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 eliminating terror threats and disrupting illegal nuclear and biological weapons programs. The element the missions have in common is danger - danger to de Payns, to his team, and to those who stand in his way.

But increasingly it's not just the enemies of France that are being damaged by de Payns' actions. His marriage is under strain, and at the back of his mind lurks the fear that haunts every operative with a family - what if they come after my children?

When a routine mission in Palermo to disrupt a terrorist organisation goes fatally wrong, Alec is forced to confront the possibility that they have been betrayed by a fellow operative. And now he's been tasked to investigate a secretive biological weapons facility in Pakistan. Alec must find out how they're producing a weaponised bacteria capable of killing millions, and what they plan to do with it. But with a traitor in the ranks, it's not just Alec in the firing line. Soon he'll be forced to confront his worst fear - and the potential destruction of Paris itself.

This is fiction, but based on the experiences of a real French spy. The knowledge and tradecraft that lie behind Jack Beaumont's taut plotting and brilliant eye for detail enliven every page, making The Frenchman all the more plausible, and all the more frightening.

'There's authenticity on every page.' - Herald Sun

'A superior thriller.' - Courier-Mail

'Taut and terrific.' - Gold Coast Bulletin

'A gripping thriller with an extremely authentic feel . . . highly recommended.' - Canberra Weekly

'Beaumont reveals a world of international espionage that's at once exhilarating, morally repugnant, and deadly . . . An action-packed spy thriller with an authentic feel.' - Kirkus Reviews

The Frenchman is, in the way of many thrillers, a disturbing reminder of how fragile our modern world is and how easy it might be to upend the world order. It is a spy thriller that only an insider could have written.' - The Blurb

The Frenchman is one of the finest examples of the spy genre in recent memory. Suspenseful, masterfully plotted, and completely riveting. But what truly sets it apart from others in the field is its matchless authenticity, and the book's keen interest in its characters and the human cost of the worlds they inhabit.' - Nic Pizzolatto, author of Galveston and creator and writer of HBO's True Detective