Crisis: the action-packed Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller

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The only bit of the plot I didn’t find far fetched was the idea of smuggling a weapon of mass destruction into the UK. He was an officer in the Green Jackets and worked in banking in Saudi Arabia, he speaks fluent Arabic. Gardner needed to work far harder to create a more rounded, and complex lead character, rather than relying on lazy shortcuts. If you like your spy thrillers more James Bond than George Smiley, you may enjoy it but I won’t be going back for a second helping of Luke Carlton.

The pace never lets up from the narcotics dens of Colombia, the murder of a serving MI6 officer in the same country, the torture, deceit, and corruption of the drugs gangs, though to a kidnapping in London and the machinations of the security services as they prepare for the worst. A future course of action is spoken of in the current conversation so when it actually happens, the reader isn't necessarily shocked or surprised by it. Oh, and no ex-SBS current MI6 agent would ever agree to (let alone quite enjoy) the prospect of an Ellie Goulding concert at the O2. Gardner would have been better served targeting a less populated and less aggressively macho literary world of modern espionage where only Charles Cumming and Le Carre really operate at the moment. Awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to journalism, Frank published his bestselling memoir, Blood and Sand, in 2006.There is no room for any emotional journey or introspection from the main characters and it can be difficult to keep track of the parallel stories with so many secondary characters in walk-on parts. I agree with the last three but I think accuracy brought detailing and detailing stopped it from being fast.

Often this is done by making Carlton ask questions, or suffer an apparent loss of memory so that someone has to explain things to him. We got to learn a bit about his line of work being a secret agent for the London MI5, we learnt a bit about his younger years when he grew up in Colombia (the other half to the novels setting), but mostly we got to learn about his lovely girlfriend Elise and their budding relationship which was slightly hindered due to his line of work. It's hard to explain what I mean without giving spoilers, but if you read it, you'll know what I'm talking about. For those of you who do not know, Frank was severely wounded in an Al Qaeda attack in Yemen in 2004 – his cameraman was killed, and he was left for dead with eleven bullets in him. It does seem to go on a bit longer than needs be but it is so action packed and enjoyable that you don't mind too much.Great for those who read in short bursts too, with brief chapters which helps the feeling of racing against time. We don’t need to spend time with the man organising the Rememberance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph, or need to know so much about the welder working for the bad guys to help them build their bomb (another entirely unrealistic character).