The Stranger by Simon Conway was a great action thriller that was pact book with lots of twists and turns throughout that just had you gripped from the beginning till the very end. I loved it! The audiobook was excellent and the Narrator Jamie Parker was brilliant. 5/5 book.

I highly recommend it and looking forward to read more books by Simon Conway x

Really enjoyed reading this book. It was everything I expected. I was hooked from the beginning. Shocking but fantastic. Very well written

A great read. Tense, gripping and action-packed. It would make a great film! Looking forward to reading more from the author.

A clever, multi-layered plot and complex, relatable characters make this a compelling political thriller. With short chapters, each revealing something significant to push the story forward, this is addictive reading.

The ethos is realistic, and the main protagonist easy to like. The thriller has a contemporary edge and relentless action keeping the reader on edge until its conclusion.

I received a copy of this book from Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Set in the continuing tumult of the Syrian conflict and the mayhem wrought by ISIS, this novel follows MI6 officer Jude Lyon as he hunts for a secretive, almost mythical, terrorist who’s skilled with explosives. The man, known only as The Stranger, is believed to have escaped Syrian government custody and is on his way to the UK to wreck his revenge, after the UK authorities helped to have him kidnapped and imprisoned for torture. But is the man they believe to be The Stranger even him? Or might he be a cut-out for the real bomber?

Simon Conway is in my opinion one of the best contemporary thriller writers. But he’s criminally underrated and I rarely see his books mentioned. This is a real shame because all of the books of his that I’ve read have been fantastic and The Stranger is no different. Recently I spoke to a literary agent who told me that in his opinion there are too many books on the market that feature Islamic fundamentalism, and I agree with that assessment. Like the Russians during the Cold War, al Qaeda and ISIS are all-too-often the go to baddies in fiction, and many of the works that feature them are run of the mill. But equally, it would be terrible if this novel was caught up in that dismissal, for this stands head and shoulders above the competition.

The Stranger is brilliantly plotted and brought to life and has an original plot which I won’t reveal here for risk of spoilers. Needless to say, it will do nothing for one’s faith in the intelligence services, not a surprise in a post-dodgy dossier world. But the malfeasance and double dealing of the intelligence chiefs in this novel rival that infamous example, and unfortunately, all too believable.

What really sets The Stranger apart is the namesake villain. He’s a chilling creation and steals the show. While Conway’s protagonist, MI6 man Jude Lyon, is compelling enough, he can’t help but be overshadowed by his antagonist. If I have once minor creation, it’s The Stranger sexual deviancy which he performs with a female adherence who’s obsessed with him. There’s nothing graphic about it, the author doesn’t dwell on it at all, but I found this strand unnecessary and at danger of making him into a pantomime villain. But luckily Conway doesn’t linger on this and thus it doesn’t spoil what is otherwise an excellent portrayal of a terrifying adversary.

The Stranger is a really good book and I really hope this brings the author to more reader’s attention.

Stunning violence and deep duplicities and cover ups and a morally ambiguous but compelling central agent, Jude, all seem so plausible in our post Trump topsy turvy rough world . As a reader I no longer find all the twists and turns contrived .. it all feels all too reaL. Grim .. female operatives as wily and violent as any male too . The norm but it feels right. A tough strong intelligent thriller, savvy as to ways of politics of foreign policies in British govt. Very impressive.. I admit, I never got to the bottom of what made Jude tick but he intrigued me. There is a lightness to him that's sometimes disconcerting!

Jude Lyon is a member of MI6, called of a mission after a terrorist bomber is broken out of jail. Hunting down the stranger quickly shows that not everything is what it seems. Really good book with plenty of twists and turns.

Set initially in the chaos of Syria, it captures all the hypocrisies and shaming compromises that flowed from Britain’s disastrous involvement in the second Iraq war, the homegrown terrorism it stoked, taking this to terrible, breathtaking extreme. Compromise and institutional failure are the overarching themes in an incredibly exciting and horribly believable, epic drama.

A tale involving terrorists, spies, lies and subterfuge within the murky world of MI6. Some intriguing twists kept me entertained, and I couldn't put it down.
Very well written and researched spy thriller and I would definitely recommend it.

I was lucky enough to be invited to read "The Stranger" by Hodder & Stoughton after having read and reviewed other books from their catalogue in the past. I haven't read anything by Simon Conway despite this being his fifth book and, if I'm honest, I hadn't heard of him before either but he is definitely on my radar now.

This is a complex tail involving terrorists, spies, lies and subterfuge within the murky world of MI6. I admit that it took me a while to get into it but once I did, I couldn't put it down. The characters are believable and interesting and the plot is complex, tense and gripping and, unfortunately, not beyond the realms of reality.

This is a very well written and researched spy thriller and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review and for introducing me to yet another great author.

I thought this started excellently and was tense all the way through.
It was disturbing in parts and horrific in others as the subject matter demanded but none of it was gratuitous
I did get a little confused as to who was who and which organisation they were working for at times but managed to navigate my way through to what was a very explosive, satisfying conclusion.

In the last few weeks of my pregnancy I needed a distraction. This book kept me company when I had sleepless nights and chronic back pain, It was an exciting gripping and well thought out book that had me fully invested and entertained. A great book once again from a very talented writer.

Superb violent thriller describing the hunt for an escaped terrorist from a Syrian prison. The killing of 25 British soldiers 10 years previously and the capture of the presumed bomb maker sent to Syria by MI6 is suddenly shown to be doubtful and a SIS agent is sent to discover the truth. The action veers from Syria across Europe and into the UK at breakneck speed. It all leads to a shockingly violent climax in the Palace of Westminster stunningly described in this brilliant yarn!

