Books by Max Hennessy

One last mission, but this time it's personal...In the Spring of 1920 the Mexican revolution was almost over. Just across the border in Texas was Martin Falconer, barely out of his teens yet already a veteran airman. He had only just escaped from the Russian Civil War with his three friends, Slingsby, 'Puddy' Pudhovkin and 'Tommy' Tucker, and they were all looking forward to a little peace. Martin had cabled his girlfriend Charley, who was in Mexico with her father, to come and meet him. But his hopes are shattered when they arrive in the border town of Camarillo to collect Charley, and the four airmen are caught in the middle of a battle. When the dust settles, they discover that the retreating Mexican bandits had taken Charley as a hostage. Martin tries to enlist official aid, but without success. It was up to them - and all they had to use against a desperate band of rebels were two battered aeroplanes, a broken down Avro and a de Havilland with broken wings. This will be his most challenging flight. The absolutely thrilling finale to the Martin Falconer thrillers, a tour de force of wartime storytelling, perfect for fans of Alastair MacLean, Alexander Fullerton and David Black.

The First World War is over. But Martin Falconer's story is only just beginning.1919. Martin Falconer, a veteran airman while still in his teens and now adjusting to peacetime, is asked to go to Russia to fight the Bolsheviks. His answer? 'Try and stop me.'The Great War had taken away much of Martin's idealism, shown him the gruesome realities of battle. But the Russia of 1919, a chaotic, desperate country, shows him another sort of conflict, a civil war of great savagery and bitterness on both sides. Nothing is as simple as he had thought. But the danger and excitement as he flies over the Russian steppes will only further his extraordinary legacy. The continuation of the completely gripping WWI aviation thrillers, for fans of W. E. Johns, Alastair MacLean and Alan Evans.

Martin Falconer had one big anxiety: would they let him fly again?Grounded in England at the beginning of 1918, it was a struggle, for escaped prisoners of war weren't generally allowed to return to the front, but Martin pestered the authorities and, at last, found himself back in France. But the character of the war was changing. Everyone had suddenly become efficiency-conscious, and the freedom of choice which he had valued so much in his life as a pilot was disappearing. Martin had to settle down to the grim, monotonous business that aerial warfare had now become. It was work that took a terrible toll on the nerves, even of someone as young and strong as he was. He longed to be able to solve the problem, and for the war to be over, so that he could start to find out what he really wanted from life. A gripping story, totally convincing in its portrayal of the ordeals and rewards of flying in the First World War, for fans of Alexander Fullerton and W. E. Johns.

Man against man. Face to face. One machine against another.It was shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Martin Falconer and his friend, Frank, were anxious to 'get into the scrap' as soon as possible, their youth blinding them to the real danger of it all. Geoffrey, Martin's elder brother, knew that it wasn't a game. He had fought in the trenches, been wounded and had seen friends die. For Geoffrey the R.F.C. offered an opportunity to escape the mud and horror of the Front, while for Martin and Frank it was the chance to be in at the start of a totally different kind of fighting. They were to be pioneers. A scintillating, full-throttle thriller of the First World War, perfect for fans of W. E. Johns, Derek Robinson and Geoffrey Wellum.

To swing the tide of the war, he must take to the air once again.It was 1916. The First World War had still two years to run. Martin Falconer, at eighteen an experienced pilot with service in France to his credit, was kicking his heels in England, awaiting another posting to the Front. Throughout the spring he watched the progress of the war, especially the war in the air, acknowledging to himself the German's superiority. Their machines were better, and they had produced the war's best-known hero of the air, the Red Baron. British machines were poor, morale was low, and the odds were stacked against them. Finally, at the beginning of April, Martin was sent again to France - but this was the month that became known as Bloody April, when a pilot's life-expectancy was two weeks, and Martin found himself in a unit demoralised and ill-managed. John Harris's sombre picture of Britain at war is as compelling as only the truth can be, perfect for fans of W. E. Johns, Alexander Fullerton and David Black.

An ambitious plan, a looming fortress, a devastating battle...Famous for its ancient hilltop monastery, Monte Cassino achieved a new and grimmer renown in the Second World War when it became a German bastion against the Allied advance through Italy. Even in February 1944, when the abbey buildings had been reduced to rubble by aerial bombardment, the mountain itself continued to command the adjoining river valleys and to block the road to Rome. Cassino had to be taken. Frontal assault had proved a costly failure, but now the highly ambitious Brigadier Heathfield had devised a plan for an outflanking operation. Total victory, or total defeat, could hinge on this single mission. A stirring and powerful thriller concerning the final years of the Second World War, perfect for fans of Alistair MacLean, David McDine and Jack Higgins.

