The Bastion

Hoorah! A new thriller set in Malta. Or at least partially set in Malta.

Mark Grenside's The Bastion is a brisk, inventive conspiracy thriller that turns a Hollywood production into the hiding place for a dangerous financial secret. Building on the world introduced in Fall Out, it follows producer Marcus Riley and his partner Mako as they become entangled in a plot involving stolen insurance data, and a high-profile abduction of a Hollywood star.

The novel begins with a compelling idea: a classified Lloyd's list identifying the world's most heavily insured and wealthy individuals is smuggled inside the frames of a major film. Using steganography, only just recently referred to by MI5 as a real world risk, the criminals conceal the data within images and place it in a secretive Maltese digital vault called the Bastion. This gives the story an unusual hook, making cinema itself part of the criminal mechanism rather than simply a backdrop.

When British movie producer Marcus Riley discovers that his own big-budget production sits at the centre of the conspiracy, the danger becomes personal. The film's star is abducted and taken into the underground tunnels beneath Valletta, where she unknowingly holds information vital to the criminals' plans. Marcus and Mako must trace her whereabouts, understand the scale of the scheme, and prevent the stolen list from being sold to syndicates intent on exploiting its contents.

Grenside keeps the narrative moving with short, purposeful scenes and a clear sense of escalation. Boy can he write dialogue. This book, indeed his whole series, would be just perfect for television.

The story shifts between California and the Mediterranean, giving the book an international scope without losing sight of its central rescue mission. The Malta setting is especially effective: Valletta's history, architecture, and underground spaces lend the climax a distinctive atmosphere that separates the novel from more generic Los Angeles-based thrillers.

Marcus and Mako make an engaging duo. Marcus is resourceful and increasingly forced to question whom he can trust, while Mako brings urgency and emotional stakes to the search for their abducted friend. Their partnership gives the novel warmth amid the betrayals and technical manoeuvring. The villains are suitably menacing, motivated by the enormous value of the list and willing to eliminate anyone who might expose them.

What gives The Bastion particular credibility is Grenside's professional background. Before becoming a novelist, he worked in kidnap, ransom, and extortion insurance at Lloyd's of London, then spent more than two decades producing film and television. That dual experience informs both the financial mechanics of the plot and the convincing depiction of a large-scale movie production under pressure.

The novel will appeal to readers who enjoy fast, plot-led fiction in the tradition of international conspiracy thrillers. It combines a puzzle-box premise with action, pursuit, and a race against time, while retaining enough human drama to keep the stakes felt rather than merely described. Its blend of cybercrime, insurance intrigue, and showbusiness makes it difficult to pigeonhole, and that originality is one of its chief strengths.

The Bastion is an assured second entry in the Marcus Riley series. It expands the franchise's world, delivers a self-contained adventure, and leaves plenty of room for further cases. Gripping, topical, and full of cinematic energy, it confirms Grenside as a writer with a sharp instinct for high-concept commercial suspense.