Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia (ebook – 5 July 2023)

Series: John Bailey – Book Four

Length: 310 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of Australia’s fastest rising thriller authors, Tim Ayliffe, returns with the fourth book in his outstanding John Bailey series, Killer Traitor Spy, which sees Cold War espionage re-emerge right in the heart of modern day Australia.

Over the last few years I have been having an amazing time reading a particularly cool Australian thriller series, the Jon Bailey books by journalist Tim Ayliffe.  Following a damaged investigative reporter who relentlessly follows his stories no matter how dangerous they are, the John Bailey books are an outstanding series that combined intriguing storylines with compelling and highly insightful depictions of modern-day Australia.  This series has so far featured three fantastic books, The Greater Good, which looked at Chinese interference in Australian politics; State of Fear, which examined Islamic radicalisation; and The Enemy Within, which presented a compelling look at Australian white supremacism.  I have deeply enjoyed all three of Ayliffe’s previous novels and I was very glad that I managed to get a copy of his fourth book, Killer Traitor Spy, a few weeks ago.

After a sex worker is accidently poisoned by a deadly neurotoxin, it quickly becomes clear that someone is trying to kill Russian millionaire Dmitry Lebedev.  As Dmitry disappears into the wind, reporter John Bailey finds himself drawn to the mysterious events, especially as his old friend, Scarlett Merriman, was the unintended victim.  As Bailey begins to dig into the circumstances around Scarlett’s poisoning, he soon discovers a hidden world of spies, espionage and secret deals, all tied to his long-time friend, CIA agent Ronnie Johnson.

It soon becomes apparent that Dmitry was an undercover spy secretly working with Ronnie and providing insights into Russian espionage efforts in Australia.  His latest bit of intelligence could expose a deadly traitor working at the highest echelons of the government, and many people wanted him dead to keep that a secret.  As Ronnie attempts to bring him in, he finds himself being targeted as well, as whoever tried to kill Dmitry has just framed Ronnie for murder.

Now on the run from the authorities and with no official backup to help him, Ronnie has no choice but to call on Bailey to help him investigate the attempted assassination and uncover the traitor.  But the more Bailey works with Ronnie, the more he discovers the dark side of the espionage business and the fact that nobody is what they seem.  Moving from the deadly urban sprawl of Sydney to the secretive suburbs of Canberra, can Bailey and Ronnie find the truth before it is too late, or will they be the latest victims of an insidious intelligence plot threatening to undermine the entire country?

This was another great book from Ayliffe, who continues to impress me with his intense and addictive reads.  Killer Traitor Spy served as a brilliant fourth book in the series, and I had such a wonderful time getting through this captivating and clever story that I ended up reading this book in a single day.

Killer Traitor Spy has a great story behind it that I instantly got hooked on.  Ayliffe sets up a fast and high-stakes narrative for his fourth book that brings in some compelling real-life spy elements to increase the realism and impact of the plot.  Starting off with a failed assassination, some fantastic spy elements, and a great reintroduction to Ayliffe’s relentless protagonist, the author gets Killer Traitor Spy going strong, and it barely slows down after that.  The author weaves together a complex net of mystery and espionage as the protagonists try to find the missing Dmitry, while also uncovering Russian agents working in Australia.  The fantastic web of murders, betrayals and lies proves to be very compelling.  There are several interesting reveals and clever turns as the plot progresses, and I loved how the story soon moved to Canberra with a ton of fun scenes.  Ayliffe really raises the stakes in the second half of Killer Traitor Spy, and the final reveal of who the various traitors and culprits are proves to be very satisfying.

I honestly had a hard time putting down this awesome book, and I wasn’t kidding when I said I read it all in a single day.  Ayliffe did a fantastic job of making his complex and compelling story as fast-paced and addictive as possible, and there wasn’t a single scene in this book that slowed me down.  There were a ton of great features to how Ayliffe wrote Killer Traitor Spy, and I personally loved how the plot featured a fun combination of journalism, espionage and mystery throughout.  While there is a bit of action throughout the book, the focus is always on uncovering the deeper secrets, and I loved seeing the different methodologies that the various protagonists used.  The author’s reliance on multiple character perspectives in Killer Traitor Spy was a particularly effective feature, especially as you got even more scenes from the always entertaining Ronnie Johnson.  This allowed Ayliffe to really separate out the various focuses of his novel, and the contrasts between Bailey’s scenes, where he investigates, and Ronnie’s scenes, where he uses more direct methods, are a lot of fun.

