The Evolution of Fear

Vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker is on the run, with a price on his head. When his lover, Rania, goes missing, he begins a terrifying search with unimaginable consequences... 'Hardisty doesn't put a foot wrong in this forceful, evocative thriller... the author's deep knowledge of the settings never slows down the non-stop action, with distant echoes of a more-moral minded Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne' Maxim Jakubowski 'Remarkably well-written and sophisticated' Literary Review 'A fast-paced action thriller, beautifully written' Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography ____________________ Claymore Straker is a fugitive with a price on his head. Wanted by the CIA for acts of terrorism he did not commit, his best friend has just been murdered and Rania, the woman he loves, has disappeared. Betrayed by those closest to him, he must flee the sanctuary of his safe house in Cornwall and track her down. As his pursuers close in, Clay follows Rania to Istanbul and then to Cyprus, where he is drawn into a violent struggle between the Russian mafia, Greek Cypriot extremists, and Turkish developers cashing in on the tourism boom. As the island of love descends into chaos, and the horrific truth is unveiled, Clay must call on every ounce of skill and endurance to save Rania and put an end to the unimaginable destruction being wrought in the name of profit. Gripping, exhilarating, and above all, frighteningly realistic, The Evolution of Fear is a startling, eye-opening read that demands the question: how much is truth, and how much is fiction? ____________________ Praise for Paul E. Hardisty 'A stormer of a thriller - vividly written, utterly topical, totally gripping' Peter James 'Just occasionally, a book comes along to restore your faith in a genre and Paul Hardisty's The Abrupt Physics of Dying does this in spades' The Times 'Trenchant and engaging' Stav Sherez, Catholic Herald 'A solid, meaty thriller - Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character' Lee Child 'Laces the thrills and spills with enough moral indignation to give the book heft ... excellent' Jake Kerridge, Telegraph 'Fast-paced and cleverly written, this novel has bestseller written all over it' West Australian 'Exceptional ... beautifully written, blisteringly authentic, heart-stoppingly tense and unusually moving. Definite award material' Paul Johnston 'A forceful novel by a writer not afraid of weighty issues' Maxim Jakubowski 'Searing ... at times achieves the level of genuine poetry' Publishers Weekly STARRED review 'A page-turning adventure that grabs you from the first page and won't let go' Edward Wilson

Canadian Paul Hardisty has spent twenty-five years working all over the world as an engineer, hydrologist and environmental scientist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, mapped geology in Eastern Turkey (where he was befriended by PKK rebels), and rehabilitated water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Ethiopia in 1991 as the Mengistu regime fell, and was bumped from one of the last flights out of Addis Ababa by bureaucrats and their families fleeing the rebels. In 1993 he survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana'a, and was one of the last Westerners out of Yemen before the outbreak of the 1994 civil war. Paul is a university professor and CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).The first three novels in his Claymore Straker series, The Abrupt Physics of Dying, The Evolution of Fear and Reconciliation for the Dead all received great critical acclaim and The Abrupt Physics of Dying was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger.Paul is a sailor, a private pilot, keen outdoorsman, conservation volunteer, and lives in Western Australia.Follow him on Twitter @Hardisty_Paul