Absolute Measures - Hardcover

Far Eastern Economic Review compares HH to Eric Ambler
'Hawksley's world is too close to the real world for comfort. It is also sufficiently ambiguous to make it real. And that's why ABSOLUTE MEASURES is such a page-turning read' Far Eastern Economic Review

'The second thriller from the author of CEREMONY OF INNOCENCE, draws on his experience as a BBC correspondant to produce a novel of considerable power' The Times

'The experienced journalist shows that he has made the transition to thriller writer with great skill. The political dimensions of the book are (unsurprisingly) as solid as its thriller credentials' Crime Time

'Humphrey Hawksley is one of only a handful of writers taking the thriller in important new directions' Craig Thomas

'The BBC correspondent draws on his experiences for another authentic thriller' Bookseller

Praise for Ceremony of Innocence:
'Provocative and topical' Daily Telegraph
'An exciting thriller' Phillip Knightley, Mail on Sunday
'Compares favourably with the novels of other BBC foreign reporters who similarly use fiction to launder their unbroadcastable knowledge of covert operations' Sunday Times
''A gripping story, told with great imagination but also with knowledge and authority that one rarely sees in such thrillers' Jon Swain, Sunday Times
'Much convincing detail' Express on Sunday
'Ambitious, pacy thriller...The story tears along at breakneck speed, helped by meticulous plotting..an extremely accomplished first novel' Southern Daily Echo (Southampton)

It begins with a raid on a house in Khartoum, as a crack SAS team flies in to rescue a kidnapped American scientist. The operation is a success, but an innocent neighbour caught in the crossfire leaves thirteen-year-old twins Samira and Yasin orphaned. Saved from the orphanage by Malaysian millionaire businessman Ismael Musa, Samira and Yasin grow up in the Philippines in a world of wealth and privilege far from their humble roots, but the seeds of hatred, sown when they were children, are about to reap a terrible harvest. When Musa's business is destroyed amid the region's economic crisis, and their home is plunged into violent chaos, Yasin knows the time has come for revenge. Suddenly the West is confronted by a terrorist with a plan so audacious that they are literally defenceless against it.