Red Warning

Phil Halton
Works of: Fiction

‘Absorbing right up to its explosive climax amid a powder keg of Afghan politics.’ Frank Malley, author of The Killing Circle

Afghanistan. 1978.

Lieutenant Mohammed Mirwais Ahmadzai is an ambitious investigator in Kabul’s Criminal Investigation Division – a corrupt officer intent on furthering his own career at any cost.

When prominent Communist leader Mir Akbar Khaibar is murdered outside his home, Ahmadzai finds the body but loses the case to the Secret Intelligence Service.

Ahmadzai is quickly diverted to the murder of an American woman, shot dead in the street. Ahmadzai pursues the investigation with his usual vigour, but his superiors want it closed, not solved, and are not interested in the links he uncovers to Khaibar’s murder.

Ahmadzai quickly falls out of favour. Eager to again prove his worth, he accelerates his investigation.

At the same time, the powder keg that is Afghan politics grows ever more volatile, with a coup rumoured to be ready to topple President Daoud and install a new dictatorship.

Ahmadzai’s zeal may prove his undoing. The closer he gets to the truth, the more he puts his career – and life – in danger.

Recommended for fans of David McCloskey, Philip Kerr and Alan Furst.

Phil Halton is a Canadian Army veteran. He is also the author of This Shall be a House of Peace, and Every Arm Outstretched, as well as Blood Washing Blood: Afghanistan’s Hundred-Year War.

Praise for Red Warning
‘An intelligent thriller, providing insight into the power politics and history of Afghanistan. You will be gripped and informed.’ Thomas Waugh

Praise for Phil Halton:

This Shall be a House of Peace
‘Halton’s debut is a must-read for all who turn to books for an understanding of worlds other than their own.’ Booklist

Blood Washing Blood: Afghanistan’s Hundred-Year War
‘…Halton proves himself to be one of Canada’s leading warrior-scholars. [He] combines meticulous scholarly research and ground-level field experience in a compelling story about Afghanistan’s enduring war.’ Dr. Aisha Ahmad, University of Toronto