Ant Middleton is best known as the author of self-help, personal growth books. This is his first fiction book. He is former special forces , so brings a voice of experience to the main character, Mallory.

Mallory left the military after a failed mission that he feels responsible for. His guilt and PTSD will push him to accept a request that will take him across the globe, placing his personal safety in danger as he searches for a missing person.

I've been reading this action/thriller genre lately. There are many excellent authors driving me to stay up way past my bedtime and Middleton has now joined that list.

Excellent book, couldn’t put it down from start to finish I absolutely loved it. As a first novel it’s really good.

very well written with a good story to keep you guessing. I look forward to meeting Mallory in the next installment.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, a definite page-turner, full of suspense and intrigue. I would recommend it.

Wow wow wow what a great book!
Mallory - he was the best of the best, a Special Forces leader and a hero. But then he made a fatal decision, gambling with the lives of his men with terrible consequences: two dead, and his young friend Donno left in a coma.

Back on the streets, with nothing to lose, Mallory has a darkness growing inside him, a dangerous need to seek out trouble. Then Donno's mother asks him for help: her other son, Scott, has gone missing in South Africa, and she wants Mallory to find him.

Perhaps it's redemption, perhaps he's looking for revenge on the world, but suddenly Mallory has a purpose, and nothing and no one is going to stand in his way.
Action all the way!

I like Ant Middleton and yes I do what SAS Who Dares Wins but due to his big celebrity status and a few problems he's had I was a bit dubious about this but it was well written, a good story, great characters and my husband has now pinched my Kindle to read it too.

Absolutely loved this novel against all my expectations of Ant Middleton and the genre. Well paced, well written, authentic characters, and women with more than two dimensions. Mallory is a great, flawed character and I thoroughly enjoyed a trip around the globe with him, from Birmingham to Johannesburg to Louisiana in his mission to seek redress for a mission which ended in the death of his colleagues. Look forward to the next one!

Chris Ryan, Andy McNab, Bear Grylls, are the most recognisable former SAS who've turned fiction writers. Joining them is Ant Middleton best known for channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins.

SYNOPSIS: Mallory, a former member of the special forces, is burnt out. After a mission to grab a High Value Target (hvt) goes wrong, Mallory consumed by guilt, is drifting through life with no purpose. He spends his time visiting a brother in arms who was injured in the aforementioned mission. While visiting at the hospital, Mallory is approached by the fellow soldiers mother. She wants Mallory to find her other son who has gone missing in South Africa. Can Mallory find redemption, a new purpose, were he will need every ounce of training, to rescue his friends brother, and get out alive.

REVIEW: From the start your thrown into Mallory's life of guilt. You feel for this broken man, who is bearing an unbearable guilt that he has no way of unloading, although a quick punch up in the local bar, helps a little. You understand why, although reluctantly, he agrees to try an find his friends brother. Redemption, purpose, a release of guilt and anger are the main motivations for bullish approach to the task in hand.
Throw in a kidnapping, gun fights, a chase through alligator territory and a final showdown, this a thrill ride from beginning to end. And the ending sets up a twist that will no doubt be the main storyline for the next book. But there's just something missing. It's not quite there, the elusive element that doesn't make me fully invested into the story.

You take Lee Childs character, Jack Reacher, and straight away, you are Reacher, every punch, kick or headbutt dished out, your the one doing it and feeling it. I just don't get that feeling with Mallory. I'm looking on from a distance, not there in the middle of it.

It's probably unfair to compare Lee Child, he's had years and many books to get Reacher that way. I truly hope Middleton can discover that element for his character. It's about time that we have a UK version of Reacher, Mallory can be, I want him to be, hopefully we get that as the character grows in the next book. I truly wish Middleton all the good fortune he deserves, to make it happen.

