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Ballistic

Brief Description
With the action powering its way from the frozen wastes of the Russian Arctic to the warm azure sea of the Caribbean, Ballistic is the explosive, frighteningly relevant and alarmingly prescient new international thriller from BBC security correspondent and Sunday Times bestseller Frank Gardner. The new... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3800
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Releases 24th November 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "Ballistic" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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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

With the action powering its way from the frozen wastes of the Russian Arctic to the warm azure sea of the Caribbean, Ballistic is the explosive, frighteningly relevant and alarmingly prescient new international thriller from BBC security correspondent and Sunday Times bestseller Frank Gardner.

The new Luke Carlton thriller. MI6 operative Luke Carlton returns in his most exciting and unnervingly up-to-the-minute mission yet... Get ready for the new edge-of-your-seat spy thriller from the bestselling author.

In the dying light of an Arctic afternoon, a monstrous black shape slips beneath the waters of Murmansk bay. Murmansk in the Arctic Circle is where the Russian navy's fleet of nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines is based – and the Novorussiya is one of Russia's most advanced nuclear submarines...

With a high-ranking mole deep inside Russia's FSB, Britain's security services are now convinced that Russia is poised to use a terrifying, game-changing device. As the West goes into a state of high alert, MI6 operative Luke Carlton is dropped into the hot zone that is the Finnish-Russian border. His mission: to secure the safe extraction of this vital MI6 asset and secure the intel he has in his possession, because it seems that we could be staring Armageddon in the face.

It's then that things start to go devastatingly wrong...

Breathlessly exciting, brilliantly authentic and unnervingly prescient, Ballistic is the new Luke Carlton thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author and journalist who has his finger on the pulse of 21st century geopolitics and knows where the dangerous flashpoints are likely to be...

Praise for Frank Gardner's other Luke Carlton thrillers:

'Tensions rise to boiling point... Gardner cuts to the molten core of a modern flashpoint in an electric thriller.' – SUN

'Fast, taut, tense, accurate. A terrific read.' – FREDERICK FORSYTH

'Thriller-writing of the highest order... Gardner steadily ratchets up the tension, peppering the narrative with nuggets of expertise.' – FINANCIAL TIMES

'Full of tomorrow's headlines... this is intelligent, high-voltage storytelling of the very highest order.' – TONY PARSONS

'Confirms Frank Gardner's place among the pantheon of distinguished reporters who have become excellent thriller writers, including Gerald Seymour and Frederick Forsyth... utterly authentic.' – DAILY MAIL

'Combines insider knowledge with heart-in-mouth excitement.' – i-NEWSPAPER

'Everything is impressive in this masterly account... exhilarating (if alarming) topicality.' – SUNDAY TIMES

Series: A Luke Carlton Thriller

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  • Ballistic
    Pre-order
    Ballistic
    With the action powering its way from the frozen wastes of the Russian Arctic to the warm azure sea of the Caribbean, Ballistic is the explosive, frighteningly relevant and alarmingly prescient new international thriller from BBC security correspondent and Sunday Times bestseller Frank Gardner. The new Luke Carlton thriller. MI6 operative Luke Carlton returns in his most exciting and unnervingly...
    Paperback
    $3800
    Pre-order
    Out 24 Nov 2026

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781787635500

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 July 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bantam (Transworld)

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 40.0mm

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 700g

Pages: 400

About the Author

Born in 1961, Frank Gardner has been the BBC's Security Correspondent since 2002. He holds a degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies. In 2004, while filming in Saudi Arabia, he was ambushed by terrorists, shot multiple times and left for dead. He survived and returned to active news reporting within a year. Although paralysed in the legs, he still travels extensively, reporting from Ukraine to Colombia to Saudi Arabia. Awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to journalism, Frank published his bestselling memoir, Blood and Sand, in 2006. His first novel, the thriller Crisis, which introduced readers to SIS operative Luke Carlton, was a Sunday Times No.1 bestseller. The second and third Luke Carlton thrillers, Ultimatum and Outbreak, were also bestsellers, as was the fourth, the Taiwan-set Invasion. Frank Gardner lives in London.

Also by Frank Gardner

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  • Ultimatum
    SIS officer Luke Carlton returns in the explosive, action-packed and bestselling new thriller from BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner, author of the No.1 bestseller Crisis. 'It grips like a python from the first page, squeezing the breath out of the reader' - DAILY MAIL 'Outstanding' - SUNDAY TIMES 'Breathless action' - THE TIMES Hidden from prying Western satellites, Iranian scientists...
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  • Invasion
    One of the bestselling names in British spy thrillers, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner's new novel sees MI6 operative Luke Carlton racing against time to prevent the next geo-political cataclysm - China's threatened invasion of Taiwan. Discover the explosive new Luke Carlton spy thriller from the Sunday Times bestseller and BBC security correspondent. 'Everything is impressive in this masterly account...
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  • Invasion
    One of the bestselling names in the British spy thriller firmament, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner's new novel sees MI6 operative Luke Carlton racing against time and the odds to prevent the next geo-political cataclysmβ€”China's invasion of Taiwan. The pulse-pounding new Luke Carlton thriller... Across the Strait from Taiwan, China's armed forces appear to be readying for war. Could the...
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