**Shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey First Novel Dagger** An Australian bestseller! Geopolitics and espionage collide in this explosive espionage thriller. 'Hands down the best debut of the year' Tim Shipman 'My favourite debut novel of 2025’ Antonia Senior THREE WORDS IN MANDARIN. THAT’S ALL IT TAKES TO END THE WORLD. Planes circle, unable to land. The phone lines are down. The power is out. And the only person who knows why is dead. That man was Sebastian, a handsome politician on the rise. Charlie, his political attack dog and childhood friend, just watched him kill himself. Then the Secret Intelligence Service comes knocking. What the hell did Sebastian do? And can Charlie find out before the world implodes? The Peak is a nailbiting and fast-moving international thriller that weaves a story of friendship and betrayal together with the ruthless geopolitics of China's rise, set in the last twenty four hours of the world as we know it. ________________________ Readers love The Peak: 'Rewrites the script for spy fiction in the 21st century' Nigel Inkster, former Deputy Chief MI6 ‘Packed with lies, sex and betrayal, a compelling debut’ – Daily Mail 'Fast, furious and original’ The Sun ‘[An] impressive first novel … illuminating and extremely alarming’ Literary Review 'True to life … Sam Guthrie’s own diplomatic experience adds a bit of heft to the novel’s ominous undertow' The Times 'A compelling, authentic tale of politics and espionage … A stunning debut' Jason King, Spybrary 'A taught and compelling tale recommended for fans of Tom Fletcher and Frederick Forsyth' real reader review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This was everything I love in a book and I just wish there were more books like this out there' real reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I absolutely couldn’t put it down – even reading well through one night' real reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'An excellent political thriller and one heck of a debut' real reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A fast-paced and edge-of-the-seat political thriller' real reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This is one cracking, outstanding, excellent political thriller debut and if that’s a genre you like, this is a MUST read' real reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