The Solitary Man - Stephen Leather
Chris Hutchison is a man on the run. Imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, Hutch escapes from a British maximum security prison and starts a new life in Hong Kong.
Then a ghost from his past catches up with him, forcing him to help a former terrorist break out of a Bangkok prison. Or face a life behind bars once more.
Meanwhile the Drug Enforcement Administration wants to nail the vicious drug warlord responsible for flooding the States with cheap heroin. And decides to use Hutch as a pawn in a deadly game.
London journalist Jennifer Leigh also wants something from Hutch - she's convinced that there's more to his story than meets the eye, and he could be her ticket to the front page.
Hutch's bid for freedom takes him into the lawless killing fields of the Golden Triangle, where the scene is set for one final act of betrayal.
STEPHEN LEATHER WRITES
By the time I was writing this, I was living in Bangkok and I wanted to do a book set in South East Asia. I spoke to DEA agents in Bangkok and went to visit an English guy who was in prison on drug charges as part of my research, and traveled up to the Golden Triangle to get a feel for the area.
I'm especially proud of the descriptions of Thailand, I think I've managed to capture the feel of the country which is one of my favourite places.
It's another book which features flying scenes - I've got a pilot's licence and I guess I like to show off my knowledge. Several of my friends appear as characters in the book, including Roger Charlie' Warner, who designed this website, as a trigger-happy helicopter pilot.
The Solitary Man Reviews
"This book should be compulsory reading for anyone who even for a millisecond would consider smuggling drugs. A number of elements come together - a man on the run for a crime he did not commit, the USA Drug Enforcement Agency deciding to nail a drug warlord, an Irish terrorist group wanting one of its own freed from a Bangkok jail after an operation had gone wrong, and a woman in love with a man who does not realise it - and end in a conflagration in the Golden Triangle. Leather writes thrillers as if writing for the cinema: you can just see them being turned into a blockbuster movie. But his descriptions of life in a Thai prison are so intense in their horror they will make you cringe." Aberdeen Evening Express
"Chris Hutchison was imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Ah, but the prisons are full of blokes like that, I hear you say. Yes, but Hutch really is a decent sort, and he manages to nip off to Hong Kong- before communist China's People's Liberation Army moved in, presumably. Anyway, the Drug Enforcement Agency wants to nail a vicious drug warlord responsible for flooding the United States with heroin, so they decide to use poor old Hutch as a pawn. The lad just can't win. If you like thrillers, you'll enjoy Leather's yarns" Manchester Evening News