Dark Desert Road

‘A cracking read! With a terrifically paced plot and a wild cast of characters, Dark Desert Road grabs you from the first sentence and doesn’t let go. Terrorists, religious extremists, bikies and cops battle it out in the outback and along the highways west of Wagga Wagga in this tense, page-turning thriller that’s impossible to put down. I gobbled it up in one sitting!’ Patricia Wolf

‘In Ayliffe’s broken world, the bad guys look like the good and the good must masquerade as the bad. A gritty, propulsive thriller that hits frighteningly close to home.’ Siang Lu, winner of the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award

‘With unforgettable characters and a simmering plot, Ayliffe takes us on a hell-ride through the forgotten towns of Australia’s Badlands.’ Candice Fox

‘Dark Desert Road feels ripped from the headlines, with the signature insight that is Tim Ayliffe’s calling card. Kit McCarthy is a good cop, strung out and struggling to adjust after closing a large child protection case. When Kit learns her twin sister Billie is in trouble, she will stop at nothing to find her. Even if Billie has drifted so far into a world of conspiracy, sovereign citizens and bikies that she might not want saving. A cracking, politically-savvy thriller from Australia’s master of the art.’ Hayley Scrivenor, internationally bestselling author of Dirt Town and Girl Falling

‘A helter-skelter road trip that starts fast and never lets up. Vintage Ayliffe - tense, tight, and strung with issues that confront today’s world.’ Matthew Spencer

‘When ideology and fanaticism collide with buried family secrets, loyalty is tested to its breaking point in Dark Desert Road - a gripping exploration of love, betrayal, and the cost of conviction.’ Jack Beaumont, former spy and author of The Frenchman

‘Tim Ayliffe is a writer at the height of his powers - moving, insightful and unforgettable.’ Sulari Gentill

‘A cracking read, written with Ayliffe’s signature flair and ability to reflect current fracture points into a gripping and propulsive story. A taut, urgent page-turner … fiction built on a terrifying and confronting reality.’ Michael Brissenden

Tim Ayliffe is an award-winning author whose thriller novels have been informed by his 25-year global career as a journalist. He writes about crime, espionage, extremism and the global power games at play in the 21st century. He has been the Managing Editor of Television and Video for ABC News and also Executive Producer of News Breakfast. He is the author of the John Bailey series including The Greater Good, State of Fear, The Enemy Within, Killer Traitor Spy - which won the People’s Choice Award at the 2024 Danger Awards -and The Wrong Man. Tim’s thrillers are also in development for TV. He lives in Sydney.

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