Stephen Leather has again pulled a rabbit out of his hat with this finely crafted story of intrigue and murder.

Andy Bird has left the unit after suffering the after effects of an insurgent attack. It's just him and Tyson, his ex service dog, living rough. His life is placid enough, but things rapidly go south when he witnesses a murder, and the two thugs who commit it try to kill him. Tyson helps him out but he finds himself on the run.

Vanishing into the streets is his preferred oprion, but when he finds that they are tracking his every move, he turns to his old mates for help.

There follows an exciting story of detection, intrigue, and numerous showdowns. The plotting is good, the characters realistic, and the story plausible, and the baddies predictably horrid, and the goodies doing their best in truying circumstances. Good stuff.

A new character bursts upon the scene from Stephen Leather),author of the successful Spider Shepherd series.)

Andy "Birdman" Bird is a former SAS trooper now living on the streets with Tyson his "land shark" who is a Malinois with PTSD.

Whilst sleeping rough behind a skip,he sees a man murdered by Russian thugs. Soon,he is fleeing for his life and using all his old skills and contacts just to survive.

Another great paced book from Leather and hopefully the start of a new series!

I would like to thank McmiIllan Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Not my normal read but I devoured this one in one sitting. We meet a man and his dog sleeping rough on the streets after an ambush in a missing he not only lost his hearing but also his loved job in the SAS. When he accidentally stumbles on an assassination his whole life is turned upside down when he is being hunted and everyone close to him is in danger and only his old colleagues can help him. Will he get to the bottom of it all before it’s too late. A great thriller and would make a great film.

Stephen Leather is consistently excellent and it was no surprise that this novel followed suit.
I rather like the character of Andy and fell in love with his dog. (Mind you, you would really want to stay on the right side of him!
Solid plot with several twists and, as usual, plenty of (often gory) action to keep us entertained.
Many thanks.