The Conspirators

Jacob Meaney makes so little money as a translator that his girlfriend has given up on him. Then Eloise, an Australian digital marketer, appears out of the blue, offering him unheard of sums for a couple of weeks’ work.

A private plane and helicopter take him to a showcase villa in Carinthia and all the luxury he could ever want. Here he meets the owner of the house Bondarenko. Unwillingly Jacob has become part of an organised crime conspiracy, held captive there by armed guards.

His task is to interpret between Hindi, Russian and English during Zoom calls with Nazim, an Indian criminal whose gang have taken over the manufacture and distribution network of the wonder fertility drug that Bondarenko has been selling on the internet. It becomes clear to Jacob that his employer is in far deeper and more dangerously than he realises. The gang’s plan is to take over the entire operation by any means.

The villa has become a lethal gilded prison to Jacob and Vlada, the maid who’s a trafficked worker. When Nazim finally strikes which side will Jacob take to survive?

Fast-moving, tense, glamorous and witty The Conspirators is G. W. Shaw’s follow-up to Dead Rich (‘A great book by a fabulous writer’ Steve Cavanagh) and shows that he’s a master of the gripping international thriller genre.

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‘Clever and persuasively written, this international thriller is great fun.’ Natasha Cooper, Literary Review

“Delivers a fresh and darkly comic riff on an established format – like an Eric Ambler novel updated to the age of big pharma and cyber crime.” John Williams Mail on Sunday

‘Tense and engrossing—a wild ride.’ Shari Lapena

‘His thriller debut Dead Rich was a cracker, and this delivers the promise of that book that Shaw’s headed for the big time. It’s a helter-skelter ride.’ Peterborough Telegraph

”The gig economy collides with the world of illegal pharmaceuticals in this fast-paced adventure” Yours

“Completely unique and original, The Conspirators by William Shaw is slick, witty, gripping and packed with non-stop action. It’s genre-defying which I loved and a brilliantly pieced together puzzle that keeps you absolutely glued to the page. Stunning.” Helen Fields 

“An ending that will make you grin at the sheer cleverness.” Susi Holiday

“This is a very enjoyable thriller which takes elements of the world we live in and spins a fantasy on a grand scale. Jacob is not sold to us as some James Bond wannabee but more like an average person stuck in an impossible situation. There is misdirection and quite a lot of edge of your seat moments which bring to mind some of the thrillers from times gone by such as Alistair McLean and Len Deighton and, more recently, Lee Child.” SF Crowsnest

“A subtle and engrossing read… The tale of an innocent at large and a gallery of well-sketched evil characters, alongside all the requisite twists and turns of a well-engineered plot, make for supreme entertainment with the reader rooting for the everyman character.” Maxim Jakubowski, Crimetime

‘Shaw’s headed for the big time… it’s a heater-skelter ride.’ Peterborough Telegraph

‘Blending international glamour and a sense of genuine threat, The Conspirators is stylish, pacy and cleverly plotted too.’ Culturefly