Skin in the Game (Paperback)

'The Bottom Line: A breathtakingly intense conspiracy thriller ripped straight from the headlines. Brilliant characterization and a riveting global puzzle will have Jason Bourne fans clamoring for Byrne's next installment in the series.' -- bestthrillers.com. Skin in the Game is an intricately woven story of international political and corporate wrangling that takes readers on a fast-paced journey across Europe and the Middle East. Trapped in a maze of secrets and lies. When Joe Hawkins left the US State Department, he left international intrigue behind and took a prestigious position as a professor at Oxford University. His younger brother's disappearance upends his tranquil academic life and plunges him into a world where covert government intelligence meets international high finance. His search for Sam will uncover his brother's ties to a shadowy London investment firm and an insidious network of international corruption. Can you trust your memory and senses? MI6 psychiatrist Kate Farrow has cracked some tough cases, but when faced with a suspected terrorist suffering from torture-induced amnesia, she knows she's in over her head. The clock is ticking, and Kate must unlock the secrets in his battered psyche to prevent the loss of innocent life. Only by discovering what lies at the core of her own identity will Kate find a way to separate the truth from a shell game of greed and exploitation. 'Tomas Byrne's first novel is an ingenious and seamless blend of fast-paced, page-turning, mainstream, at times almost Bondian fiction and something rather more mysterious, even weird and highly literary. This is an outstanding, richly entertaining, effortlessly smart and very promising debut. Skin in the Game is a book that deserves to be widely read and Byrne, already an assured talent, is an author to watch.' -- Karl French, book and film critic, author and editor. 'A very superior thriller ... Byrne adroitly manages the tension and confusion ... entertaining and informed.' -- The Morning Star.