Claymore Straker
4 primary works
Book 1
When he is hijacked by Islamic terrorists, an oil company engineer is forced to investigate a mysterious illness afflicting a small Yemen village … with shocking results. A stunning debut thriller and first in the addictive, eye-opening Claymore Straker series.
***Shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger***
***Book of the Year in the TELEGRAPH***
'Just occasionally, a book comes along to restore your faith in a genre and Paul Hardisty's The Abrupt Physics of Dying does this in spades' The Times
‘A stormer of a thriller – vividly written, utterly topical, totally gripping' Peter James
‘Remarkably well-written and sophisticated’ Literary Review
‘A page-turning adventure that grabs you from the first page and won’t let go’ Edward Wilson
____________________
One man. An oil company. A decision that could cost his life.
Claymore Straker is trying to forget a violent past. Working as an oil company engineer in the wilds of Yemen, he is hijacked at gunpoint by Islamic terrorists. Clay has a choice: help uncover the cause of a mysterious sickness afflicting the village of Al Urush, close to the company’s oil-processing facility, or watch Abdulkader, his driver and close friend, die.
As the country descends into civil war and village children start dying, Clay finds himself caught up in a ruthless struggle between opposing armies, controllers of the country’s oil wealth, Yemen’s shadowy secret service, and rival terrorist factions.
As Clay scrambles to keep his friend alive, he meets Rania, a troubled journalist. Together, they try to uncover the truth about Al Urush. But nothing in this ancient, unforgiving place is as it seems. Accused of a murder he did not commit, put on the CIA’s most-wanted list, Clay must come to terms with his past and confront the powerful forces that want him dead.
A stunning debut eco-thriller, The Abrupt Physics of Dying will not only open your eyes, but keep them glued to the page until the final, stunning denouement is reached.
____________________
‘Trenchant and engaging’ Stav Sherez, Catholic Herald
‘A solid, meaty thriller – Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character’ Lee Child
‘Full of thrills, spills and moral indignation … an outstanding debut’ Jake Kerridge, Telegraph
‘Fast-paced and cleverly written, this novel has bestseller written all over it’ West Australian
‘An exceptional debut, beautifully written, blisteringly authentic, heartstoppingly tense and unusually moving. Definite award material' Paul Johnston
‘A thriller of the highest quality, with the potential to one day stand in the company of such luminaries as Bond and Bourne’ Live Many Lives
‘A big, powerful, sophisticated and page-turning thriller – thought-provoking and prescient' Eve Seymour
'A forceful first novel by a writer not afraid of weighty issues and visibly in love with the beauty of the Yemen and desert landscapes his protagonists travel through’ Maxim Jakubowski
‘Searing … at times achieves the level of genuine poetry’ Publishers Weekly STARRED review
‘A fast-paced action thriller, beautifully written’ Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography
***Shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger***
***Book of the Year in the TELEGRAPH***
'Just occasionally, a book comes along to restore your faith in a genre and Paul Hardisty's The Abrupt Physics of Dying does this in spades' The Times
‘A stormer of a thriller – vividly written, utterly topical, totally gripping' Peter James
‘Remarkably well-written and sophisticated’ Literary Review
‘A page-turning adventure that grabs you from the first page and won’t let go’ Edward Wilson
____________________
One man. An oil company. A decision that could cost his life.
Claymore Straker is trying to forget a violent past. Working as an oil company engineer in the wilds of Yemen, he is hijacked at gunpoint by Islamic terrorists. Clay has a choice: help uncover the cause of a mysterious sickness afflicting the village of Al Urush, close to the company’s oil-processing facility, or watch Abdulkader, his driver and close friend, die.
As the country descends into civil war and village children start dying, Clay finds himself caught up in a ruthless struggle between opposing armies, controllers of the country’s oil wealth, Yemen’s shadowy secret service, and rival terrorist factions.
