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Direct Action

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Direct Action

By: Stephen Leather
Narrated by: Paul Thornley
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Across Britain, violent criminals are walking free – cases derailed by sharp-suited defence lawyers and soft-touch judges – and public fury is reaching breaking point.

Into that anger step the New Crusaders, a shadowy group that hunts down offenders who have slipped through the net and delivers their own brand of punishment live across social media to millions of cheering followers. To some, they're heroes. To the government, they're terrorists.

Dan 'Spider' Shepherd of MI5 is tasked with bringing them down. But as Shepherd digs deeper, he uncovers a far more dangerous truth: the New Crusaders aren't driven by justice. They're being steered by hidden forces with an agenda that has nothing to do with punishment – and everything to do with tearing the country apart.

If Shepherd fails, it won't just be the rule of law that collapses.

It will be the country itself.

©2026 Stephen Leather (P)2026 Ulverscroft Audio Crime Fiction Espionage Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Rage Crusade
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Hostile Territory By: Stephen Leather
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the spider shepherd series are the best I love to listen to them whilst driving my truck

direct action

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Another gripping thriller from the master storyteller Stephen Leather. Direct Action is a topical, fast-paced listen packed with tension, action, and suspense from beginning to end. With not only Spider Shepherd it was great to meet up with Razor and Lex from previous stories once again.
As always, Paul Thornley delivers a superb narration, bringing the characters and story to life with his excellent performance. A perfect pairing of author and narrator, highly recommended.

Spider strikes again!

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Stephen Leather always releases highly topical books with incredible speed. He is the most dynamic thriller writer on the market, and the range of his work is extraordinary. It's great to see more from Spider Shepherd, but can we also see Nightingale return?

Paul Thornley is, by a league, the best male narrator on Audible, and perfect for Leather's books.

Superb Leather and Thornley combination again

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Another superbly written book exciting and full of action Stephen Leather is the man and Paul Thornley makes every book come to life a great team.

Another great read

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This is dangerously close to today's problems. Could this happen? Yes. Brilliantly written and narrated.

Superb story

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