The Defector: Book 2 in the Apollo Murders Series

(Hardback)

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Description

'A full throttle, adrenaline-laced espionage page-turner . . . Get ready to blast off and enjoy the ride!'

Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL Sniper and #1 New York Times bestselling author of the James Reece Terminal List series

'Continuous action, Mach-speed mayhem, sharp intrigue, and well-rounded characters - what more could you want from a thriller'

Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The 9th Man and the Cotton Malone series

Israel, late 1973. As the Yom Kippur War flares into life, a state-of-the-art Soviet MIG fighter is racing at breakneck speed over the arid scrublands below . . . and promptly disappears.

NASA Flight Controller and former US Navy test pilot Kaz Zemeckis watches the scene from the ground - and is quickly pulled into a dizzying, high-stakes game of spies, lies and a possible high-level defection that plays out across three continents.

The prize is beyond value: the secrets of the Soviets' mythical 'Foxbat' MiG-25, the fastest, highest-flying fighter plane in the world and the key to Cold War air supremacy. But every defection is double-edged with risk, and Kaz must tread a careful line between trust and suspicion. Ultimately, he must invite the fox into the henhouse - bringing the defector into the heart of the United States' most secret test site - and hope that, with skill and cunning, the game plays out his way.

For Chris Hadfield's second heart-stopping thriller, we move from Space to another rich and exciting part of Chris's CV: his time as a top test pilot in both the US Air Force and the US Navy, and as an RCAF fighter pilot intercepting armed Soviet bombers in North American airspace. Full of insider detail, excitement and political intrigue drawn from real events, The Defector brings us the nerve-shredding rush of aerial combat, as told by one of the world's best fighter pilots.

Praise for The Apollo Murders

'A nail-biting Cold War thriller' James Cameron

'An exciting journey to an alternate past' Andy Weir

'Not to be missed' Frederick Forsyth

'Explosive' Gregg Hurwitz

'Exciting, authentic' Linwood Barclay

Reviews

A Cold War thriller unlike anything you have ever read! From fighter pilot and astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield, The Defector is a full throttle, adrenaline-laced espionage page-turner spiked with history and intrigue that will leave you wondering if what you just read could have really happened. Get ready to blast off and enjoy the ride! * Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL Sniper and #1 New York Times bestselling author of the James Reece Terminal List series *
Continuous action, Mach-speed mayhem, sharp intrigue, and well-rounded characters - what more could you want from a thriller Oh, the author is a former-astronaut who knows what he's talking about and a lot of what's in the story actually happened. Perfect * Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The 9th Man and the Cotton Malone series *
PRAISE FOR CHRIS HADFIELD: 'Commander Hadfield takes us on an exciting journey into an alternate past' * Andy Weir, author of The Martian, on THE APOLLO MURDERS *

There's maybe one person on Earth with the writing chops and the expertise
to write a to-the-Moon thriller this exciting, this authentic. Chris Hadfield is that guy

* Linwood Barclay, New York Times bestselling author of Find You First, on THE APOLLO MURDERS *
Even in fiction there is authenticity. It is either there . . . or it is not. With Chris Hadfield it is, because everything he describes he has really seen * Frederick Forsyth, New York Times bestselling author of The Day of the Jackal and The Fox, on THE APOLLO MURDERS *
Hadfield's bona fides are unimpeachable * Chris Holm, author of The Killing Kind, on THE APOLLO MURDERS *
A terrific counterfactual thriller . . . an adroitly handled blend of twists and Cold War politics * The Times, on THE APOLLO MURDERS *

Author Bio

Colonel Chris Hadfield is one of the most seasoned and accomplished astronauts in the world. A multiple New York Times bestselling author, his books An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, You Are Here and The Darkest Dark have sold over a million copies worldwide.

He was the top test pilot in both the US Air Force and the US Navy, and a Cold War fighter pilot intercepting armed Soviet bombers in North American airspace. A veteran of three spaceflights, he crewed the US Space Shuttle twice, piloted the Russian Soyuz, helped build space station Mir, conducted two space walks, and served as Commander of the International Space Station. He was also NASA's Director of Operations in Russia.

Chris is the co-creator and host of the BBC series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes and helped create and host, along with actor Will Smith, the National Geographic series One Strange Rock. His zero-gravity version of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' has received more than 50 million views, and his TED talk on fear over 10 million.

He advises SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and other space companies, chairs the board of the Open Lunar Foundation, leads the CDL-Space international tech incubator, and teaches a MasterClass on space exploration.