VERDICT: 3.5***/5 My star rating doesn't reflect badly on what is a brilliant thrill ride of a read, for me there's something just missing, it's not quite on the centre of the target. That said however, I will be coming back for more, to see if Mallory’s character grows into series that
My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK

Ant Middleton’s previous self-help books have mostly been self-congratulatory exercises in money-making, and now this book is his first foray into novel writing.
This is a very formulaic thriller - lone wolf gets thrown out of army, becomes a one man crusader for justice and hurts a lot of comic-book baddies - which offers nothing new to the well-worn genre other than more of the same, but has some exciting moments.
If you have ever hankered after joining the SAS and you like books about hardcases knocking seven bells out of other hardcases, then you will love this book. It is not a classic of the genre and has nothing you haven’t seen before, but it is competently written and will scratch your thriller itch.

Cold Justice is a scintillating and wildly entertaining, tension-soaked action-adventure thriller from renowned special forces soldier and TV personality Ant Middleton. It follows former special forces operative and protagonist Mallory as he attempts to come to terms with the guilt he is drowning in as a result of an operation gone bad in Afghanistan and is also suffering from PTSD. This operational choice not only went wrong, but it ended up costing many of the soldiers under his command their lives, and Mallory is haunted by that fact every day. On a visit to see former colleague Donno, Mallory is asked for a big favour by Donno’s mother; she knows of Mallory’s skills and wants him to try and help track down her missing son, Scott, who is Donno’s younger sibling. There has been no trace of him for quite some time; it's as though he simply vanished into thin air, and naturally she, and the rest of the family, is extremely concerned for his safety and well-being but don't have any idea where to start hunting for him.

Mallory is reluctant to take on such a daunting task, but he almost immediately recognises that it is possibly his one and only chance to gain a little redemption as Donno was one of the colleagues who was injured on the battlefield thanks to Mallory’s operational shortcomings and bad judgement. And so ensues a deeply dangerous and heart-pounding journey across the globe, and, as always, once Mallory has committed himself to a situation there is no going back in his mind. Can he find Scott and gain a little peace in the process? This is a compulsive, exciting and action-packed international action-adventure thriller with never a dull moment and a riveting, superbly woven plot that is all about vengeance and redemption. Middleton ramps up the tension, drama, peril and body count and his experience in the special forces lends an air of authenticity and believability to it all. It's dark, gritty and nail-biting with high stakes and increasingly palpable suspense that cannot fail to give you palpitations.

Vivid and plausibly plotted, it is filled with drama, betrayal and murder and laced with lies, deceit, violence, deception, duplicity, double-crossing and people who simply cannot be trusted. It moves at breakneck pace, and although fearless yet broken protagonist Mallory is in a position so far removed from the world most of us know, Middleton manages to make him both relatable and respectable. It's a truly globetrotting thriller as Mallory traverses the globe trying to complete his mission and it becomes even more enthralling and absorbing as it progresses with the tension being ratcheted up to extreme levels towards the end; it leaves you feeling breathless, and before you know it another similarly nail-biting moment swiftly arrives. A powerhouse of a thriller laden with explosive twists and pulse-pounding developments right from the start, this is a white knuckle ride from the off and the best action-thriller of the year, so if you enjoy fast and furious thrillers that keep you scintillated throughout then this is a must-read. Highly recommended.

Buckle up, lads, because this book is a rollercoaster.

Background: I’m a big fan of SAS:WDW, and have read most of the cast (non fiction) books so pretty confident that I’m the target audience here. We all know this is why most people are going to pick this title up but it shouldn’t be - it will appeal to thriller fans across the board. The difference is, Ant Middleton’s lived experiences add some gravitas to the story, especially with regards to main character Mallory’s flashback chapters in Afghanistan.

It’s very well paced, with short punchy chapters and I was really impressed with the clever storyline which is left open for a series. Think Simon Kernick level action with a military twist and you’re there. And that’s really the highest compliment I could give to any thriller. I wasn’t expecting it and was pleasantly surprised! I’ve already been raving about it to anyone who will listen!

Ant Middleton needs little, or no introduction to the vast majority of person's reading this review. A former special services operator who served with the Special Boat Service; Royal Marines, and 9 Parachute Squadron Royal, achieving the 'Holy Trinity' in military terms, he later became the face of the hit television series 'SAS Who Dares Wins' and a household name in the process. In addition to all of this, Ant Middleton has also found the time to become a best selling non-fiction author with 'First Man in' and 'The Fear Bubble' being best-selling and notable examples.

