PRAISE FOR THE TWENTIETH MAN
‘Jones’ debut novel uses his experience as a journalist to reprise a series of events in the early 1970s … the action of the novel is deftly strung together [and] the research is palpable on the page.’
The Australian
‘The Twentieth Man is a political thriller in the Robert Harris mould … Jones cleverly weaves fact and fiction—and has great fun painting “real” characters like the wilful Lionel Murphy.’
Jennifer Byrne, The Australian Women’s Weekly
‘An engaging political thriller … Anna [Rosen’s] key role serves to remind us of the importance of investigative journalism in a democracy.’
Spectrum, The Sydney Morning Herald
‘Mixing bombs in Melbourne, Balkan politics and a slice of seventies sexism.’
The Guardian
‘Alongside the hefty doses of political and bureaucratic intrigue, there [are] romantic complications, family tensions and a nearly pitch perfect feel of time and place … Extremely readable, fascinating and very cleverly done, The Twentieth Man is unfortunately a bit of a rarity in Australian fiction—an historical political thriller covering our recent past.’
‘The Twentieth Man is an incredibly assured debut novel and Jones has delivered a pacey and original historical thriller. While historical detectives seem to be everywhere, historical political thrillers are not a genre we have seen much of in Australia. And this one shines a light on a fascinating period of Australian history, contemporaneous with Watergate, in an engaging and interesting way.’
PS News