Unofficial and Deniable

The sins of the past come home to roost in the New South Africa in the action-packed new novel from a master of the international thriller.

The bestselling author of Hold My Hand I’m Dying and Roots of Outrage returns once more to the country he knows best – South Africa – for his heart-thumping new thriller, filled with political intrigue, courtroom drama and high adventure.

Since the historic 1994 elections brought in the New South Africa, Jack Harker, a former operative for South African military intelligence, has created a new identity for himself as a publisher in New York, and a new life with writer and activist Josephine Valentine, who knows nothing of his undercover past. But his world is suddenly thrown into turmoil when he hears about the new Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which offers amnesty to those who confess to crimes committed during the dark days of Apartheid, and prosecution to those who do not.

If Jack tells the truth about everything he was ordered to do in the service of his country, will Josephine ever be able to forgive him? If he keeps quiet, will former colleagues betray him? And will he even be given the choice? His confession would implicate a lot of powerful people, and it soon becomes clear that they will go to any lengths to ensure he will never be able to testify.

Reviews

‘A superior adventure thriller’
The Times

‘A tense drama with the history of the radical changes in South Africa as a backdrop. Davis has woven a telling yarn with a compassionate feel for his homeland and a wide understanding of just what did go on in those apartheid years’
Oxford Times

‘High intrigue and tense courtroom drama make John Gordon Davis’s latest novel a knockout read for demanding fiction fans. Great characters and a credible storyline combine to make it a winner all the way’
Bolton Evening News

About the author

John Gordon Davis was born in Rhodesia and was educated in South Africa. He practised as a lawyer, in Rhodesia and in Hong Kong, before the success of his first novel, Hold My Hand, I’m Dying, allowed him to take up writing full-time. Unofficial and Deniable is his fourteenth novel.