THE SERPENT IS LOOSE THE WORLD IS THE TARGET When elite interrogator Malcolm Chaucer is pulled into a covert investigation, he uncovers a nightmare no intelligence agency is prepared a new breed of sleeper agents who don’t know they’re sleepers—men and women rewritten from the inside out, capable of passing every test and betraying everything they once were. Following their trail leads Chaucer and his lethal ex‑wife, Tempest MacLaren, from an underwater black‑site to a luxury island resort, and from London’s busiest train station to the heart of the Middle East—where a long‑buried Soviet doomsday weapon known as the Red Serpent is about to be unleashed. A weapon that could collapse global economies, and ignite worldwide war. The mastermind behind the plot is Petr Chaban, a man who survived the same torture that once broke Chaucer—and emerged with a terrifying new humanity is nothing, and the world must burn to be remade. Hunted by governments, manipulated by shadows, and racing against time, Chaucer must decide how far he’s willing to go to save the world, and the woman he loves—and whether stopping the Serpent is worth becoming the monster who can. Relentless, explosive, and disturbingly plausible, Year of the Serpent is a high‑octane conspiracy thriller where loyalty is fragile, identity is weaponized, and survival is never guaranteed.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “Could. Not. Stop. Reading!” ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “Firing on every cylinder from its gripping opening to its unnerving, unforgettable end!” ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “WOW!!! FANTASTIC AND UNPUTDOWNABLE!” ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “This book is a masterpiece of storytelling.” ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “Malcolm Chaucer may have just passed Reacher as my favorite action hero!”
The Year of the Horse takes us on a painful but fascinating journey into Malcolm Chaucer's tortured (literally) past.
In this most character-driven book of the series, T.D. Donnelly expertly looks under the mental hood of a protagonist who has successfully transformed his personal trauma into unique talent. Chaucer and his "one lie a day" program make him a deeply human and vulnerable lead in a genre often dominated by near-invincible leads.
The book is an exceptionally fast read that thrusts the viewer forward like in a great movie, reflecting Donnelly's screenwriting chops. Not to spoil anything, but like a great movie, a thriller is often only as good as its villain and this book delivers one that rivals the greats of Ian Fleming or John Le Carré.
Donnelly has created a propulsive, thought-provoking thriller that confirms Malcolm Chaucer as one of the most compelling characters in modern spy fiction. If you haven't committed to this series yet, you should.