130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery 🚀 | Visit our Auckland bookstore • Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Dark Arena

A Frenchman Thriller
By Jack Beaumont
Series: Frenchman
0.0 (0 reviews)
Brief Description
'A sequel that is every bit as thrilling, and chillingly real, as his debut . . . This will probably be the spy thriller of the year.' — The Australian THE FRENCHMAN RETURNS Alec de Payns, espionage operative of the Y Division of the DGSE, France's... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

A high-stakes thriller that could be ripped from today's headlines - from the bestselling author of The Frenchman.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
'A sequel that is every bit as thrilling, and chillingly real, as his debut . . . This will probably be the spy thriller of the year.' — The Australian

THE FRENCHMAN RETURNS

Alec de Payns, espionage operative of the Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service, is tasked with tracking down an agent of influence sending highly classified material against the Kremlin to embassies all over Europe.

A deadly conspiracy is aligning the West against Russia. But who is behind it? And to what end?

The clues lead to a secret meeting of businessmen, terrorists, and mercenaries on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean, which de Payns must infiltrate. What he discovers sets off a Europe-wide manhunt in a desperate scramble to prevent an international catastrophe.

Former DGSE spy Jack Beaumont's Dark Arena is a chillingly plausible sequel delivering all the taut plotting, superb action, and authentic spycraft that made The Frenchman a critically acclaimed bestseller.

'If it wasn't for my background, I would have said that this was fiction, but knowing what I know, Dark Arena is as real and as deeply disturbing as a world I once knew.' — Ant Middleton, former UK Special Forces

'A rollicking good read. Espionage skills abound in each fast-paced chapter. Lovers of spy novels are in for a treat - another exciting glimpse into contemporary yet fictional intelligence work.' — Paul Symon AO, former Director-General, Australian Secret Intelligence Service

'An extraordinary story.' — Richard Fidler, Conversations

'A sophisticated espionage tale from an author who knows whereof he speaks.' — Kirkus Reviews

'French spy turned author Jack Beaumont provides a gripping sequel to his debut, The Frenchman. Containing amazing authenticity and an elaborate plot, Dark Arena is an exceptional and highly addictive piece of spy fiction.' — Canberra Daily

Dark Arena is the first bona fide top flight thriller of the year. Jack Beaumont secured his place in the pantheon of espionage page turners with his first book, The Frenchman. With Dark Arena he cements that place.' — Sydney Arts Guide

'Jack Beaumont provides an outstanding follow-up to his epic debut with Dark Arena. Once again featuring his ultra-authentic take on spies and international espionage, Dark Arena has a captivating and realistic plot that takes his excellent and complex characters into the heart of recent history. Intense, addictive, and so damn intricate, Dark Arena was an exceptional read from a rising star in the spy thriller game.' — The Unseen Library

'This thriller blends current real-world politics and fictional international espionage . . . If you like a good spy story, immerse yourself in this.' — Law Institute Journal

Series: Frenchman

View all
  • Liar's Game
    A gripping spy novel that could only be written by someone who has operated in this world. - Gary Jubelin, journalist, former homicide detective and author of I Catch Killers While recruiting a Russian human source embedded in the shadows of illicit financial networks, French spy Alec de Payns is abruptly pulled from the field. His new mission: exfiltrate a...
    By Jack Beaumont
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Frenchman
    ‘It's a richly detailed cloak-and-dagger thriller reminiscent of the novels of John le Carre... I hope Jack Beaumont, whoever he is, writes a follow-up.’ - Stephen Romei, The Australian Alec de Payns is an operative in the secretive Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service. He's the agent at the sharp end of clandestine missions, responsible for...
    By Jack Beaumont
    Paperback
    $2799
    Backorder
    Ships mid October
  • Dark Arena
    'A sequel that is every bit as thrilling, and chillingly real, as his debut . . . This will probably be the spy thriller of the year.' — The Australian THE FRENCHMAN RETURNS Alec de Payns, espionage operative of the Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service, is tasked with tracking down an agent of influence sending...
    By Jack Beaumont
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Frenchman
    'It's a richly detailed cloak-and-dagger thriller reminiscent of the novels of John le Carre ... I hope Jack Beaumont, whoever he is, writes a follow-up.' - Stephen Romei, The Australian Alec de Payns is an operative in the secretive Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service. He's the agent at the sharp end of clandestine missions, responsible...
    By Jack Beaumont
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Dark Arena
    'A sequel that is every bit as thrilling, and chillingly real, as his debut . . . This will probably be the spy thriller of the year.' - The Australian THE FRENCHMAN RETURNS Alec de Payns, espionage operative of the Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service, is tasked with tracking down an agent of influence sending...
    By Jack Beaumont
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781761472312

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 July 2025

Country: Australia

Imprint: Allen & Unwin

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 339g

Pages: 464

Collections

Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction Jack Beaumont Series: Frenchman Spy & Espionage Thriller

About the Author

Jack Beaumont is the pseudonym of a former operative in the clandestine operations branch of the French foreign secret service, the DGSE. He joined 'The Company' after being an air force fighter pilot and later flying special operations and intelligence missions. Beaumont's background gives his novels a level of authenticity that few other spy thrillers have been able to achieve.