As Clay scrambles to keep his friend alive, he meets Rania, a troubled journalist. Together, they try to uncover the truth about Al Urush. But nothing in this ancient, unforgiving place is as it seems. Accused of a murder he did not commit, put on the CIA’s most-wanted list, Clay must come to terms with his past and confront the powerful forces that want him dead.
A stunning debut eco-thriller, The Abrupt Physics of Dying will not only open your eyes, but keep them glued to the page until the final, stunning denouement is reached.
____________________
‘Trenchant and engaging’ Stav Sherez, Catholic Herald
‘A solid, meaty thriller – Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character’ Lee Child
‘Full of thrills, spills and moral indignation … an outstanding debut’ Jake Kerridge, Telegraph
‘Fast-paced and cleverly written, this novel has bestseller written all over it’ West Australian
‘An exceptional debut, beautifully written, blisteringly authentic, heartstoppingly tense and unusually moving. Definite award material' Paul Johnston
‘A thriller of the highest quality, with the potential to one day stand in the company of such luminaries as Bond and Bourne’ Live Many Lives
‘A big, powerful, sophisticated and page-turning thriller – thought-provoking and prescient' Eve Seymour
'A forceful first novel by a writer not afraid of weighty issues and visibly in love with the beauty of the Yemen and desert landscapes his protagonists travel through’ Maxim Jakubowski
‘Searing … at times achieves the level of genuine poetry’ Publishers Weekly STARRED review
‘A fast-paced action thriller, beautifully written’ Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography
Book 2
Betrayed. A price on his head. It's easy to survive, until they threaten her too...
Claymore Straker is a fugitive with a price on his head. Wanted by the CIA for acts of terrorism he did not commit, his best friend has just been murdered and Rania, the woman he loves, has disappeared. Betrayed by those closest to him, he must flee the sanctuary of his safe house in Cornwall and track her down. As his pursuers close in, Clay follows Rania to Istanbul and then to Cyprus, where he is drawn into a violent struggle between the Russian mafia, Greek Cypriot extremists, and Turkish developers cashing in on the tourism boom.
As the island of love descends into chaos, and the horrific truth is unveiled, Clay must call on every ounce of skill and endurance to save Rania and put an end to the unimaginable destruction being wrought in the name of profit.
Gripping, exhilarating, and above all, frighteningly realistic, The Evolution of Fear is a startling, eye-opening read that demands the question: how much is truth, and how much is fiction?
'I'm a sucker for genuine thrillers with powerful redemptive themes, but what spoke to me more strongly than anything was the courage, integrity and passion with which this novel is written' Eve Seymour, Cheltenham Standard
'A solid, meaty thriller - Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character' Lee Child
'A Stormer of a thriller: vividly written, utterly tropical, totally gripping' Peter James
Claymore Straker is a fugitive with a price on his head. Wanted by the CIA for acts of terrorism he did not commit, his best friend has just been murdered and Rania, the woman he loves, has disappeared. Betrayed by those closest to him, he must flee the sanctuary of his safe house in Cornwall and track her down. As his pursuers close in, Clay follows Rania to Istanbul and then to Cyprus, where he is drawn into a violent struggle between the Russian mafia, Greek Cypriot extremists, and Turkish developers cashing in on the tourism boom.
As the island of love descends into chaos, and the horrific truth is unveiled, Clay must call on every ounce of skill and endurance to save Rania and put an end to the unimaginable destruction being wrought in the name of profit.
Gripping, exhilarating, and above all, frighteningly realistic, The Evolution of Fear is a startling, eye-opening read that demands the question: how much is truth, and how much is fiction?
'I'm a sucker for genuine thrillers with powerful redemptive themes, but what spoke to me more strongly than anything was the courage, integrity and passion with which this novel is written' Eve Seymour, Cheltenham Standard
'A solid, meaty thriller - Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character' Lee Child
'A Stormer of a thriller: vividly written, utterly tropical, totally gripping' Peter James
Book 3
Fresh from events in Yemen and Cyprus, vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker returns to South Africa, seeking absolution for the sins of his past. Over four days, he testifies to Desmond Tutu's newly established Truth and Reconciliation Commission, recounting the shattering events that led to his dishonourable discharge and exile, fifteen years earlier.
