Hard Landing

The 1st Spider Shepherd Thriller

By: Stephen Leather

Narrated by: Paul Thornley

Stephen Leather's first hard-hitting, Dan 'Spider' Shepherd thriller, set in one of the most notorious and corrupt of British prisons.

Dan 'Spider' Shepherd is used to putting his life on the line. Working for an elite undercover squad he has lied, cheated and conned in order to bring Britain's most wanted criminals to justice.

But when a powerful drugs baron starts to kill off witnesses to his crimes, Shepherd is given his most dangerous assignment yet. He has to go undercover in a top security prison, a world where one wrong move will mean certain death.

As Shepherd gambles everything to move in on his quarry, he soon realises that the man he is hunting is even more dangerous than the police realise. And that he is capable of striking outside the prison walls and hitting Shepherd where it hurts most.

(P)2020 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2004 Stephen Leather

Critic reviews

Let Spider draw you into his web, you won't regret it.

A taut-page turner, it gives fascinating insight into life behind bars.

As tough as British thrillers get, Hard Landing is a gripping and enjoyable read.

Distracting performance

Starting the series I wanted to really love the performer. But he has a distracting mannerism: taking a breath for effect unnecessarily. He also misses making necessary pauses in between scenes. Lastly, there was an error in recording that was not cleaned up- in the delivery of a “what” that showed lack of respect for the audience.

loved it

perfect blend of action and suspense. Paul Thornley makes listening a pleasure. on to the next book.

Happy when it was over.

Sorry, but I found it tedious. Narration was excellent. My main problem was that 90% of the book took place in a very limited...background. I don’t want to say much more as it will spoil the story. A couple very exciting “scenes” but otherwise, I just did not enjoy this book.

really good writing

I'm glad they made The Chinaman into a great movie from an even better book. it led me to this writer. well written, engaging, and exciting. hope the next one is too!

As if a Daily Mail journalist wrote a book…

Leather can write white male macho characters, but seems to struggle with women, who he characterizes as constantly nagging or crying. And the less said about his treatment of black characters the better.