This brings us neatly onto the work under review: 'Cold Justice'. This novel is Ant Middleton's first foray into the fiction genre and as debuts go, it is stunning. 'Cold Justice', is a fast-paced; white-knuckled, gritty account of one man's bid for redemption. The principal character, Mallory, is a former special services operator who finds himself outside of the military brotherhood he knew and loved. Mallory is embittered; dangerous, and racked with guilt over an operational decision he made on the battlefield which resulted in casualties. Whilst he is at his lowest ebb, he is offered the chance to set things right by answering a request for help from an unlikely source - the mother of an injured comrade. The twist being that this injured comrade was hospitalised following Mallory's orders on the battlefield. Suffice to say, the story unfolds at breakneck speed as Mallory circumnavigates the globe unleashing vengeance whilst trying to contain the dark forces he wrestles with both mentally and physically. If you want to know more - buy the book!

'Cold Justice' is a dark; fast-paced, and gripping international thriller underpinned by a captivating and eminently believable narrative. Ant Middleton's' skill as an author is an assault on the senses. The reader is subjected to persons; places, scenarios and contexts which are so vivid and plausible, they could only have been borne out of hard-won real-life battles and encounters fought by the author on the battlefield and on 'civvy street'. The story is unfiltered and raw. There is no exaggeration; no filler or needless additions, this is an account which revolves solely around Mallory and those unfortunate enough to come into his orbit. Critically, Mallory is plausible and relatable, he appears to be more of a composite than an artificial construct and it isn't hard to visualise him or empathise with his emotional turmoil.

Mallory's' agency, and the rationale behind it is governed by a degree of self-loathing; a troubled past and his inability / unwillingness to escape from it. He acts with the efficiency and tactical awareness of a special services operator, but he is also capable of empathy, albeit on his own terms. Mallory is no 'action man', he is multi-dimensional, and fallible. The reader is offered a guarded insight into Mallory and the world he inhabits, and it is an insight which leaves the reader wanting to know more. This novel revolves around Mallory and the reader's relationship with him. Whilst he is troubled, it isn't overdone and he doesn't convey a 'needy' persona. He is the tough; capable, and incisive person which most of us would like to be, or pretend to be. Mallory isn't necessarily likeable, but you wish him well none-the-less.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel from Ant Middleton. I found it captivating and intelligently written. There is a real potency to the storyline which is entirely addictive. The narrative proceeds at break-neck speed, but it never loses it's authenticity or direction. This is a stunning debut novel which skillfully avoids the clichés and compromises so readily adopted by it's competitors. This novel truly is in a class of it's own.

If you are looking for an exciting; cogent, powerful, and entirely plausible thriller, then 'Cold Justice' is the book for you!

Ex-special forces hero Mallory is a decent guy, he's damaged and drifting until he finds a purpose when his former self re-emerges and he uses his finely honed skills to hunt down and take on a few baddies.

Cold Justice has bestseller written all over it. Hard fast action that moves along at a good pace, a couple of twists thrown in for good measure and an ending that leaves the reader wanting to know what happens next. I haven't read anywhere that this is the first in a series but the twist at the end says it is.

If you like popular action fiction that moves along at a good pace and doesn't require too much thought, you'll like this. Mallory is a character that was created to satisfy the masses and I must be going soft, I quite liked him.

Love, love, loved this book! Well done Ant Middleton! And thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy.
Mallory is the next Jack Reacher. Ex military with plenty of baggage, looking for a good cause not only to keep himself out of trouble but to help ease a guilty conscience. His exploits take us to the streets of Johannesburg, the relative quiet of Birmingham and get down and dirty in the swamps of New Orleans. Throw in some flashbacks to Afghanistan and you’re never far from the next piece of action.
This book moves at a lightening pace and is lived, not just imagined. I hope this is the start of a series of Mallory books, there’s so much scope for more and I’m sure the author won’t run out of material any time soon.

Ant Middleton is a big celebrity name and so I was dubious to read this incase it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be but i was pleasantly surprised. This is a great read and i would recommend you read this! I was kindly gifted an e-book in return a honest review.