Dark Horizon

by James Swallow

A fatal crash on a rain-slick road and a brutal murder in a small town set off a deadly chain of events, leading from the dark skies over the Atlantic to an explosive confrontation on a remote desert airstrip...

Only a handful of people know the truth of why Kate Hood left the military in disgrace; now a contract pilot for a private jet company, she's looking for a second chance... And to keep her secrets she must take a last-minute assignment to fly a covert cargo to a non-extradition country.

The cargo is a prisoner who may be the key to a violent international conspiracy – but he swears he is an innocent man, wrongly accused of crimes he played no part in. And as Kate races through the night, on the ground a pair of ruthless assassins are hunting her family, threatening their lives to force the pilot to divert the aircraft – but do they intend to liberate the captive, or kill him?

Trapped at the centre of an escalating crisis, Kate and her passenger must navigate the conflicting agendas of enemies and allies, on a flight into danger that neither of them may survive...

Genres: Thriller, Fiction

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 25, 2023

About the author

James Swallow is a New York Times, Sunday Times and Amazon #1 bestselling author and scriptwriter, a BAFTA nominee, a former journalist and the award-winning writer of over sixty-five books, along with scripts for video games, comics, radio and television.

DARK HORIZON, his latest stand-alone thriller, is out now from Mountain Leopard Press, and OUTLAW, the 6th action-packed Marc Dane novel, is published by Bonnier.

Along with the Marc Dane thrillers, his writing includes, the Sundowners steampunk Westerns and fiction from the worlds of Star Trek, Tom Clancy, 24, Warhammer 40000, Doctor Who, Deus Ex, Stargate, 2000AD and many more.

For information on new releases & more, sign up to the Readers’ Club here: www.bit.ly/JamesSwallow

Visit James's website at http://www.jswallow.com/ for more, including ROUGH AIR, a free eBook novella in the Marc Dane series.

You can also follow James on Bluesky at @jmswallow.bsky.social, Twitter at @jmswallow, Mastodon at @jmswallow@mstdn.social and jmswallow.tumblr.com at Tumblr.

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, the characters were so well written and I liked the interaction between Kate and Lilian.

[Anschen Conradie · Rating 4 out of 5]

#DarkHorizon – James Swallow
#Welbeck
#JonathanBall

In law rendition is a term describing the surrendering of persons or property from one jurisdiction to another. In matters of national security, especially in the US, the meaning is very specific and refers to the covert transport of a potential witness from US soil to a country with less rigorous humane rights applicable to prisoners for ‘enhanced interrogation’ to be affected whilst the government can maintain plausible deniability.

A tractor parked in a remote country lane interferes with this very plan and has far-reaching consequences: a distracted driver crashes his glamorous Porsche Cayman; in a rural English village, a mother and daughter are savagely butchered with an expensive chef’s knife; a firefighter and his 13-year-old son are held hostage at gunpoint in their own home; a hostile ground crew is determined to bring down a Hawker 800 flying to Morocco nocturnally and a pilot working for a private aviation company goes rogue and hijacks her company’s airplane whilst flying at 40 000 feet.

The author is internationally renowned for his high-octane series featuring Marc Dane and is credited with the ability to write action sequences with cinematographic clarity. This standalone thriller is no exception; the main difference being that the protagonist is female. Up against MI6, the CIA, and a deadly terrorist cell, she is no idle threat herself; after dishonorable discharge from the military, she may be leading a tranquil suburban life, but her abilities remain intact.

The pace is super-fast and the tension mounts consistently until the very last page; exactly what the reader would expect of a novel opening with a literal bang when a vehicle borne explosive device sets the wheels of action in motion. Recommended for lovers of political thrillers - those not subject to a fear of flying and high-altitude action.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #Uitdieperdsebek

[Nix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazeballs book by James Swallow!!!

I absolutely LOVE when James Swallow's books pops up on Netgalley as I know they are going to be fantastic to read.

Pace, intrigue, well developed characters, unexpected turns, and satisfactory ending!

Dark Horizon delivers on all of the above points!

Kate Hood left the military in disgrace and she is now working as a contract pilot for a private jet company doing the luxury flights only the mega rich can afford.

Late one evening, she's called in to do a flight which normally would have been taken by one of her colleagues but as he didn't show up, the pressure is on her to step up.

She quickly realises that this flight is not like the others she has done for the company and she's very reluctant to go through with it; that is until she realises that she doesn't really have a choice!

Thank you to NetGalley and Welbeck Publishing for allowing me to read this eARC. The book is due to be published on 25 May 2022, but you can pre-order your copy now.

#DarkHorizon #NetGalley

[Ieva Valentinavičiūtė · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this book was okay. It’s fast-paced, which I enjoyed, but I struggled to get into it at first—it took about 100 pages before I really felt interested. The writing style wasn’t my favorite, particularly because the point-of-view shifts between people involved in the hijackimg and the hostages on land were abrupt. Instead of switching between chapters, these perspectives would jump within paragraphs, which I found distracting and it pulled me out of the story, but maybe it was hard to focus because I was reading this while tired. That said, the plot is gripping once it gets going, with plenty of action, though it didn’t feel very original.

