Author(s): Tim Ayliffe

Crime

SET TO BE ADAPTED FOR THE SCREEN. 

‘Ayliffe is a master of the genre.’ Sulari Gentill

Journalist John Bailey and CIA officer Ronnie Johnson join forces to outwit their most deadly adversary yet.

Russian millionaire, Dmitry Lebedev, has been flying under the radar in Sydney for years. Now somebody wants him dead. Desperate to make a deal to stay alive, he contacts his former CIA case officer, Ronnie Johnson, with an offer to expose a traitor inside the Australian government, threatening a key intelligence partnership with the US.

Journalist John Bailey has spent decades risking his life to break news stories. Along the way he’s made interesting friends, including Ronnie – who saved his life in Iraq – and Scarlett Merriman – whose night in a Sydney hotel with Lebedev left her in a coma.

Bailey’s investigation into what happened to Scarlett plunges him head-first into the global spy game. And his old friend, Ronnie Johnson, needs his help. Because the same people going after Lebedev have framed Ronnie for murder.  

‘A carefully crafted, propulsive thriller that sails uncomfortably close to the truth.’ Michael Brissenden

CONSTANT READER STAFF REVIEW: SIMON

Tim Ayliffe goes full throttle in Killer Traitor Spy, which sees journalist John Bailey and CIA officer Ronnie Johnson facing up against a deadly cabal, and a conspiracy with global implications. It begins with the attempted murder of a Russian millionaire in Sydney, then bolts from scene to scene, catapulting between the perspectives of Bailey and Johnson, and culminating in a spectacular finale. And just as you’re getting your breath back, there’s room for one last twist.

Ayliffe has carved a distinct place on the map of Australian thriller writers. His stripped, punchy writing style reminds me of John Sandford fused with the geopolitics of classic Robert Ludlum. He’s able to keep a story engine churning like nobody else.