The Assassin: An action-packed espionage thriller Tom Fletcher 9781800328990

'A diplomatic genius' Gordon Brown

'Tom Fletcher was the ultimate Downing Street operator' David Cameron

Having been made High Commissioner in Nairobi, Ed Barnes is keeping his head down and staying out of trouble. But when his daughter, Sophie, is kidnapped following a security crisis for which he is blamed, his attempts at normality fall apart once again. He finds himself at the heart of a complex negotiation with a dangerous Somali terrorist group, in an effort to avert a regional security crisis and free his daughter.

Meanwhile, across the globe a series of political assassinations have been shaking the world of business and government. Tensions boil over when a Chinese envoy is murdered in Jordan, only days before a crucial climate change conference, sparking a diplomatic crisis and the threat of US/China confrontation.

In the search for his daughter, Ed Barnes follows the trail of violence from Kenya, through the highest levels of the UN in Geneva, to the Dead Sea in Jordan, discovering along the way the terrible truth about the assassinations.

With the world on the cusp of ecological crisis, Barnes must reckon with a devastating question: how far must we go to save our descendents?

The explosive sequel to The Ambassador from former No.10 advisor Tom Fletcher, The Assassin is perfect for fans of Robert Peston, Ken Follett and Tom Bradby.

Tom Fletcher CMG is the Principal of Hertford College, Oxford, a Visiting Professor at New York University and author of two works of non-fiction. He was foreign policy advisor in No.10 to Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, and from 2011 to 2015 was the British Ambassador to Lebanon.