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect sort of breathless, read-in-one-sitting thriller that absolutely hits the spot for this sort of book. You might be able to see what’s coming with some of the plot strands, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining – from tense, exciting action to bitter ideological discussions, it’s all remarkably believable and utterly gripping. Across the multiple viewpoints Swallow smartly covers every angle on the story, maintaining a snappy pace while also providing both personal and broader, geopolitical motivations and context for what’s going on. If you’re in the market for a standalone thriller to completely lose yourself in, especially if you enjoy the thrill of mid-air danger, then I’d definitely recommend you pick up Dark Horizon.

Read my full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2023/09/...

[Rudrashree Makwana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Horizon is a poignant, action packed and twisted book. A fatal crash and a brutal murder of Colin Brady then murder of John Price in small town has not only torn apart the families but the unfortunate events due to secrets and conspiracies followed by terrorist activities has made it unsafe for everyone. Now Kate Hood is harbouring her own secret behind leaving the military. She had plans with Alex and her son George but the last minute assignment to fly a covert cargo to a non-extradition country has turned her life upside down. In the midst of secrets, violent terrorist conspiracy, enemies and allies, it has become such a predicament for her. Her decision will not only threaten her life but Alex and George’s life too depends on her. After fighting for survival and navigating a way through a dark passageway of dangers, violence and conspiracy, Kate can save herself, her family and passengers. But will she find her way out of dark horizon?

The author has done a brilliant job, it’s heart-throbbing and gripping thriller. Twists after twists will keep you at edge and the strong protagonist like Kate will touch your heart. The author has very well elaborated the crisis in the cargo as well as the crisis on ground. It was touching how Alex was fighting for George.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate is a pilot with a history, so her only way to fly is with a no questions asked aviation company. Things don't feel right before she's even set off, and they become a lot worse when her family is in danger, too.

This is such a high octane read from the start and doesn't stop until the final page. This fast-paced story starts with a car bomb and delivers a thrill a minute ride. Absolutely fantastic reading.

[Neville Townsend]

An excellent thrill ride, non stop action keeps you racing to the end. Great characters and plotting, could not put it down. Pilot Kate Hood is forced to fly a plane to an African country while her family are being held hostage. An action packed thriller you expect from James Swallow.
I received this book from Welbeck publishing and Netgalley for a review.

[Tom - Reader of Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmm, not sure went wrong for me but I didn’t click with this like so many other people seem to have done.

The action was ok, the plot was mediocre and the characters had some passing fascination but really it just felt a bit flat overall. Landed some solid punches just nothing knock out for me!

[Steve Mccool · Rating 3 out of 5]

good plot, nicely paced, absurd body count

Not unique but unusual and I liked the development of the plot. I read it over a few days. But the body count just keeps piling up and it feels like we lose all grip on reality.

[Dymocks Indooroopilly]

When ex-military contract pilot Kate Hood took a last-minute job, she couldn’t have imagined what would happen next! With a prisoner who swears he’s innocent, corrupt officials, and assassins in the mix, this gripping thriller is not to be missed.

[Germaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

[Hala · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does what it says on the tin, it is a decent thriller, with high stakes and good action sequences. The airborne sequences were quite well done and nail biting - Swallow has done his research on aviation. My only quibble, the Iraqi terrorists were straight out of central casting harping on about the evil 'infidels' of the West and acting shocked upon learning that a western woman is 'living in sin'. If you can cope with that tired old angle, then this a fairly good way to pass a few hours with fairly decent plotting which includes no real surprises about who triumphs in the end.

[Samantha-jane Osmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced thriller

This book was a very fast paced book, with plenty of intensity. I loved the back stories and characters. Really enjoyable read

[Vicky Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to have a bad ass female lead character in the middle of a terrorist plot!

[Dave Livesey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it ... but not as much as the Marc Dane books.

[Mancman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked on a whim, this wasn’t terrible, but I wasn’t exactly blown away by it either.
It’s pacy, but the plot was fairly predictable, though a couple of small twists kept it engaging.

[Allan Childerley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good storyline with plenty of action. Decent build up of characters. Tidy ending.

[Michal Neckař · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason this has not been translated to czech. So original printing is the only way.

[Gwyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the Marc Dane series. A high-octane adventure, but a bit too cheap and cheerful for my liking.

[Andrew Mccann · Rating 2 out of 5]

got 113 pages in and thought ' nah, no interest in this

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok read.

[Hanlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another high-octane action thriller from the master James Swallow and what an ending! It is one of those that keeps me up at night thinking of all the different scenarios that can play out!

If you're in the mood for car crashes, hostage situations, hijacked airplanes as well as a lot of bad guys this is a definite read!
Kate Hood is one badass character who's got to make a very tough decision but if you have to decide between your loved ones or one bad guy is it such a difficult one?
She is forced to take over as a pilot of a plane that is on a covert mission to transport an alleged terrorist to a Black Ops site but there are people whose mission it is to not let this happen. Who will come out as the victor and how many lives will be lost? Will her partner Alex and his son George be collateral damage?

Put your seatbelt on and your seat in the upright position and get ready for a wild ride!
Thank you to Netgalley and Welbeck Publishing UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion