''Hard Landing'' is a 2004
thriller novel by British author
Stephen Leather
Stephen Leather (born 25 October 1956) is a British Thriller (genre), thriller author whose works are published by Hodder & Stoughton. He has written for television shows such as ''London's Burning (TV series), London's Burning'', ''The Knock'', ...
.
Published in 2004 by
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette.
History
Early history
The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...
, it is the first book in the Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd series.
''Hard Landing'' is an international
bestseller
A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
and is available in
ebook
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
and
paperback.
History
Stephen Leather, a former
journalist, spent time in
Belmarsh Prison in
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...
and in Durham Prison to research for ''Hard Landing''.
He learned about the high security accommodations, daily regimes, and the special supervision processes for disruptive inmates.
In 2004, Hodder & Stoughton published the original version of the novel in
hardback and paperback.
In 2010, Hodder & Stoughton released the
Kindle
Kindle may refer to:
Companies and products
* Amazon Kindle, an e-reader line by Amazon.com
** Kindle Direct Publishing, an e-book publishing platform by Amazon
** Kindle Store, an online e-book e-commerce store by Amazon
* Kindle Banking Systems, ...
version of ''Hard Landing''.
The novel is popular in prisons.
''Hard Landing'' has been translated into over ten languages.
Plot
''Hard Landing'' is about an elite undercover cop, Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd, assigned to foil an imprisoned, ruthless UK drug dealer, Gerald Carpenter, who has threatened witnesses, destroyed evidence, and murdered police to regain his freedom.
Shepherd goes undercover in a high-security prison to learn how Carpenter is orchestrating his plans through contacts around the world.
Shepherd's mission is to find Carpenter’s contacts and stop them before they destroy the case and murder Shepherd's family.
Awards and recognition
* In 2004, the Crime Writer’s Association nominated ''Hard Landing'' for the
Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association for best thriller of the year. The award is sponsored by the estate of Ian Fleming.
It is given to a title that fits the broadest definition of ...
Award for best adventure/thriller novel.
* In 2011, ''Hard Landing'' was the fourth best-selling e-book in the U.K.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official website
British thriller novels
2004 British novels
Hodder & Stoughton books