Crisis: the action-packed Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller

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Oh, and I HATED how the girlfriend had been written - whiney Sloane Ranger one minute; kick-arse, kidnap escaping martial expert the next.

If Ultimatum is even 80% similar to Crisis, though, I will give up 75% through, just as I wanted to at multiple points during Crisis. I agree with the last three but I think accuracy brought detailing and detailing stopped it from being fast. I'll end with a question I kept being plagued with while reading this novel: in a world that already has Frederick Forsyth, why would I settle for anything that's LIKE Frederick Forsyth?But, that aside, most of what Gardner gives us defies belief, provides too much detail and not enough characterisation. What might have helped though, would have been a central character with enough charisma or complexity to let the reader overlook the inherent implausibility of the villainous conspiracy.

I thought the ending was poor after all the build up but, I do think that I will read the follow up 'Ultimatum' and continue the Luke Carlton adventures.

BBC’s fulltime Security Correspondent reporting on events from Afghanistan to piracy off the Somali coast to Arctic challenges. Frank Gardner has penned a great first novel that combines all the attributes of a riveting thriller. Luke Carlton is the protagonist, an ex-Special Forces officer who has gone to work for MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence gathering service.

Gardner needed to work far harder to create a more rounded, and complex lead character, rather than relying on lazy shortcuts. Luke figures with his personal knowledge, some good connections and his military training there shouldn’t be a problem, only Luke didn’t realize just how powerful and ruthless his enemies are – or how far they’re willing to go to achieve their objective. I haven't had that type of setting connection before when reading a novel, coming from New Zealand I haven't read many books which are set in New Zealand.The book is peppered with excessive detail, unnecessary exposition and minor characters who could be excised entirely. With impeccable Spanish from a large part of his childhood spent in South America and a razor-sharp mind, Luke is happy to see where this leads him.

It is quite exciting being able to read a novel and know exactly where the main character's workplace is because you have been in that area before in real life. Awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to journalism, Frank published his bestselling memoir, Blood and Sand, in 2006. All of these and more could have and should have been edited out to streamline the plot and cut the page count significantly. The final section does ramp up the tension, although the stakes are set too high for you to ever really believe that the bad guys will succeed in their goals, but it far too much of a slog to get to that point. We got to learn a bit about his line of work being a secret agent for the London MI5, we learnt a bit about his younger years when he grew up in Colombia (the other half to the novels setting), but mostly we got to learn about his lovely girlfriend Elise and their budding relationship which was slightly hindered due to his line of work.Drawing on his years of experience reporting on security matters CRISIS is Frank Gardner’s debut novel. While we are obviously supposed to root for the success of the couple, halfway through she snogs a man who is such a cliche of arseholery (name of Hugo, Goldman Sachs banker, slick back hair etc etc) that she is clearly a dick. In 2009 he published Far Horizons, a much praised account of his life as an inveterate traveller and explorer. I found it really bland and totally lacking in suspense - there was no point that I didn't think Luke would be completely safe and obviously they were going to find the bomb; slightly enjoyed that the villains were Colombian narcos and not the usual Middle Eastern, but really, that's about the best I can say for it. Shot 6 times at close range while on assignment in Saudi Arabia in 2004, left severely wounded and dependant on a wheelchair.