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The Unforgiven Spy: book one in the Spies for Hire series
From best selling author Gavin Stone of the non-fiction book "How to tell if someone is lying" this is his debut fiction novel. The first in the 'Spies for Hire' series.
Former British Intelligence contractor Jensen is a first time dad and about to start a fresh life in the civilian world. His best friend Marshall is also a freelance U.S. intelligence contractor and has shared many assignments with him over the years. Just when both men think they’re about to embark on a peaceful future, their past comes back to haunt them. Marshall’s ex-girlfriend is killed by the head of an organised crime syndicate that both Marshall and Jensen have clashed with before. Shortly after, Jensen’s American wife and daughter are kidnapped from their home in England. Relying on their skills, Jensen and Marshall do what they’ve been trained for and set out to rescue Jensen’s family.
After a wild shootout exchange in London, Jensen and Marshall want to end this personal war once and for all. They enlist their colleague Darius to undertake an unsanctioned mission to take down their enemy at his base of operations in Syria. Things go from bad to worse as they embark on a chaotic hunt across England and Europe, while trying to stay off the grid. And matters further escalate when the CIA gets involved and has an alternative agenda.
Even if Jensen and his friends make it to Syria, they’ll be outgunned, outnumbered and out of their depth.
This gritty action packed thriller will have you gripped as you journey every step of the way with the three operatives. The question is not only will they succeed, but also will they make it home?
“Full-throttle action combined with the canny intricacies of espionage tradecraft. A magnificent debut from a man who’s walked the walk and also happens to be a gifted storyteller.” ——Matthew Dunn, bestselling author of the “Spycatcher” and “Ben Sign” series, and former MI6 spy.
"As you read this book, you can tell it's written from experience. A level of realism as well as humor, adds to the action from the very beginning. Gavin has been there and done it which shows as you read. Great novel, great characters and an amazing writing style. I love the Tradedcraft sections all the way through and I can't wait for the next in the series!" —— Adam Campbell, Former MI5 intelligence officer."A gripping book from the start! Gavin's book is a tantalizing and clever thriller.
The Unforgiven Spy is a pulse-pounding, real-time adventure. I had a hard time putting it down. A compelling story with real spy insight and tactics sprinkled into this action-packed tale. Brilliant!" -Shavonne LaFauci US Naval Intelligence
Former British Intelligence contractor Jensen is a first time dad and about to start a fresh life in the civilian world. His best friend Marshall is also a freelance U.S. intelligence contractor and has shared many assignments with him over the years. Just when both men think they’re about to embark on a peaceful future, their past comes back to haunt them. Marshall’s ex-girlfriend is killed by the head of an organised crime syndicate that both Marshall and Jensen have clashed with before. Shortly after, Jensen’s American wife and daughter are kidnapped from their home in England. Relying on their skills, Jensen and Marshall do what they’ve been trained for and set out to rescue Jensen’s family.
After a wild shootout exchange in London, Jensen and Marshall want to end this personal war once and for all. They enlist their colleague Darius to undertake an unsanctioned mission to take down their enemy at his base of operations in Syria. Things go from bad to worse as they embark on a chaotic hunt across England and Europe, while trying to stay off the grid. And matters further escalate when the CIA gets involved and has an alternative agenda.
Even if Jensen and his friends make it to Syria, they’ll be outgunned, outnumbered and out of their depth.
This gritty action packed thriller will have you gripped as you journey every step of the way with the three operatives. The question is not only will they succeed, but also will they make it home?
“Full-throttle action combined with the canny intricacies of espionage tradecraft. A magnificent debut from a man who’s walked the walk and also happens to be a gifted storyteller.” ——Matthew Dunn, bestselling author of the “Spycatcher” and “Ben Sign” series, and former MI6 spy.
"As you read this book, you can tell it's written from experience. A level of realism as well as humor, adds to the action from the very beginning. Gavin has been there and done it which shows as you read. Great novel, great characters and an amazing writing style. I love the Tradedcraft sections all the way through and I can't wait for the next in the series!" —— Adam Campbell, Former MI5 intelligence officer."A gripping book from the start! Gavin's book is a tantalizing and clever thriller.
