The Mercenary Series
How It Began
Every series has a spark, and the inspiration for the Johnny Silver (Mercenary) series came from one of the biggest financial scandals in modern history.
In the 1990s, the collapse of Barings Bank, the oldest merchant bank in the United Kingdom, captured my imagination. A single trader's reckless decisions and increasingly desperate attempts to recover mounting losses ultimately brought down an institution that had stood for more than two centuries.
That extraordinary true story made me wonder: what if I created a fictional thriller where financial fraud was only the beginning?
My original plan was to write a novel based loosely on those events in collaboration with the man at the centre of the scandal. However, legal and financial complications meant the project could never happen.
Rather than abandon the idea, I took it in a new direction.
I created Mercenary, a fast-paced thriller built around five unforgettable characters: former mercenaries who have left their glory days behind. Time has changed them. One's eyesight isn't what it used to be, another has put on weight, and none of them are as young as they once were. But when circumstances force them back together for one final mission, they discover that experience, loyalty, and determination can be just as dangerous as youth.
One mission becomes another, and before long, the Johnny Silver series is born.
If you enjoyed classics like The A-Team or The Magnificent Seven, you'll feel right at home with these action-packed adventures filled with suspense, humour, memorable characters, and unexpected twists.
And one final challenge...
As you read Mercenary, see if you can spot the hidden significance behind the characters' names and the carefully chosen locations. There are clues waiting to be discovered.
Mercenary
When Johnny Silver's brother disappears with €10 million from the bank he manages in Amsterdam, Johnny reunites his elite team of former mercenaries to track down both the missing man and the stolen money. But as the hunt intensifies, they find themselves caught in a deadly conflict between two rival mafia organizations.
Killer in Black
When Red, the half-Texan, half-Comanche member of Johnny Silver's team, is targeted and driven from his Texas ranch, the mercenaries reunite to stand by one of their own. Facing a ruthless biker gang and a deadly assassin known as the Killer in Black, they prove that loyalty is their greatest weapon.
One Bullet Too Many
When Stan, the strategist of Johnny Silver's team, becomes the target of a ruthless crime boss at his lakeside hotel in Poland, the mercenaries spring into action. With the mob expanding its empire through extortion, drugs, and prostitution, Johnny and his team are determined to put an end to the threat once and for all.
No Easy Way Out
Blackmailed by the Drug Enforcement Agency, Johnny Silver is sent into a remote Mexican village to rescue a young girl kidnapped by a powerful Colombian drug lord. Deep in cartel territory, every step brings new danger, and as the title suggests, there's no easy way out.
The Ivory War
Johnny Silver and his team travel to South Africa to help protect Pieter's private game reserve, where ruthless poachers are slaughtering elephants, rhinos, and hippos for profit. With ivory worth a fortune on the black market, the criminals have no intention of backing down. Vastly outnumbered and facing a dangerous enemy, Johnny must forge an unlikely alliance between man and nature to fight back and save the reserve.