Unsurprisingly, the scenes focusing on journalism and investigative reporting are very impressive and insightful as Ayliffe makes full use of his background to dive into the intricacies and secrets of the trade.  However, the more espionage focused sequences are also really clever and helped ensure this book felt a lot like his original novel, The Greater Good.  The focus on the various espionage concerns in Australia were really quite compelling, and it was clear that the author did a lot of research around it.  I recognised quite a few espionage elements featured in the novel from Australian news stories, and the author covers a lot of compelling ground as a result.  I particularly liked the focus on Australia’s strategic importance, the intelligence relationship it has with other Western nations, the examination of potential espionage elements currently running around the country, and there was even a fun inclusion of the infamous “Havana Syndrome” and the potential weapons behind it.  I really enjoyed this deep dive into potential Russian espionage in Australia, and it was certainly eye opening in places, especially considering current world events.  This excellent novel really draws you in quickly and I had such an outstanding time getting through it.

One of the things that I have always deeply appreciated about the John Bailey books is the way in which Ayliffe masterfully depicts and utilises his Sydney settings throughout the stories.  So many of Sydney’s suburbs, iconic areas, and even several restaurants and bars serve as either key locations or have cameos throughout the series.  It is always very cool to see locations you are familiar with utilised in fiction, and Ayliffe always does such a wonderful job of showcasing these locales in his stories, which really help to draw Australian readers in.  This continues to be the case in Killer Traitor Spy, as several different areas of Sydney are featured strongly throughout the plot. Ayliffe, who clearly has a lot of love for Sydney, has fun bringing these locations to life throughout this book and it was really fascinating to see how he fits his narrative around these real spaces.  A good chunk of the second half of the book is set in my hometown of Canberra. As the national capital hosting government agencies and politicians, Canberra is an excellent setting for a spy thriller book such as Killer Traitor Spy, and it was great to see it utilised as such within this book.  I had a ton of fun seeing the characters reference areas that I see all the time, and it was awesome envisioning some of the action occurring within them, especially as most of our scandals aren’t so thrilling.  I also had a chuckle at all the inside jokes or references that Ayliffe layered into the story around these settings, such as his very accurate description of the drive between Sydney and Canberra (it really is that visually boring).  This excellent use of real locations as a backdrop really helped to drag me even further into Killer Traitor Spy and I really appreciate it when authors draw from their own experiences to help tell an awesome story.

Finally, I must highlight the character work featured in Killer Traitor Spy.  The intrepid and damaged protagonists have always been a big reason why the John Bailey books have been so successful as you grow very attached to these complex figures.  I have a lot of love for the impressive character growth that has surrounded the main character of John Bailey in the lead-up to Killer Traitor Spy and it was really moving to see him finally have his life together, despite all the traumas he has experienced.  This also allowed him to focus more on his journalistic work, and watching the dogged, veteran reporter chase down several stories in his usual gruff and unrelenting manner was a ton of fun.  Of course, Ayliffe did add in a few more issues for him in Killer Traitor Spy, both psychically and ethically, and I will be interested to see how they impact him in the future.  Ayliffe also features quite a lot of Ronnie Johnson in this latest novel as well, which was a major plus in my book.  Ronnie has always been a fantastic character (he caused a damned Harold Holt moment in the first book), and it was great to see him a much more of a central figure in Killer Traitor Spy.  His more espionage and violence focused chapters balance out Bailey’s chapters in some compelling ways, and I enjoyed the fantastic deeper dive into the relationship between these two protagonists that emerged as a result.  Ayliffe’s use of these two main characters was a real highlight of Killer Traitor Spy and I really appreciated the powerful story the author wove around them.

Overall, Killer Traitor Spy is a fantastic novel from Tim Ayliffe that did a wonderful job continuing his excellent John Bailey series.  A complex and entertaining Australian thriller, Killer Traitor Spy was a ton of fun to read and I really got hooked on it compelling and fast-paced story.  With great characters, a complex plot, and some intriguing Australian inclusions, Killer Traitor Spy is well worth the read, especially if you loved the previous books in the series.

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