The Unforgiven Spy is a pulse-pounding, real-time adventure. I had a hard time putting it down. A compelling story with real spy insight and tactics sprinkled into this action-packed tale. Brilliant!" -Shavonne LaFauci US Naval Intelligence
252 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2022
18 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 23, 2025
I really enjoyed book 1 from Gavin Stone, so on to the 2nd. Spy tradecraft revealed and a whole lot of action throughout.
December 28, 2022
Thank You, For Giving the Reader Someone to Root For Again!
I first must preface with the fact that I know the Author, so while you may think my recommendation to be somewhat biased, you’d be wrong. I’ve been an avid reader all my (almost 60 years of) life, and I think it does no one a service to skew an opinion with personal feelings.
First, because I much prefer to “eat my peas” first (btw, I detest peas), a few negative points … it’s not long enough!! I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and had begun to “picture” them in my mind, but being so full of action, I came to the end of the story before I was ready! Okay, maybe not a true negative, it definitely left me wanting more .. in a good way!
I imagine since this will be a series, we (the readers) will get to know the wonderful characters better through each story. I am looking forward to understanding more of their perspectives and thought processes. In a first book it’s hard to get to all the layers, it takes time to peel them away, and while it may feel a little unfinished in a way, it also acts as a good method of whetting the appetite for more.
A great big POSITIVE for me, is this felt like a book from back in the day when heroes were heroes, bad guys were bad guys, and none of this anti-hero, shadow-hero, or bad-guy worship going on. There doesn’t seem to be any real happy endings any more. Look, we have all lived enough “reality” over the past three years, I want someone and something to cheer for again, and this book does that!
A good book, in my opinion, should inspire feelings of hopefulness, no matter how dark the setting and circumstance. You read the struggles, and you can relate to them, but you also get to see how they work and think, how they over come them, ways and tools for doing so. We need that in our books again, we need that today. It’s not sugar coating, but it’s not defeatist either, just the right mix for leaving the reader more uplifted and a little less down.
All in all, I enjoyed the book more than I have any book I read this past year (and I typically have 7 books going at a time, because I read so fast, I limit each book to read whenever I’m in a different location/circumstance). I couldn’t do that with this one … I tried, but I just kept wanting to keep reading. I stretched out the first 3 chapters, and then I couldn’t take it anymore … read the rest of the whole book this afternoon!!
Ok Gavin, you better be working on the next in this series, I’m fixing to start your other book and ima need something else good to read once I’ve gotten thru that one! ;)
I whole-heartedly recommend this book!!!
I first must preface with the fact that I know the Author, so while you may think my recommendation to be somewhat biased, you’d be wrong. I’ve been an avid reader all my (almost 60 years of) life, and I think it does no one a service to skew an opinion with personal feelings.
First, because I much prefer to “eat my peas” first (btw, I detest peas), a few negative points … it’s not long enough!! I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and had begun to “picture” them in my mind, but being so full of action, I came to the end of the story before I was ready! Okay, maybe not a true negative, it definitely left me wanting more .. in a good way!
I imagine since this will be a series, we (the readers) will get to know the wonderful characters better through each story. I am looking forward to understanding more of their perspectives and thought processes. In a first book it’s hard to get to all the layers, it takes time to peel them away, and while it may feel a little unfinished in a way, it also acts as a good method of whetting the appetite for more.
A great big POSITIVE for me, is this felt like a book from back in the day when heroes were heroes, bad guys were bad guys, and none of this anti-hero, shadow-hero, or bad-guy worship going on. There doesn’t seem to be any real happy endings any more. Look, we have all lived enough “reality” over the past three years, I want someone and something to cheer for again, and this book does that!
A good book, in my opinion, should inspire feelings of hopefulness, no matter how dark the setting and circumstance. You read the struggles, and you can relate to them, but you also get to see how they work and think, how they over come them, ways and tools for doing so. We need that in our books again, we need that today. It’s not sugar coating, but it’s not defeatist either, just the right mix for leaving the reader more uplifted and a little less down.
All in all, I enjoyed the book more than I have any book I read this past year (and I typically have 7 books going at a time, because I read so fast, I limit each book to read whenever I’m in a different location/circumstance). I couldn’t do that with this one … I tried, but I just kept wanting to keep reading. I stretched out the first 3 chapters, and then I couldn’t take it anymore … read the rest of the whole book this afternoon!!
Ok Gavin, you better be working on the next in this series, I’m fixing to start your other book and ima need something else good to read once I’ve gotten thru that one! ;)
I whole-heartedly recommend this book!!!
