The Swan Island Connection: 2 [Paperback] Johnston, Dorothy

Sandra Mahoney is back, and this time the conspiracy runs deeper than she imagined. When a routine investigation into defense contractor fraud intersects with her partner Ivan's shadowy past, Sandra finds herself caught between corporate espionage, government secrets, and a military installation that officially doesn't exist. Johnston writes suburban Melbourne like le Carré wrote Cold War Berlin — every coffee shop could be a dead drop, every friendly neighbor a potential asset. The Swan Island Connection is taut, intelligent spy fiction that trades guns for leverage and replaces car chases with the quiet terror of realizing you're being watched. Dorothy Johnston spent years as a policy advisor in Canberra, and it shows — the bureaucratic intrigue feels lived-in, the tradecraft convincing. For fans of Mick Herron's slow horses or anyone who prefers their thrillers cerebral and their paranoia justified.