but wakes next morning to find that she's robbed him. It was a set up – an elaborate scam. Setting out to find Holly Knight, Ruiz discovers her boyfriend's tortured body and realises that powerful men are looking for the same girl. What did she steal that was so important?
Meanwhile, two thousand miles away, Pulitzer prize-winning Journalist Luca Terracini is living 'outside the wire' in Baghdad and investigating a disappearance of billions in reconstruction funds. The trail will lead him to London where he teams up with Ruiz and together they investigate the disappearance of an international banker and a mysterious 'black hole' in the bank's accounts.
THE WRECKAGE is an international conspiracy thriller involving clandestine agents and powerful nations who seek to bury secrets and manipulate the truth. It's about the money, politics and power. Who has it, who wants it and who's ultimately going to pay.
Download the first chapter of The WreckageYou can read more about Michael's US editions on the
Mulholland Books website.
• Best General Fiction shortlist - Australian Book Industry Awards 2012
'A pulse-pounding read, perfect for these cold nights.'
'The cover carries a comment that Robotham is "among the very best of British thriller writers". For an author who can produce writing of this quality the qualification of "British" is wholly unnecessary.'
'THE WRECKAGE turns out to be the kind of international crime thriller with short, punchy chapters that shift abruptly – suspensefully even – from London to Baghdad to Washington and other locales just like in the movies… Robotham is one of the tens of millions of people who are jaded and cynical and angry about the way the big banks brought he financial world to the brink of ruin…committed transgressions that were, if not illegal, certainly immoral, took bailouts from taxpayers and then walked away scot free, acting as though they had nothing to apologize for...'
"Michael Robotham brings his well-honed skills as an international investigative reporter to the world of high-octane thrillers. The Wreckage takes you behind the headlines coming out of Bagdad, and behind the power scenes in London and Washington. One of the best novels to come out of the chaos of Iraq; a penetrating peek through the fog of war."
"Michael Robotham is an extraordinary writer. He puts you directly in every scene. You smell the bomb residue. Your feel the dread as another corner is turned. You taste the heat. You flinch as the bullets fly by. He straddles a tricky fence and does it masterfully. He write intelligently, his prose is deeply thought out, he humanizes even the most vile of his characters, but his action sequences are topnotch and you feel your breath quicken and your pulse accelerate as characters you've come to care about fall into harms way. Ruiz, Luca, Daniela, Holly, they are all vividly drawn and would be the leading protagonists in most other thrillers. But Robotham has raised the bar to another level. This book will not only blow you away, it will make you smarter."
"Fine and ambitious [with characters who are] wonderfully human--smart, determined, decent, and flawed. Thoroughly compelling."
"High-octane [and] complex ... Robotham, a former investigative journalist, weaves current events and white-knuckle suspense with a practiced hand."
"Taut, swiftly paced thriller involving big money, big business and big government... Robotham's neatly constructed plot gathers speed and strength in an elaborate game of cat and mouse that involves some unusual suspects, and with explosions to boot."
'Michael Robotham writes thrillers/mysteries that grab the reader's attention from the first sentence. The stories are complex, the conclusions satisfying… [and he] is a is a genius at creating characters…THE WRECKAGE is one of those books that leaves such an impression that it isn't possible to move on immediately to another.'
'Robotham has created the authenticity of today's headlines while adding a character depth that works. The tension level is maintained throughout the entire story and it is a rare treat watching how everything unfolds, this is a winner.'
'The characters are convincing and the storytelling is exciting, so it all adds up to a rattling good yarn.'
'Rogue banks, hired killers, international terrorism and powerful nations manipulating the truth feature in a rollercoaster of fast-paced, nail-biting fiction that's unnervingly unbelievable.'
'Robotham's most ambitious novel crackles with pithy descriptions, insights and observation. He has added his name to those near the top of the crime-writing tree.'
"One of the highlights of the crime fiction year... THE WRECKAGE maintains the high standard of its predecessors and is probably Robotham's strongest novel to date."
"Robotham has been building a reputation for writing crime thrillers with strong plots and interesting characters. THE WRECKAGE will boost his standing further."
"With THE WRECKAGE, a masterful piece of commercial crime writing, an entertaining global political thriller that sacrifices none of Robotham's complex, detailed sense of place and character, I think he's crossed into the mainstream. For crime-fiction fans, he's now securely on the same shelf as Americans Michael Connolly, Robert Crais and Harlan Coben and, for mine, his mainly British-set novels are the most entertaining and polished of any published in Europe."
"This is a stellar effort by Robotham. His plotting is always strong, but this time in tying his crime plot to controversial international concerns he gives the story extra depth and interest... [THE WRECKAGE] represents another impressive step forward by the already outstanding Robotham. Highly recommended."
"[A] totally gripping, somewhat terrifying, totally unputdownable novel."
"Thrilling and thought-provoking, THE WRECKAGE is the best thriller I've read this year."
"Terrific suspense set against an exotic backdrop, THE WRECKAGE is easily one of the summer's most unputdownable books."
"Original, dynamic, posturing and thrusting like baboons on heat...An absolute stunner in every possible way."
"It is the grandiose plot, global in scale, that sets THE WRECKAGE apart from Robotham's previous titles: a clash of titans, combating for prevalence and jockeying for top position in a world where money is king. Robotham's ubiquitous style, bordering on the terse and clipped, is comfortingly familiar, whilst persistently driving the storyline to its inevitable conclusion."
"Original, dynamic, posturing and thrusting like baboons in heat, THE WRECKAGE is an absolute stunner in every possible way."
"I could give you many examples of Robotham's energetic writing style and his humour but that would involve quoting pretty much the whole book. Big fan here, can you guess?"
'What more can a positive review say but that this book casts a spell and the reader's life is better for having read it? THE WRECKAGE has strong writing, great characters and fascinating events...''
