Dark Arena

A high-stakes thriller that could be ripped from today's headlines – from the bestselling author of The Frenchman.

Alec de Payns, espionage operative of the Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service, is tasked with hunting down an agent of influence posting highly classified material against the Kremlin to embassies all over Europe.
A deadly conspiracy is aligning the West against Russia. But who is behind it? And to what end?

The clues lead to a secret meeting of businessmen, terrorists and mercenaries on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean, which de Payns must infiltrate. What he discovers sets off a Europe-wide manhunt in a desperate scramble to prevent an international catastrophe.

Former DGSE spy Jack Beaumont's Dark Arena is another chillingly plausible thriller delivering all the taut plotting, superb action and authentic spycraft that made The Frenchman a critically acclaimed bestseller.

'If it wasn't for my background, I would have said that this was fiction, but knowing what I know, Dark Arena is as real and as deeply disturbing as a world I once knew.' - Ant Middleton, former UK Special Forces

'A rollicking good read. Espionage skills abound in each fast-paced chapter. Lovers of spy novels are in for a treat – another exciting glimpse into contemporary yet fictional intelligence work.' - Paul Symon AO, former Director-General, Australian Secret Intelligence Service