Crash Course

“A book to make the authorities sit up”. - Guardian

Captain Penn, in charge of the formidable Sarissa, has just been given clearance for takeoff from Singapore airport.

As the plane begins to accelerate, picking up speed until it is past the point of no return, he notices that there is a fault in the elevator.

Climbing at 250 feet per second, there is no time to think twice - he must abort, and crash lands the plane down to earth.

With the wreckage of the Sarissa lying smoking on the ground, faith in the aviation company - having built their reputation on the superiority of their planes - dissolves.

The skies are nearing saturation with Sarissa planes, but the aircraft is now suspect: mass slaughter with Sarissas raining on cities and the seas and the loss of prosperity for entire areas are more than mere possibilities.

But what could have caused such a fatal accident? Human error, a technical fault or - lurking sinisterly in the background - the possibility of deliberate sabotage?

The pressure is on as the story unravels; a pilot desperately searches for the truth amidst a reality of investigation, intrigue, murky deals, criminal schemes and grand designs.

Beyond the threshold of no return begins a maze where there is no room for self-deception. Where heroes may be driven by weakness, while loyalty and goodwill may produce tragic villains. Where the winners are those who lose least, and where parallel lives converge - on a devastating crash course.

Crash Course is a tense novel about a pilot, his dreams, obsessions, love and search for the truth. It is a story of claustrophobic shadow-boxing and crushing pressures to activate and immobilise men at will.

Stephen Barlay came to England at the end of the Hungarian uprising in 1956 and quickly made his name as an author and journalist. His previous books include Aircrash Detective, Fire, Double Cross, Sex Slavery and That Thin Red Line, and the best-selling Blockbuster.

Praise for Stephen Barlay:

“A book to make the authorities sit up”. - Guardian

“The maniac energy of the writing holds you tight.” - The Times

“Stephen Barlay has jumped into the front rank of thriller writers…Highly recommendable... a story of mounting complexity and excitement.” – Irish Times

“Barlay keeps things steadily on the boil, ending on a note of irony…fine escape reading.” - New York Times

“A book spattered with thrills and surprises and delightfully free from the pseudo-intellectualism which seems to have eaten its way into so much of today's literature. No need to tell you to read it to the end. Once you've started, you can't help doing so.” - Manchester Evening News

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