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Tom Marlowe #9
Shadow Threat
"You're nothing more than a living NFT, Thomas -- and I intend to make a literal killing from you!"
When ex-MI5 agent Tom Marlowe wakes to find a ten-million dollar bounty on his head, London erupts into chaos. His nemesis, St John Steele, has turned the city into a battleground, unleashing elite assassins in a twisted contest where every failed kill slashes the prize money in half. The longer Marlowe survives, the less he’s worth—forcing killers to act fast before the reward vanishes.
But the bounty is just the bait. Steele’s real game is $MARLOWE, a dark web cryptocurrency where high-stakes gamblers bet on Marlowe’s death—wagering on when, where, and even how he’ll be taken out. With anonymous backers funding increasingly bizarre assassination attempts, every encounter is a brutal, unpredictable fight for survival.
Hunted by killers, pursued by MI5, and unable to trust anyone, Marlowe is backed into a corner. As Steele manipulates the chaos to launder millions for his new secret empire, Marlowe must uncover the true scale of the conspiracy -- making alliances with unlikely candidates -- before his true friends are taken off the playing board permanently... leading to a final showdown atop Tower Bridge, where every move could be Marlowe’s last—and where lives will be changed forever.
The hunt is on. The world is watching. And for Marlowe, survival is a numbers game, where the clock is always ticking...
When ex-MI5 agent Tom Marlowe wakes to find a ten-million dollar bounty on his head, London erupts into chaos. His nemesis, St John Steele, has turned the city into a battleground, unleashing elite assassins in a twisted contest where every failed kill slashes the prize money in half. The longer Marlowe survives, the less he’s worth—forcing killers to act fast before the reward vanishes.
But the bounty is just the bait. Steele’s real game is $MARLOWE, a dark web cryptocurrency where high-stakes gamblers bet on Marlowe’s death—wagering on when, where, and even how he’ll be taken out. With anonymous backers funding increasingly bizarre assassination attempts, every encounter is a brutal, unpredictable fight for survival.
Hunted by killers, pursued by MI5, and unable to trust anyone, Marlowe is backed into a corner. As Steele manipulates the chaos to launder millions for his new secret empire, Marlowe must uncover the true scale of the conspiracy -- making alliances with unlikely candidates -- before his true friends are taken off the playing board permanently... leading to a final showdown atop Tower Bridge, where every move could be Marlowe’s last—and where lives will be changed forever.
The hunt is on. The world is watching. And for Marlowe, survival is a numbers game, where the clock is always ticking...
446 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 23, 2025
188 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Jack Gatland
59 books235 followersJack Gatland is the pen name of #1 New York Times Bestselling Writer Tony Lee, who has been writing in all medias for over thirty years including comics, graphic novels, middle grade books, audio drama, TV and film for DC, Marvel, BBC, ITV, Random House, Penguin USA, Hachette and a ton of other publishers and broadcasters on licenses such as Doctor Who, Spider Man, X-Men, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Doctors, Wallace and Gromit and Shrek. As Tony, he’s toured the country talking to reluctant readers with his ‘Change The Channel’ school tours.
He’s currently a member of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain, the Society of Authors, The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers and the Crime Writer’s Association.
As Jack, he’s writing a new series of Crime Thrillers starring Detective Inspector Declan Walsh, recently seconded to the City of London Police department known as the Last Chance Saloon.
The first twelve of these, LETTER FROM THE DEAD, MURDER OF ANGELS, HUNTER HUNTED, WHISPER FOR THE REAPER, TO HUNT A MAGPIE, A RITUAL FOR THE DYING, KILLING THE MUSIC, A DINNER TO DIE FOR, BEHIND THE WIRE, HEAVY IS THE CROWN, STALKING THE RIPPER and A QUIVER OF SORROWS are available now, with book thirteen, MURDER BY MISTLETOE released in December 2022 – with further adventures continuing throughout 2023.
In addition to that, the first book in a new series of Adventure Mysteries starring Robin-Hood style con-man forger-turned treasure hunter Damian Lucas, THE LIONHEART CURSE was released in January 2022, and he has both a new series of crime procedurals, spinning out of the DI Walsh series and featuring ‘Cop for Criminals’ Ellie Reckless including PAINT THE DEAD and STEAL THE GOLD, and a new spy series, spinning out of the DI Walsh series and featuring burned MI5 agent Tom Marlowe including SLEEPING SOLDIERS and TARGET LOCKED.
