for the choppers to come take me home...

A taut, razor-edged thriller, packed with granular detail and authenticity

Beautifully written and extensively researched, The Break Line is a riveting page-turner, a gruesome delight, and a study of what lies in the shadowed corners of the human heart

Brimming with authenticity, tightly plotted and beautifully written ... The Break Line is a belter of a thriller

The Break Line is insanely immersive, brilliantly blurring the lines between fiction and reality. I couldn't put it down'

Tom Marcus, No.1 bestselling author of Soldier Spy

Breathless, complex, and seriously hardcore - don't plan to sleep tonight.

Taut, tough and visceral - and, most of all, written with a breath-taking authenticity'

RAYMOND KHOURY, Bestselling author of The Last Templar

A natural-born writer...strong, lucid, non-stop suspense

Ted Bell, New York Times Bestselling Author of Overkill

A wonderfully crafted story of action, history, and secrets that is as imaginative as it is compelling

A brilliant debut thriller. He knows how to hook a reader and keep them hoovering up pages

James Brabazon is an award-winning frontline journalist and documentary filmmaker. Based in London, he has travelled in over seventy countries, investigating, filming and directing in the world's most hostile environments. His awards include the Rory Peck Trust International Impact Award, the Rory Peck Freelancer's choice Award, the IDA Courage Under Fire Award and the FPA's TV News Story of the Year. He has made over thirty films broadcast by the BBC, Channel 4, HBO, CNN and the Discovery Channel. He lectures on the ethics and practicalities of reporting from war zones and his reportage has been published in the Observer and the Guardian. He is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir My Friend the Mercenary. The Break Line is his first novel.

'Andy McNab meets Heart of Darkness. A brutally compelling thriller' Mail on Sunday 
 
Officially, Max McLean doesn't exist. That protects his British masters, but it hasn't stopped them losing faith in him. Given one last chance to prove he's still their man, Max is sent to a military research facility to visit the bravest soldier he ever knew. But this former comrade-in-arms is locked up for his own protection, having lost his mind in an operation in West Africa. The reason? Absolute mortal terror. Max's mission is to find out why. Acting alone, Max lands in Sierra Leone with his friend's final words ringing in his ears: 
 
'They're coming, Max. They're coming . . .' 
 
'A taut, razor-edged thriller, packed with authenticity' James Swallow, bestselling author of Nomad 
 
'Echoes of Joseph Conrad and Frederick Forsyth's Dogs of War: not for the faint-hearted' Daily Mail

The Break Line Free eBook Sampler

READ THE OPENING CHAPTERS OF THIS COMPELLING AND SUSPENSE-FILLED DEBUT NOVEL FROM INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR JAMES BRABAZON IN THIS FREE PREVIEW. 
 
Breathless, complex, and seriously hardcore - don't plan to sleep tonight. LEE CHILD 
 
Officially, Max McLean doesn't exist. The British government denies all knowledge of the work he does on their behalf to keep us safe. But Max and his masters are losing faith in each other. And they give him one last chance to prove he's still their man. 
 
Sent to a military research facility to meet a former comrade-in-arms, Max finds the bravest man he ever knew locked up for his own protection. His friend lost his mind during an operation in West Africa. The reason? Absolute mortal terror. 
 
Max is determined to find out why. 
 
Ahead lies a perilous, breathtaking mission into the unknown that will call into question everything that Max once believed in. 
 
Acting alone, without back-up, Max lands in Sierra Leone with his friend's last words ringing in his ears: 'They're coming, Max. They're coming...' 
 
The Break Line is a debut dripping with authenticity and menace. Smart, unputdownable and packed with irresistible set pieces and jaw-dropping plot twists, this is a thriller like no other. 
 
'Beautifully written and extensively researched, The Break Line is a riveting page-turner, a gruesome delight, and a study of what lies in the shadowed corners of the human heart' GREGG HURWITZ, author of ORPHAN X 
 
'A taught, razor-edged thriller, packed with granular detail and authenticity' JAMES SWALLOW, author of NOMAD 
 
ENJOYED WHAT YOU'VE READ? THE BREAK LINE IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW.

James Brabazon

'Propulsive, violent and full of unpredictable changes in direction, this is modern thriller writing at its compelling best . . . it delivers in all respects'

Escape into a fictional world of black ops, spies and assassins. A James Bond for the 21st century. Arkhangel is a great read, highly recommended

Will keep you guessing throughout . . . you will not be disappointed. Arkhangel is what a true thriller should be

'The Break Line delivers a full-throttle exercise in tension'

'A thriller of an unusually classy calibre. Eloquently written, intensively researched ... Brabazon has crafted hugely gripping, thought-provoking yarn, ground its outlandish elements in solid realism and vivid characterisation'

'Outstanding . . . I couldn't put this book down'

'A classic story of intrigue, greed and violence . . . which I couldn't read fast enough'

'A beautifully written adrenaline rush by one of our generation's bravest journalists'

Aiden Hartley, author of The Zanzibar Chest

'As thrilling a narrative as any war novel on the shelves . . . A haunting memoir and tribute to an extraordinary comrade-at-arms'

'War correspondent James Brabazon brings his experience of the world's most dangerous places to this brutally compelling thriller'

'Unsparing prose, a visceral shock ride into horror'

Reads like a political thriller. Brabazon's searing narrative captures both the allure of war . . . and its brutal realities

A compelling insight into a devastated region that is the playground of rapacious warlords, western intelligence agents and opportunistic businessmen

Officially Max McLean doesn't exist. An off-the-books assassin for the British government, he operates alone. 
 
But when a routine hit goes badly wrong, a cryptic note on a $100 bill prised from his target's dead fingers suggests there's more to the mission than meets the eye. 
 
Is someone from Max's former life trying to send him a message? 
 
From Paris to Jerusalem and on to the frozen wastes of north-west Russia, Max is forced into a desperate race for the truth - with unknown enemies determined to stop him at any cost. 
 
And when the secret coded into the banknote is finally revealed, only one thing is certain: with the fate of the world in his possession, failure is not an option . . .

James Brabazon

Praise for Arkhangel

'Totally James Bond'

'Propulsive, violent and full of unpredictable changes in direction, this is modern thriller writing at its compelling best . . . it delivers in all respects'

Escape into a fictional world of black ops, spies and assassins. A James Bond for the 21st century. Arkhangel is a great read, highly recommended

'Totally James Bond'

'Propulsive, violent and full of unpredictable changes in direction, this is modern thriller writing at its compelling best . . . it delivers in all respects'

Escape into a fictional world of black ops, spies and assassins. A James Bond for the 21st century. Arkhangel is a great read, highly recommended

'Totally James Bond'

'Propulsive, violent and full of unpredictable changes in direction, this is modern thriller writing at its compelling best . . . it delivers in all respects'

Escape into a fictional world of black ops, spies and assassins. A James Bond for the 21st century. Arkhangel is a great read, highly recommended

Books by James Brabazon

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