Introducing Luke Carlton - ex-Special Boat Service commando, and now under contract to MI6 for some of its most dangerous missions. Sent into the steaming Colombian jungle to investigate the murder of a British intelligence officer, Luke finds himself caught up in the coils of a plot that has terrifying international dimensions. Hunted down, captured, tortured and on the run from one of South America`s most powerful and ruthless drugs cartels and its psychotic leader thirsting for revenge, Luke is in a life-or-death race against time to prevent a disaster on a truly terrifying scale: London is the target, the weapon is diabolical and the means of delivery is ingenious. Drawing on his years of experience reporting on security matters, CRISIS is Frank Gardner`s debut novel. Combining insider knowledge, up-to-the-minute hardware, fly on the wall insights with heart-in-mouth excitement, CRISIS boasts an irresistible, visceral frisson of authenticity: smart, fast-paced and furiously entertaining, here is a thriller for the 21st century. Full of tomorrow`s headlines, Crisis is a nerve-shredding thriller with an intimate knowledge of the world it portrays. This is intelligent, high-voltage story-telling of the very highest order.TONY PARSONS, bestselling author of The Murder Bag Written by someone who has been there, done that and knows what it`s about, Crisis is a thriller you just can`t put down.Sir ROGER MOORE Written by someone who has been there, done that and knows what it`s about, Crisis is a thriller you just can`t put down.Sir ROGER MOORE Gardner knows his subject - and it shows. A rattling good read. JOHN HUMPHRYS, BBC Broadcaster Fast, taut, tense, accurate. A terrific read.FREDERICK FORSYTH

Born in 1961, Frank Gardner is the BBC's Security Correspondent, reporting for television and radio on issues of domestic and international security, notably on Islamist extremist related terrorism. A fluent Arabist, with a degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies, he was previously the BBC's Middle East Correspondent based in Cairo, and before that in Dubai. In June 2004, while reporting in Riyadh, Frank and his cameraman, Simon Cumbers, were ambushed by Islamist gunmen. Simon was killed outright, Frank was shot multiple times and left for dead. Against all expectations, he survived and, in 2006, published his acclaimed and bestselling memoir, Blood and Sand. In 2009 he published Far Horizons, a much praised account of his life as an inveterate traveller and explorer. His first novel, the thriller Crisis, was a No.1 bestseller. Awarded an OBE for services to journalism, Frank has also written for the Economist, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and Time Out and has been published in The Best of Sunday Times Travel Writing.
He lives in London with his family.