He can be found at www.tonylee.co.uk and www.jackgatland.com.
He’s currently a member of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain, the Society of Authors, The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers and the Crime Writer’s Association.
As Jack, he’s writing a new series of Crime Thrillers starring Detective Inspector Declan Walsh, recently seconded to the City of London Police department known as the Last Chance Saloon.
The first twelve of these, LETTER FROM THE DEAD, MURDER OF ANGELS, HUNTER HUNTED, WHISPER FOR THE REAPER, TO HUNT A MAGPIE, A RITUAL FOR THE DYING, KILLING THE MUSIC, A DINNER TO DIE FOR, BEHIND THE WIRE, HEAVY IS THE CROWN, STALKING THE RIPPER and A QUIVER OF SORROWS are available now, with book thirteen, MURDER BY MISTLETOE released in December 2022 – with further adventures continuing throughout 2023.
In addition to that, the first book in a new series of Adventure Mysteries starring Robin-Hood style con-man forger-turned treasure hunter Damian Lucas, THE LIONHEART CURSE was released in January 2022, and he has both a new series of crime procedurals, spinning out of the DI Walsh series and featuring ‘Cop for Criminals’ Ellie Reckless including PAINT THE DEAD and STEAL THE GOLD, and a new spy series, spinning out of the DI Walsh series and featuring burned MI5 agent Tom Marlowe including SLEEPING SOLDIERS and TARGET LOCKED.
He can be found at www.tonylee.co.uk and www.jackgatland.com.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 17, 2025
The latest Tom Marlowe spy thriller may be my favorite one so far! Tom finds himself the target of multiple professional assassins with a $12 million bounty on his head. St. John Steele is selling cryptocurrency called “Marlowe coin,” and the buyers get front row seats to Marlowe’s fight for his life. Marlowe and Trix are excellent, as always, and many of the regular characters make appearances. Very well done and packed with action!
August 1, 2025
As wonderful as always
I am still a little bit in love with Marlowe! His decisions and processes are a bit insane but very clever. Countdown to October now and thank you for yet another amazing book.
I am still a little bit in love with Marlowe! His decisions and processes are a bit insane but very clever. Countdown to October now and thank you for yet another amazing book.
October 28, 2025
Imaginative bit once again riddled with editing errors
Always an interesting narrative. Often poorly edited by wrought fairly well.
I'll keep reading the series but it's beginning to feel a little stale.
Always an interesting narrative. Often poorly edited by wrought fairly well.
I'll keep reading the series but it's beginning to feel a little stale.
June 26, 2025
One of my favorite books in this series. The return of familiar characters and opponents but a very innovative plot involving crypto currency.
July 3, 2025
Terrific as always
November 8, 2025
Short and sweet.
Mostly enjoyed the book but one thing wasted it for me - the use of "hyphens" instead of "dashes" throughout. It really stopped my enjoyment of the story, hence only four stars.
Mostly enjoyed the book but one thing wasted it for me - the use of "hyphens" instead of "dashes" throughout. It really stopped my enjoyment of the story, hence only four stars.
June 22, 2025
Shadow Threat by Jack Gatland is book 9 in the Tom Marlowe series. The Broker is a middleman, organising killings from a list of assassins he has. Who is the Broker? He has now set the killers on Tom and the prize is 12 million in cryptocurrency. It is almost like a game. St John Steele is still in the picture, carried on from previous books, but tracking him down is proving difficult. Steele seems to be building a new intelligence team, possibly gathering old Orchid members to create a new Orchid. This is a great read, a real thriller. Tom and Trix Preston work well together, Trix pre-empting his requests most of the time. She is a real whizz on the computer and at ferreting out information. The pace is frantic, and the storylines are exciting with different threads running through. Every now and then I had to stop reading momentarily and take a breath. An incredible amount of research has gone into the story, and it shows. Quite an intricate plot, a lot of moving parts, and they all fit together seamlessly, and the story flows well. It is best to read the series in order as characters and back stories run through the books.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews