Killer Traitor Spy

By: Tim Ayliffe

Narrated by: Lani John Tupu

SET TO BE ADAPTED FOR THE SCREEN. Like Michael Connelly’s Bosch, John Bailey will risk everything to get to the truth – and expose a deadly enemy

Winner, 2024 Danger Awards, People's choice award
Shortlisted, 2024 Ned Kelly Awards, Best Crime Fiction

AN OLD WAR HAS A NEW BATTLEGROUND

Someone wants Russian millionaire Dmitry Lebedev dead. After years flying under the radar in Sydney, he’s just had a narrow escape when a sex worker is poisoned in his hotel
room. In desperation he contacts his former CIA case officer, Ronnie Johnson, offering to expose a traitor inside the Australian government in return for protection.

John Bailey has spent decades risking his life to break news stories. Along the way he’s made some interesting friends, including Ronnie — who saved his life in Iraq — and Scarlett Merriman, whose night with Lebedev left her in a coma. And now they both need Bailey’s help.

While Bailey investigates what happened to Scarlett, Ronnie Johnson is calling in an old debt. Because the same people going after Lebedev have framed Ronnie for murder.

From Canberra to Moscow to Beijing, Killer Traitor Spy uncovers the new lines of espionage in the twenty-first century. It proclaims Ayliffe as a master of the genre.

PRAISE FOR TIM AYLIFFE

‘A carefully crafted, propulsive thriller that sails uncomfortably close to the truth.’ Michael Brissenden

‘Torn from the headlines and relentlessly paced.’ Matthew Spencer

Critic reviews

‘A propulsive, sharply-plotted spy thriller. Torn from the headlines and relentlessly paced.’ (Matthew Spencer, author of Black River)

‘Tim Ayliffe writes on a grand scale—stories of international intrigue, extreme ideologies, life and death stakes—all told with a journalist’s insight into humanity at its worst and its best. With Killer Traitor Spy, Ayliffe proves he is a master of the genre.’ (Sulari Gentill, author of The Woman in the Library)

‘Ayliffe knows his stuff . . . Killer Traitor Spy is a carefully crafted, propulsive thriller that sails uncomfortably close to the truth.’ (Michael Brissenden, former ABC Moscow correspondent and author of The List)

‘Journalist turned author, Tim Ayliffe, continues to impress with his latest thriller. Cleverly examining espionage in Australia while producing an intense and entertaining story, Killer Traitor Spy is a captivating read that comes highly recommended.’