The Claws of Mercy

by John Harris

  Right of Reply

  Struggle, scandal and mutiny run riot in Right of Reply, set in the 1970s in a whirlwind of a political crisis. An invasion is planned by a convoy of British troop ships sighted off the coast of West Africa. A Khanzian base is at stake. The British claim sovereignty but sedition is in the air. Can the British government turn back before it’s too late? John Harris leaves us on tenterhooks.

  Road to the Coast

  It’s South America and a fugitive Englishman is caught in a military revolt against a tyrant. Harry Ash is a wanted man, fleeing the police and revolutionaries. After being bombed, he meets a beautiful woman, Grace Rodrigo, and steals a car to take her with him before realising they have a stow-away who could very well endanger their entire escape plan. John Harris pulls off a triumph of an action-packed narrative full of the kind of tension that will have you on the edge of your seat.

  The Sea Shall Not Have Them

  This is John Harris’ classic war novel of espionage in the most extreme of situations. An essential flight from France leaves the crew of RAF Hudson missing, and somewhere in the North Sea four men cling to a dinghy, praying for rescue before exposure kills them or the enemy finds them. One man is critically injured; another (a rocket expert) is carrying a briefcase stuffed with vital secrets. As time begins to run out each man yearns to evade capture. This story charts the daring and courage of these men, their rescuers and a breathtaking mission with the most awesome of consequences.

  The Sleeping Mountain

  The sleepy red-roofed Italian island of Anapoli, its lazy, leaning buildings pushed against the jagged harbour, dreams on peaceably by the sea. It is here that Tom Patch, an easy-going British artist, finds himself, discarding his mistress and in love with Cecilia. Even the Mayor of Anapoli basks in the sun, listening to goat bells and the rasp of mandolins. But above the unsuspecting residents hangs a malevolent volcano; a terrible destructive power seething below its crust. And the volcano is about to blow.

  Smiling Willie and the Tiger

  The Boer War is finally ending and for three thieves there is the unexpected bonus of stealing an army payroll so large that they have to bury it outside a Free State town until the heat cools off. But the army choose an officer to help track them down. While the thieves wait for an opportunity to return to the stolen bounty, the officer chases them, giving rise to a riotous set of events. Based on a true story, John Harris’ adventure entertains and delights in a series of incredulous scenarios brought to glorious life against the backdrop of South Africa’s diamond mines.

  So Far From God

  With Europe on the brink of the First World War, Pierce Slattery, a renegade cavalry officer with the British Army, brings an astonishing insight and masterful fighting abilities to the aid of a revolution, led by Pancho Villa. Their army of ill-trained, poorly prepared peasants are fighting for their lives and their freedom – but British Intelligence has an interest in the Mexican Revolution and in the striking Slattery.

  The Spring of Malice

  An assassination attempt of a top American general, a pointed gun and an unpulled trigger cause uproar in Paris. The Spring of Malice tells a story of political intrigue and intent. John Harris digs the depths of an assassin’s mind and discovers a horrifying obsession that drives a man to murder in this gripping account of pride, arrogance and the deadly games of government.

  Sunset at Sheba

  An evocative and moving novel set in the landscape of South Africa, 1914, where a story of courage and bloodlust unravels ‘between the mimosa shrubs and the thin pepper trees’; this is a story which began with fervent patriotism and ended in more bloodshed than anyone ever meant to spill. This is the story of the Battle of Sheba.

  Swordpoint

  It is 1944 and Monte Cassino has become a Nazi stronghold against the Allied advance through Italy. But Cassino must be taken, and the flamboyantly ambitious Brigadier Heathfield has a plan. This is a gripping, intoxicating story about the men of the North Yorkshires, veterans of Africa, hardened to the world.

  Take or Destroy

  Lieutenant-Colonel George Hockold must destroy Rommel’s vast fuel reserves stored at the port of Qaba if the Eighth Army is to succeed in the Alamein offensive. Time is desperately running out, resources are scant and the commando unit Hockold must lead is a rag tag band of misfits scraped from the dregs of the British Army. They must attack Qaba. The orders? Take or destroy.

  The Thirty Days War

  Kubaiyah, a RAF airstrip squeezed between a razor-like ridge and a harsh desert plain, must be defended. But with the Nazis poised to conquer the Middle East and Britain stripped of her allies, Kubaiyah could be lost. Only the eccentric and gifted flying officer, Anthony Boumphrey, can save them. Armed with forty planes, all of which are training machines and biplanes, Boumphrey leads a brilliant squadron of men against the noxious swarms of Hitler’s Luftwaffe. Surrounded by sneering Messerschmitts and the hammer of eighteen-pounder guns, Boumphrey and his ‘Belles’ battle for their freedom and a place in history.

  The Unforgiving Wind

  Charting the disastrous expedition of Commander Adams, this novel follows the misfortunes of his men across the Arctic. Whatever can go wrong does go wrong as transport, instruments, health and sanity begin to fail. The team seem irretrievably lost in the dark Arctic winter, frightened and half-starving even when they find a base. Only one man can rescue them, the truculent Tom Fife who must respond to the faint radio signals coming from the Arctic shores. A powerful and disturbing novel, this story takes your breath away.

  Up For Grabs

  The tale of the Desert Ratbags – a concert group stranded behind enemy lines and using unique skills from petty theft to light entertainment in order to survive. The Ratbags outrageously involve themselves in looting, from captured weapons and vehicles to enemy uniforms, and get caught up in some real action in the process!

  Vardy

  In the Paris of Napoleon III, the beautiful, impetuous Vardy Cutter falls in love with the passionate Colonel Max Cary de Lily, a soldier of fortune and of France. When the Franco-Prussian war begins, Vardy must be rescued from the siege of Paris. But when she returns, it is only to be caught in the wake of violence and to find her lover’s career is in ruins as he is faced with a court martial and his life is at risk. This historical drama is a romp through the chaos that is war. John Harris presents a story of battles and armies, proud regiments, love and loss.

  See also John Harris writing as Mark Hebden and Max Hennessy

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