The Renegades: A Peter Ashton Novel (Peter Ashton Novels) [Hardcover]

Clive Egleton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2006 | Series: Peter Ashton Novels

When an British secret service operative turns up dead in a London restaurant shoot-out, the SIS suspects that he was caught in the crossfire of a robbery with overtones of underworld drug gangs, and that his death was coincidental. But it soon turns out that one of the corpses was a shadowy figure with multiple identities and potential ties to terror organizations. Evidence of a cover-up emerges from somewhere deep within the British secret services, and it becomes clear to Peter Ashton and the SIS that something far more nefarious than a random shooting has taken place. Even more alarmingly, when suicide bombers attack British Council offices in Pakistan and Russia, it becomes obvious that a terrorist operation is underway. Now it's up to Ashton and his colleagues to follow the faint traces, uncover and disrupt the operation, and track down the two central figures at the heart of the conspiracy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Egleton's latest thriller (after 2004's Assassination Day) opens with a bloody massacre in a quiet Italian restaurant in a fashionable London neighborhood and takes off from there at full speed. The victims include a mid-rank British intelligence agent, a shady Egyptian businessman and a mysterious woman found dead in the men's room. SIS, where the dead agent was employed, at first thinks it was a drug deal gone bad, but the agency's often troublesome chief troubleshooter, Peter Ashton, soon links the murders to a leading terrorist, Talal Asir, coyly described as being "distantly related to the Saudi ruling family" and last seen in consultation with a top Syrian official in Damascus. Bombs begin to go off at British consulates, and only Ashton has all the necessary skills, insights and guts to unravel an international terrorist plot. Egleton, who shares Ashton's deep knowledge of the world of intelligence, must have great fun sitting in his home on the Isle of Wight and creating such a violent and dangerous world. (Mar.)
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About the Author

Clive Egleton, an expert in intelligence and counter-espionage, is regarded as one of Britain's leading thriller writers. He is the author of numerous books, most recently Assassination Day, and lives on the Isle of Wight.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (March 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312347456
• ISBN-13: 978-0312347451
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,997,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars exhilarating Ashton anti-terrorism thriller, March 25, 2006

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Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Renegades: A Peter Ashton Novel (Peter Ashton Novels) (Hardcover)

In London in a chic Italian restaurant, someone enters and opens fire; a massacre occurs. Among the dead is a mid level British SIS intelligence agent. The SIS encourages the local police to think it is a drug deal gone bad with collateral damage as they want the incident buried immediately.

While the police seem to be willing to accept the SIS explanation of the bloody event, internal troubleshooter Peter Ashton thinks why cover up an obvious assassination. He soon follows clues that connect the restaurant murders to terrorist financier Talal Asir, who has blood ties to the Saudi ruling family and was last observed in Damascus. As Ashton closes in on the truth, he soon regrets being one step too late to prevent suicide bombers from doing their destructive deeds at British consulates in Pakistan and Russia. Still he must stop further financing by Ashir and his "teller" Ali Mohammed Khalef before they finance the killing of more innocent lives.

THE RENEGADES grips the reader from the opening explosive lethal incident in a no longer quiet restaurant and never slows down as Ashton struggles with his superiors and with a deadly, well placed and financed adversary to stop further senseless killings. The action-packed story line moves forward as readers accompany a desperate Ashton globe-hopping to prevent tragedies, but at times he is too late. Clive Egleton is at his take no prisoners best with this exhilarating Ashton anti-terrorism thriller.