Second Strike: The pulse-pounding 2025 thriller from the no.1 bestselling SAS hero Chris Ryan 9781838779795

A single terrible mistake cost David Hawkins everything. His marriage. His relationship with his daughter - and his career in the SAS. Now Hawkins is a man on the downward slope of life. Banished from the Regiment, relegated to a desk job at one of Britain's biggest private defence contractors, haunted by the memories of the past.

But when a talented young engineer dies in mysterious circumstances, Hawkins is sent down to Plymouth to investigate. Working alongside the company's new cyber-security expert, Alex Millar, Hawkins must find out who murdered the engineer - and why.

What begins as a straightforward case soon turns into a deadly manhunt, as Hawkins and Millar pursue their quarry from the streets of Liverpool to the Firth of Clyde, in a frantic race against time to expose a deadly conspiracy targeting the heart of the UK's defences. Win, and they'll prevent a terrifying attack. Fail, and Britain will be at the mercy of its deadliest enemy...

Chris Ryan was born in Newcastle.

In 1984 he joined 22 SAS. After completing the year-long Alpine Guides Course, he was the troop guide for B Squadron Mountain Troop. He completed three tours with the anti-terrorist team, serving as an assaulter, sniper and finally Sniper Team Commander.

Chris was part of the SAS eight-man team chosen for the famous Bravo Two Zero mission during the 1991 Gulf War. He was the only member of the unit to escape from Iraq, where three of his colleagues were killed and four captured, for which he was awarded the Military Medal. Chris wrote about his experiences in his book The One That Got Away, which became an immediate bestseller. Since then he has written over fifty books and presented a number of very successful TV programmes.