Damaged

Description

In a North Sea storm a drilling rig sinks, taking with it the ten kilos of hashish that Calum Bean has hidden in its superstructure. When the bankrollers decide that Cal's kneecaps are a reasonable forfeit, his cousin, renegade army officer Seb MacCoinneach, comes to the rescue. But Seb has an agenda of his own. Turned down by the SAS, in fierce competition with his dead brother and in a bitter feud with his father, he masterminds a plan that will make fools of all those who have rejected him. Spurred on by his half-sister Madelene, a ruthless manipulator, he stars upon a lethal game in the name of freedom. And he needs Cal with him.

Simon Conway was born in California in 1967, educated in Britain and studied English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. He served in the British army with the Black Watch and the Queen's Own Highlanders. After leaving the military he worked for The HALO Trust clearing land mines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia, Kosovo, Abkhazia, Eritrea and Sri Lanka. As Director of Landmine Action he ran projects in Western Sahara and Guinea Bissau as well as successfully campaigning for an international treaty to ban cluster bombs. Simon Conway is currently living in Washington, D.C. with his wife the Channel Four News Correspondent Sarah Smith. A LOYAL SPY, his third novel, won the 2010 CWA Steel Dagger Award for Best Thriller of the year.

Imagine John le Carre on bad acid - edgy, twisted and very, very dark. - Howard Marks Debut of a roaring and prodigal talent ... Not so much a novel as a life experience. Don't miss it. - Literary Review Good background, with an on-the-nail summary of Northern Ireland wheeling and dealing . . . and a wild Celtic streak that marks Conway as one to watch. - Guardian A debut novel to rival The Beach. - Publishing News Cruel, violent and lyrical, it's Iain Banks meeting Alan Warner in Tom Clancy's missile silo. Excellent. - Select succeeds in painting a portrait of the world at once attractive and repellent - List Dipping the ever-successful elements of guns and narcotics into an atmosphere of constant psychosis, DAMAGED is surprisingly believable. - Face A very fine thriller...A hardboiled page-turner for the slacker generation. - MixMag