Warlord - James Steel

An utterly gripping thriller that sees former cavalry Major turned hardened mercenary Alex Devereux plunged into conflict in the dark heart of Africa, as he battles the dominant militia in the Congo.

China intends to take over the Kivu region in The Democratic Republic of Congo, a tribal slaughterhouse of rival militias who are butchering the local population and fighting over mineral resources.

Alex's mission is to defeat the dominant militia, the FDLR. But details of how Kivu will be governed under the new order are sketchy and Alex must run the gamut of the United Nations, the Congolese army and the clash of superpower claims on the region.

Alex knows that the plan is risky. But he can't resist - could he succeed in bringing stability when everyone else has failed? He and his crack regiment take on their toughest assignment yet. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions and Alex is about to find out why the region has been called the dark heart of Africa.