From the legendary, bestselling thriller author readers can't get enough of. 'Five stars aren't enough' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'An absolute belter of a read' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Stephen Leather never lets you down' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'The British Boss of thriller authors' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ FRIENDSHIPS FORGED IN COMBAT CAN BE STRONGER THAN ANYTHING... ...so when SAS trooper Matt Standing is told that the former Navy SEAL who saved his life is in trouble, he doesn't hesitate to go to his aid. The only survivor of a brutal hitjob, Bobby-Ray Barnes has been accused of killing the man he was supposed to be protecting, and has gone on the run. The dead client was a Russian oligarch with connections to the Kremlin. But who wanted him dead, and why is Bobby-Ray being framed? Standing is the only man who can answer those questions. Because a true hero always pays his debts. An unmissable series from the UK's greatest action thriller author, set in the same universe as the iconic Spider Shepherd novels. ✨ PRE-ORDER LAST CHANCE , THE NEW SPIDER SHEPHERD THRILLER, OUT 31 JULY 2025 ✨
' The action scenes are deftly choreographed and Standing is an engaging protagonist' Financial Times What makes a good man become an assassin? A Navy SEAL has gone rogue, selling his skills to the highest bidder as a professional assassin. Ryan French no longer cares who he kills so long as the price is right. His former bosses want him taken down, but they're not prepared to get their hands dirty so they need a Brit to do the job. SAS trooper Matt "Lastman" Standing is a lethal killing machine with experience in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Plus he's worked with French in the past. It's not a mission he wants, but Standing made a bad choice in his past and it has come back to haunt him. Now he's hunting French in the lawless Wild West forests of Humboldt County, where the US produces most of its legal - and illegal - cannabis. But French isn't the only predator in the wilderness - there are Mexican cartels, Russian Mafia and Hungarian gangsters - and Standing has to overcome them all to get to his target.
The SAS are used to deaths during combat - it goes with the turf. But when one of their own is said to have committed suicide in Thailand, red flags are raised. Pete Green wasn't the sort of soldier who would ever take his own life - and no one is more sure of that than his twin brother, Davie. Davie is determined to fly to the Land Of Smiles to find out what really happened to his twin brother. But if he is going to find out the truth he'll need help - the sort of help only SAS Sergeant Matt Standing can provide. But soon after they arrive they come under attack, leaving Standing to investigate on his own. There are clearly people who want to shut down all enquiries and Standing knows he will have to use all his SAS jungle skills to survive. This will be the toughest of assignments but nothing will come between him and the truth ...
February, 2022. Russia invades Ukraine, the biggest attack on a European country since World War I. Matt ‘Lastman’ Standing and a crack SAS team are sent in to the war zone. Their mission - to help the Ukrainians defend their country from the Russian invaders. But when Russian mercenaries begin committing atrocities and war crimes in occupied Ukraine, MI6 decides to change the rules of engagement. Standing and his team are given new orders - to take out the Russian president, one of the most protected men in the world. It has all the makings of a suicide mission, but Standing is the last man to turn down a challenge. Praise for Stephen Leather He has the uncanny knack of producing plots that are all too real — Daily Mail The sheer impetus of his storytelling is damned hard to resist. — Daily Express A master of the thriller genre. — Irish Times