It was 1980. The height of the Cold War. Clay is a young paratrooper in the South African Army, fighting in Angola against the Communist insurgency that threatens to topple the White Apartheid regime. Witness and unwitting accomplice to an act of shocking brutality, Clay changes allegiance and finds himself labelled a deserter and accused of high treason, setting him on a journey into the dark, twisted heart of institutionalised hatred, from which no one will emerge unscathed.
Exploring true events from one of the most hateful chapters in South African history, Reconciliation for the Dead is a shocking, explosive and gripping thriller from one finest writers in contemporary crime fiction.
'This is a remarkably well-written, sophisticated novel in which the people and places, as well as frequent scenes of violent action, all come alive on the page...' Jessica Mann, Literary Review
'A solid, meaty thriller - Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character' Lee Child
'A stormer of a thriller, vividly written, utterly tropical, totally gripping' Peter James
'The author's deep knowledge of the settings never slows down the non-stop action, with distant echoes of a more moral-minded Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne' Maxim Jakubowski
It was 1980. The height of the Cold War. Clay is a young paratrooper in the South African Army, fighting in Angola against the Communist insurgency that threatens to topple the White Apartheid regime. Witness and unwitting accomplice to an act of shocking brutality, Clay changes allegiance and finds himself labelled a deserter and accused of high treason, setting him on a journey into the dark, twisted heart of institutionalised hatred, from which no one will emerge unscathed.
Exploring true events from one of the most hateful chapters in South African history, Reconciliation for the Dead is a shocking, explosive and gripping thriller from one finest writers in contemporary crime fiction.
'This is a remarkably well-written, sophisticated novel in which the people and places, as well as frequent scenes of violent action, all come alive on the page...' Jessica Mann, Literary Review
'A solid, meaty thriller - Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character' Lee Child
'A stormer of a thriller, vividly written, utterly tropical, totally gripping' Peter James
'The author's deep knowledge of the settings never slows down the non-stop action, with distant echoes of a more moral-minded Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne' Maxim Jakubowski
Book 4
It's 1997, and eight months since vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker fled South Africa after his explosive testimony to Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
In Paris, Rania LaTour, Claymore's former lover, comes home to find that her son and her husband, a celebrated human rights lawyer, have disappeared. On an isolated island off the coast of East Africa, the family that Clay has befriended is murdered as he watches. Relentlessly pursued by those who want them dead, they must work together to uncover the truth, and to find a way to survive in a world gone mad.
At times brutal, often lyrical, but always gripping, Absolution is a thriller that will leave you breathless and questioning the very basis of how we live and why we love.
'Searing ... at times achieves the level of genuine poetry' Publishers Weekly
'A stormer of a thriller - vividly written, utterly tropical, totally gripping' Peter James
'A solid, meaty thriller - Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character' Lee Child
'A fast-paced action thriller, beautifully written' Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography
In Paris, Rania LaTour, Claymore's former lover, comes home to find that her son and her husband, a celebrated human rights lawyer, have disappeared. On an isolated island off the coast of East Africa, the family that Clay has befriended is murdered as he watches. Relentlessly pursued by those who want them dead, they must work together to uncover the truth, and to find a way to survive in a world gone mad.
At times brutal, often lyrical, but always gripping, Absolution is a thriller that will leave you breathless and questioning the very basis of how we live and why we love.
'Searing ... at times achieves the level of genuine poetry' Publishers Weekly
'A stormer of a thriller - vividly written, utterly tropical, totally gripping' Peter James
'A solid, meaty thriller - Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character' Lee Child
'A fast-paced action thriller, beautifully written' Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography