Book blurb...

‘Ayliffe delivers a taut, nail-biting page-turner straight from the headlines, stamping his mark on the modern day thriller’

John Bailey has a history of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The veteran war reporter has been kidnapped and tortured – twice. Finally he’s living something that resembles a normal life. But all that changes when a terrorist murders a woman in front of Bailey in London.

The mastermind behind the attack is Mustafa al-Baghdadi – No.1 on the FBI’s most wanted list – and the man who tortured Bailey in Fallujah a decade ago. Mustafa has a deadly axe to grind with Bailey. He taunts Bailey with threats of more attacks in other cities, closer to home.

Back in Sydney the teenage son of Bailey’s old driver from Iraq is missing, and the people who matter most to Bailey have become targets.

Bailey enlists the help of the only man he knows he can trust – ruthless CIA veteran Ronnie Johnson, supposedly retired – in a race against time to take down the world’s most deadly terrorist, once and for all.

My thoughts…

State of Fear is well paced and very realistic, which is a bit sad and scary.

I had mixed feelings about the characters and was very torn, especially when it came to the families of radicalised youth responsible for mass killings and casualies.

A good read with similar storylines to Greg Barron’s first 3 books, which I also really enjoyed.

I approached this book with great anticipation, having loved the author's debut novel The Greater Good, hoping that this offering would live up to it's predecessor. I'm happy to say it did, and more!

In this book John Bailey, a journalist battling demons, is witness to a terrorist attack in London, one that has far reaching consequences. Trouble has a habit of following Bailey, and back in his home town of Sydney things start to escalate as the war on terror touches Bailey personally. With the threat to his loved ones coming closer and closer, can Bailey hunt out the root of evil before a tragedy happens?

What can I say except I was glued to my seat the entire time I was reading this book. Tim Ayliffe can certainly tell a ripping yarn, and with John Bailey he has created a very real character, a world weary man who is totally relatable. It's a timely tale, as terrorism grips the world, and shows how fundamentalists really do come from all walks of life, and the threat is real and can be imminent. I highly recommend this book to all lovers of thrillers and suspense.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Taut political thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat till the very end.ayluffe holds the suspense to the final page.

What an amazing book a real page turner, John Bailey was a war reporter been kidnapped tortured thinks all is well until Mustafa resurfaces carrying out chilling terrorists attacks across Sydney - London a action packed book from start to finish which I throughly enjoyed reading