They fought without glory - and without mercy.France, Winter 1944: The long-awaited liberation is at handThe bombing missions had gone well, and the crew of the Lancaster bomber had begun to relax. Then the Messerschmitt came out of the darkness, its guns blazing.Of the nine-man crew only Neville and Urqhart survive, parachuting into the heart of occupied France. Joining forces with the men of the French Resistance, they must enter a deadly game of cat and mouse with a ruthless enemy...A nerve-shredding thriller of the Second World War, steeped in historical research, perfect for fans of Alistair MacLean, Jack Higgins and Wilbur Smith.

A hunt that will decide the victor of the Second World War...Throughout the summer of 1944, southern England was transformed into one huge armed camp as the allied forces made their final preparations for D-Day. It was at this crucial moment in history that the Fox emerged from his lair.The Fox had many names and many disguises, but behind them all lay the resource and ingenuity of a dedicated German agent. His very existence was not suspected until a totally unexpected E-Boat attack on a landing resulting in hundreds of casualties, and the loss of a set of top-secret plans detailing the invasion.Desperate to stop them falling into enemy hands, two officers are tasked with recovering the plans and taking out the Fox. Failure would mean the total defeat of the allied forces. Failure is not an option...A gripping, action-packed D-Day thriller from a master of the war story, perfect for fans of Frederick Forsyth, John le Carré and Alistair MacLean.

Battle is joined...Hero of Jutland in World War I, Kelly Maguire progresses rapidly through Navy ranks during the dangerous post-War years. Amidst the Russian Civil War, British forces must rescue thousands of terrified White Army men from rampaging Communist militias. Maguire gets stuck in, risking everything. From Russia, he moves on to China, and a gunboat incident on the Yangtze. His resolve is tested when he must choose between his childhood sweetheart to a wealthy aristocrat. From old enemies to old flames, Maguire will once again have to risk it all to prove his worth. An awe-inspiring tale of adventure and war, The Dangerous Years has a thrilling historical sweep, and showcases a classic storyteller at the very peak of his powers.

A young recruit. A legendary battle. A cataclysmic war. A baptism by fire...Kelly Maguire knew from a young age that he could accomplish great things. As World War I begins, Kelly enlists in the Royal Navy, hoping to win both the war and glory.But from the barbarous battles of Gallipoli to the nightmarish action of Antwerp, Kelly learns the trials a soldier must face: trials that will forge him into a man. As the epic battle of Jutland approaches, everything is at stake.From acclaimed novelist Max Hennessy comes a gritty naval adventure, full of blood, guts and heroism in the face of danger.

The crescendo of war, a crushing blow, a path to redemption...Peacetime political machinations threaten Kelly Maguire's ambitions to be a Captain. But then war breaks out, and the world needs men who are willing to risk everything. As World War II explodes, and after a devastating loss in the Battle of Narvik, Maguire finds himself washed up at Dunkirk during the evacuation of 1940. Once more he must prove his worth. On the ocean, and the beaches, Kelly will fight for his country, and for the ones he loves. But, on the verge of true greatness after the Normandy landings, he is tasked with one final mission, one that could end his career... Back to Battle is an earth-shattering novel set at the heart of the bloodiest war ever fought.

One last mission, a disastrous result, an impossible escape...Last in the RAF Trilogy, this story charts the final days of service of world-class British fighter pilot Dicken Quinney, in his most dangerous adventure yet. It is the summer of 1939, and the greatest war in history is on the horizon. Dicken is stationed in France when the fighting starts, but disaster strikes and his plane is shot out of the sky above enemy territory. Beset on all sides with mortal peril, and with only his own survival skills to aid him, Dicken is forced to make a breathtaking escape across Nazi Europe, pursued by his nemesis, General Lee Tse Liu.The crowning finale to the RAF trilogy, Once More the Hawks is a triumph, perfect for fans of Thomas Wood, W. E. Johns and David Black.

A new enemy, a savage battlefield, a devastating loss...Dicken Quinney proved himself as a brilliant and heroic pilot in World War One, saving the lives of his fellow RAF servicemen, and winning a slew of medals. It is now the near aftermath of the Great War, and Dicken is engaged in an ongoing dogfight over the Baltic states with Bolshevik fighters, during the Russian Revolution. He must use everything he has learned in his formative years in order to survive, and will be forced to overcome a terrible loss that threatens to destroy him. An awe-inspiring, non-stop action military thriller, perfect for fans of David Black and Graham Parry.

One day in 1914, a young man took to the air, and a legend was born...Dicken Quinney never forgot that first flight in a fragile contraption of sealing-wax and string, the start of a lifelong obsession with flying. He was to spend the next four years in the deadly cut-and-thrust of aerial dogfights over France and Italy, collecting a chestful of medals, and a reputation as one of the Great War's leading aces. He would hone his skills in an array of aircraft, and as the war reaches its climax, he must undergo one final test in order to emerge victorious. And with his life intact. A love letter to aviation, perfect for fans of W. E. Johns and Wilbur Smith.