Also by Jack Beaumont

View all
  • Liar's Game
    A gripping spy novel that could only be written by someone who has operated in this world. - Gary Jubelin, journalist, former homicide detective and author of I Catch Killers While recruiting a Russian human source embedded in the shadows of illicit financial networks, French spy Alec de Payns is abruptly pulled from the field. His new mission: exfiltrate a...
    By Jack Beaumont
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Frenchman
    ‘It's a richly detailed cloak-and-dagger thriller reminiscent of the novels of John le Carre... I hope Jack Beaumont, whoever he is, writes a follow-up.’ - Stephen Romei, The Australian Alec de Payns is an operative in the secretive Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service. He's the agent at the sharp end of clandestine missions, responsible for...
    By Jack Beaumont
    Paperback
    $2799
    Backorder
    Ships mid October
  • The Frenchman
    'It's a richly detailed cloak-and-dagger thriller reminiscent of the novels of John le Carre ... I hope Jack Beaumont, whoever he is, writes a follow-up.' - Stephen Romei, The Australian Alec de Payns is an operative in the secretive Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service. He's the agent at the sharp end of clandestine missions, responsible...
    By Jack Beaumont
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Dark Arena
    'A sequel that is every bit as thrilling, and chillingly real, as his debut . . . This will probably be the spy thriller of the year.' - The Australian THE FRENCHMAN RETURNS Alec de Payns, espionage operative of the Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service, is tasked with tracking down an agent of influence sending...
    By Jack Beaumont
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Crime & Thriller

View all
  • New Release
    King’s Ransom
    Five innocent hostages. Five private investigators. A fiendish ransom game. Has Detective Sam Speedman met his match? A fast and deadly Matthew Reilly thriller. A DARING ABDUCTION The richest man in the world has been kidnapped. Along with four of his children. THE DEADLY CHALLENGE The kidnapper's demand: the five best private detectives in America must come to the missing...
    By Matthew Reilly
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The French Illusion
    Bestselling author John Grisham delivers a new gripping, suspenseful page-turner about aParis honeymoon gone horribly wrong - and the nightmare that follows. After Paul and Chelsea Tanner's fairytale wedding, their future is full of promise. But their honeymoon to Paris takes a dark, shocking turn when they are kidnapped while on a day trip to the French countryside. Who would...
    By John Grisham
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • King’s Ransom
    New Release
    King’s Ransom
    Five innocent hostages. Five private investigators. A fiendish ransom game. Has Detective Sam Speedman met his match? A fast and deadly Matthew Reilly thriller. A DARING ABDUCTION The richest man in the world has been kidnapped. Along with four of his children. THE DEADLY CHALLENGE The kidnapper's demand: the five best private detectives in America must come to the missing...
    By Matthew Reilly
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $4999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Heights
    In The Heights by #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sir Ian Rankin, murder comes to London's most exclusive high-rise - and every resident is a suspect... MURDER COMES TO LONDON'S MOST LUXURIOUS HIGH-RISE: AND EVERY RESIDENT IS A SUSPECT. The Heights: a gleaming, high-end high-rise looming over Hyde Park. Newly built from steel and smoked glass, it is a billionaire's playground offering sumptuous suites...
    By Ian Rankin
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Death Row
    With all hope of an appeal fading away, the fate of a condemned murderess takes a shocking turn in a breathtaking short story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid! A thrilling novella from #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden! Death is coming for her… unless she finds the truth first. Talia Kemper is on death row for murdering...
    By Freida McFadden
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Signed Copy
    New Release
    Dying Days
    Award-winning writer delivers a pulse-pounding espionage thriller. Missing soldiers, MI6 secrets and European partisans collide in a deadly game where the lines between lies and reality are fast disintegrating. In the dying days of the Second World War, a new conflict is about to ignite. May, 1945: After fighting to liberate Europe from the Nazis, Tito's Yugoslav Army and Allied...
    By Anthony Byrt
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Fury In Death: An Eve Dallas thriller (In Death 63)
    In the new crime thriller from the bestselling author, Lt. Eve Dallas journeys into the darkness where murder is born… NYSPD homicide detective Eve Dallas has seen a lot in her time but even she is shocked by the savagery of a beating which leaves a wealthy biotech executive dead in his home office. The victim’s corpse is so mangled...
    By J. D. Robb
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Tom Clancy Pressure Depth
    Jack Ryan Jr leads a team of divers in a race to beat the Chinese Navy to a weapon of terrible destructive power in the latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. Jack Ryan Jr. is on Guam to work on a project for Hendley Associates. It's a perfectly ordinary insurance matter, but trouble finds the Ryans...
    By Jack Stewart
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Country Road Murders
    New Release
    The Country Road Murders
    From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a pulse-pounding thriller about justice, vengeance and the roads that lead us home. No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades — LEE CHILD Cross Rivers is the kind of small town where everyone knows your name – and your secrets. Silas Tucker...
    By James Patterson
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Every Lake
    Scary stories are fun... until your life becomes one. When Alice was fifteen, her father killed Mia Heywood in their lakefront cottage before vanishing into the trees. At least that's what the locals think happened. Over a decade later, Alice has lost her job as a journalist, she's going through an expensive divorce and she desperately needs to sell the...
    By Adam Perry
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Nautilus
    New Release
    Nautilus
    The follow-up to the bestselling novel The Turing Protocol. Nautilus is a machine with the astonishing power to send messages eight weeks back in time. Its users must follow a set of protocols established by its inventor, Alan Turing, including that it can only be used by a descendant of his family, and only to avert global disasters. But what...
    By Nick Croydon
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Cold River
    New Release
    Cold River
    The sensational new novel from the author of the bestselling thriller, The Creeper, winner of the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction 2025. Deep in the mountains, secrets grow deadly... Detective Constable Sally White knows how easily hikers can go missing in Victoria's high country. But there's something about the disappearance of Louis Taylor, a young man lost up...
    By Margaret Hickey
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Crime & Thriller lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all