January 6, 2023
It's a short book, moves really quickly, and for a genre I don't really like I'm looking forward to reading the second in the series. I bought paperback. from Amazon, versions not up on Goodreads yet.
I'm not familiar with the genre enough to know how different the inclusion of what I'd traditionally expect to be footnotes being inline with the story ,and I'm curious as to how that's handled in the audio book.
This is not so much intrigue, as practical application of real-world tools / info to pull off a goal. E.G we know who needs a bullet, why they need a bullet and the conflict that arises when you can't actually put a bullet in them.
what stands out? humour , note I used the English spelling, and the aforementioned tradecraft .
I love the banter between the characters , though the CIA rep comes off too "Gunny" e.g., R Lee Ermey at the end, everything else clicked for me. There's some fourth wall nuking, breaking would be too subtle , but having bought Gavin Stone's prior works and being around his training that may not be as obvious to others.
Tradecraft, There's some really good info here everything from clearing a room, psychology ,improvised incendiaries, entry , concealed carry location, trailing people, body language, crossing a river and for the most part is in place adds to the understanding of the reader, one or two go a bit far and appear to be having a future debate with people that may have different view, still it's overwhelmingly positive and brings a level of verisimilitude to the book.
Also curious as to the use of the device where a punchline is withheld and comes back later, at least 2 maybe three times, will have to reread and given the author's background it may be there to get you to carry on, or at least think about the book since the brain doesn't like to be left hanging.
I'm not familiar with the genre enough to know how different the inclusion of what I'd traditionally expect to be footnotes being inline with the story ,and I'm curious as to how that's handled in the audio book.
This is not so much intrigue, as practical application of real-world tools / info to pull off a goal. E.G we know who needs a bullet, why they need a bullet and the conflict that arises when you can't actually put a bullet in them.
what stands out? humour , note I used the English spelling, and the aforementioned tradecraft .
I love the banter between the characters , though the CIA rep comes off too "Gunny" e.g., R Lee Ermey at the end, everything else clicked for me. There's some fourth wall nuking, breaking would be too subtle , but having bought Gavin Stone's prior works and being around his training that may not be as obvious to others.
Tradecraft, There's some really good info here everything from clearing a room, psychology ,improvised incendiaries, entry , concealed carry location, trailing people, body language, crossing a river and for the most part is in place adds to the understanding of the reader, one or two go a bit far and appear to be having a future debate with people that may have different view, still it's overwhelmingly positive and brings a level of verisimilitude to the book.
Also curious as to the use of the device where a punchline is withheld and comes back later, at least 2 maybe three times, will have to reread and given the author's background it may be there to get you to carry on, or at least think about the book since the brain doesn't like to be left hanging.
December 28, 2022
Very good first in a series from a new author. Spy action from start to finish with some surprises along the way.
Read
January 23, 2025Knows his subject matter.
Unfortunately, I didn't finish reading this one. For me, it was a bit too choppy. Seems as though it could use another edit to help it flow better.
Unfortunately, I didn't finish reading this one. For me, it was a bit too choppy. Seems as though it could use another edit to help it flow better.
March 29, 2025
Loved every minute reading this book! Couldn’t put it down! Can’t wait to read book 2!!
February 22, 2024
What an excellent debut from an author who has so much real life experience. I was so gutted when it ended, I felt like I'd done the journey with them. Realistic characters with the kind of genuine banter that happens in real life. So many tricks of the trade and industry secrets. I'm amazed he got it published. I cant wait for the next in the series.
February 17, 2023
Started to read this book and could not put it down, loved it action packed funny and gritty to,thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to see if there is a follow up to it ,best book ive read in a long time
April 25, 2025
A cracking debut from a genuine insider in the world of espionage and the dark arts. Gavin Stone brings the complexity of spies, operations, and life together in a page turning story with international proportions popping on every page. Well done!
May 6, 2024
Excellent book, very gripping read from start to finish with some truly incredible moments. A must read for any spy fan!
September 6, 2025
Good for an airplane ride
Typical spy, action type novel. Follow standard outline for the genre. Well enough writtenyour reading to the end, but all the twists and turns are fairly predictable.
Typical spy, action type novel. Follow standard outline for the genre. Well enough writtenyour reading to the end, but all the twists and turns are fairly predictable.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews