The Twentieth Man

(Paperback)

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'... a political thriller in the Robert Harris mould ... Jones cleverly weaves fact and fiction - and has great fun painting 'real' characters like the wilful Lionel Murphy.' Jennifer Byrne, The Australian Women's Weekly

'An engaging political thriller ... reminds us of the importance of investigative journalism in a democracy.' The Sydney Morning Herald

In September 1972, journalist Anna Rosen takes an early morning phone call from her boss at the ABC, telling her about two bombings in Sydney's busy CBD. It's the worst terrorist attack in the country's history and Anna has no doubt which group is responsible for the carnage. She has been investigating the role of alleged war criminals in the globally active Ustasha movement.

High in the Austrian Alps, Marin Katich is one of twenty would-be revolutionaries who slip stealthily over the border into Yugoslavia on a mission planned and funded in Australia. It will have devastating consequences for all involved.

Soon the arrival in Australia of Yugoslavia's prime minister will trigger the next move in a deadly international struggle.

Tony Jones, one of Australia's most admired journalists, has written a brilliantly compelling thriller, taking us from the savage mountains of Yugoslavia to Canberra's brutal yet covert power struggles in a novel that's intelligent, informed and utterly suspenseful.

'... the action of the novel is deftly strung together [and] the research is palpable on the page.' The Australian

Reviews

"A political thriller in the Robert Harris mould . . . Jones cleverly weaves fact and fiction - and has great fun painting 'real' characters like the wilful Lionel Murphy." --Australian Women's Weekly
"An engaging political thriller . . . reminds us of the importance of investigative journalism in a democracy." --Sydney Morning Herald
"The action of the novel is deftly strung together [and] the research is palpable on the page." --Australian

Author Bio

Tony Jones was still at school when Lionel Murphy raided ASIO. After an ABC cadetship, he joined Four Corners as a reporter in 1985, and then went to Dateline at SBS in 1986. He subsequently was an ABC foreign correspondent, for a time in London and later in Washington. Inter alia, he covered the war crimes in Bosnia. Today he hosts Q & A on Monday nights. He is married to fellow ABC journalist, Sarah Ferguson. The Twentieth Man is his first novel.