From the author of the existential thriller 'The Execution' comes 'Colony', a novel set in French Guiana as the age of Empire draws to a close and anarchy beckons.

The year is 1928. Sabir - petty criminal, drifter, war veteran - is on a prison ship bound for a notorious penal colony in the French tropics. Soon after his arrival in the bagne, as it's known, Sabir is shipped out to a work camp deep in the South American jungle but quickly comes to the realisation that his old life is dead, and return to France an impossibility. Yet, if he's to survive at all, he must escape the...

'Unnervingly cool prose...an entertainingly urbane thriller whose] suspense lies not in the whodunit, but in watching a perfect life unravel.' Daily Telegraph

Matthew Bourne suspects his partner, Marianne, of having an affair - though he has just embarked on one himself. Then one day a colleague's wife dies in tragic circumstances, and Matthew is called to identify the body. Only much later does he realise that this incident has seeped into his life like a slow poison...A riveting narrative of mystery and menace, 'The Execution' is a stunningly accomplished novel.

Matthew Bourne -- very much the center of his own universe -- has a long-term partner, a mistress, and a successful career with a human rights agency, where he is campaigning to secure the release of a condemned African dissident. Then one day a colleague's wife dies in tragic circumstances, and Matthew is called to identify the body. Only much later does he realize that this incident has seeped into his life like a slow poison, and he spirals into a nightmare of death and betrayal.