The Twentieth Man

The Twentieth Man

Tony Jones

Terrorism, politics and betrayals collide in this unputdownable, fast-paced thriller.

He was the only one left alive; now it was his turn to die.

In September 1972 journalist Anna Rosen takes an early morning phone call from her boss at the ABC telling her about two bombings in Sydney’s busy CBD. It’s the worst terrorist attack in the country’s history and Anna has no doubt which group is responsible for the carnage. She has been investigating the role of alleged war criminals in the globally active Ustasha movement.

High in the Austrian Alps, guided by starlight and a crescent moon, Marin Katich is one of twenty would-be revolutionaries who slip stealthily over the border into Yugoslavia on a mission planned and funded in Australia which will have devastating consequences for all involved.

Two and half years ago Anna and Marin had become lovers at university but his sudden and mysterious disappearance brought their relationship to an abrupt end. Now the Sydney bombings will draw their lives back together.

With Croatian extremists under suspicion and a power struggle erupting between ASIO and the federal police, Attorney-General Lionel Murphy personally directs a raid on the security agency. Events suddenly reach a trigger point with the impending arrival of Yugoslavia’s prime minister.

Tony Jones, one of Australia’s most admired journalists, has written a brilliantly compelling thriller, taking us from the savage mountains of Yugoslavia to Canberra’s brutal yet covert power struggles in a novel that’s intelligent, informed and utterly suspenseful.

The Twentieth Man is the first novel by Australian journalist and broadcaster, Tony Jones. A shocking act of terror, the like of which has never happened in Australia, mars a beautiful spring Saturday in 1972. Two bombs target Yugoslav travel agencies in George Street, Sydney. Despite expert opinion, the Attorney-General of the Liberal Government denies the existence of any evidence suggesting Ustasha, a Croatian extremist group, are involved. Even information from the Yugoslav Government, that a group of Australian-trained and -funded revolutionaries have attempted to infiltrate Bosnia, just two months earlier, does not sway this stance.

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