The Twentieth Man

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.


About the Author

Tony Jones was still at school when Lionel Murphy raided ASIO. After an ABC cadetship, he joined Four Corners as a reporter in 1985, and then went to Dateline at SBS in 1986. He subsequently was an ABC foreign correspondent, for a time in London and later in Washington. Inter alia, he covered the war crimes in Bosnia. Today he hosts Q & A on Monday nights. He is married to fellow ABC journalist, Sarah Ferguson. This is his first novel.