Jude Lyon is in the ever dangerous Russia, when he gets a call from his boss to come back and solve the ultimate of problems. A prisoner is alive and has escaped. He’s the notorious bomb-maker and the one they put away five years ago. He’s now free and someone has aided his escape, but who?
Jude has been told to solve the problem however, unbeknown to him, there’s more to this than meets the eye. Soon a massive plot is uncovered and central to this plot is a genius who is more of a ghost than real, but he is coming. Can anyone stop him? Can anyone stop The Stranger?
This a spy novel that can only be described as a masterpiece of espionage, secrets and intrigue. A damn fine novel.
This will grab you from the start and you won’t want to let go. It’s just glorious. I couldn’t put it down.

After a long absence, Simon Conway returns in great form with this breakneck thriller. If offers great insight into the geopolitcs of the War on Terror, with a cast of intriguing characters, and and a truly suspenseful finale. Hope we don't need to wait so long for the next novel!

A fast easy tech Thriller with attitude, great characters and full of great story moments

Overall well written and great fun

First book i read by this author and won't surely be the last.
It's gripping, well written and highly enjoyable. I appreciated the storytelling and the character development.
The, fast paced and action packed, kept me hooked till the last page.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is one of my top reads this year.
I have to admit that it is also my first book by the author and what an impression he has left. The story begins with a gift from MI6 in 2006 to the Syrian authorities of a man in their custody that is known as the Engineer and his 7 months pregnant wife. It is said that he is responsible for the deaths of a number of people, including 25 British soldiers. There is no trial or compassion. The man pleads he is innocent but no-one listens. Jude Lyon of MI6 witnessed them being put on the plane, something that didn’t rest easy with him. Ten years on the Engineer is rescued and it could bring the whole British Government crashing down.
Oh my, within the first pages I got a glimpse of this man’s existence and it is haunting. I know that this happens in the world daily and no-one does anything to stop it. It wasn’t just the horrific way people died, it was the quantity, a never-ending daily count that just grew. The writing is powerful with chapters that switch between the three main characters, The Engineer, The Stranger and Jude Lyon of MI6. Jude uncovers the truth about the Engineer and finds himself in a race against the clock to find out which British target the Stranger intends to hit. He knows if he fails the death count will be huge.
This story has such a realness to it that I could imagine the headline news that would go along with the events that were unfolding. The Stranger is a really complex character, the sort that I love reading about. I am not going to tell you his name, you need to discover it yourself in the book. Even on a hot day like it is now just writing this makes me shudder.
He is a master of manipulation through any means possible, a magnetic charm that gives him control over people. A brilliantly written character that you see from all sides. Some people are just born evil and no matter who their parents no amount of money can change that.
A belting reading. I wish to thank the publisher and NetGalley for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

‘My name is Nasruddin al-Raqqah.’
'I was kidnapped by the British for a crime I did not commit and they sent me to Damascus. I was questioned and tortured, I spent more than ten years in a tiny cell deep under the ground without sunlight, without speaking. Every day I washed the bodies of those killed by Assad. Thousands of bodies, men and women, I thought I was dead and in hell.'
'But now I am free.’


Ten years ago, MI6 Officer, Jude Lyon witnessed the rendition of The Engineer, a terrorist responsible for the killings of 25 British soldiers in a fiendishly clever attack in Pakistan. Haunted by his part in the handing over of the captive and his pregnant wife to torture, Jude becomes involved once more when The Engineer, long presumed dead, is offered for sale on the dark web by a terrorist organisation who have violently freed him from captivity. The press have now come into possession of documents proving British complicity in The Engineer’s rendition, Jude is caught in the political crossfire as the guilty scramble to cover their tracks while their rivals seek advantage, and he is unable to shake the memory of Nasruddin al-Raqqah’s last words as he was dragged away, “I am not The Engineer.”
And who is The Stranger...?
THE STRANGER is a fast paced ‘War on Terror’ thriller with interesting characters, a tightly plotted, tense set up, political intrigue, and an explosive climax but the characters are conflicted, the politics anything but straightforward. There are no goodies and baddies and Simon Conway, a writer with whom I was previously unfamiliar, has delivered a novel that is several steps above the gung-ho, flag-waving thrillers that seem to fill the shelves, much more Le Carre than Clancy.

*4.5 stars *

Author Simon Conway’s CV includes, military service with the Black Watch and Queen’s Own Highlanders, the extremely dangerous task of clearing land mines around the world, and just for the record he’s also won the Crime Writers Association Steel Dagger award for ‘A Loyal Spy’. ‘

The Stranger’ takes us right into the heart of international espionage and clandestine operations, and introduces MI6 agent Jude Lyon.

Jude is astounded, when a report suggests that a terrorist ‘bomb maker’ nicknamed The Stranger, appears to be alive and well, after being broken out of a Syrian jail. Jude had witnessed the terrorist being escorted onto a rendition flight to Syria many years ago, the purpose being to torture and interrogate him. He had been accused of the murders of 25 British soldiers in Basra, by arranging an ambush. Not unnaturally, the expectation was that he would not have survived the interrogation process. However, it now looks as if he did indeed survive, and he’s out for revenge!

It’s clear that much research has been carried out to make this thriller as authentic as possible. The plot is very believable and some of the depicted events are extremely current. It’s well written, with fully fleshed characters, and a breathtaking storyline that produces edge of the seat stuff. Highly recommended.