Red Star Down
Published on 12. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
672 pages
978-1-5299-3348-2 (ISBN)
Description
'If you loved Terry Haye's I Am Pilgrim, this is your big beach read this summer' The Sun
THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE. THIS IS THE STORY OF WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE IT DOES.
A propulsive international spy thriller for fans of MOSCOW X, I AM PILGRIM and SLOW HORSES
'Heir to Frederick Forsyth... delightfully audacious spy story' The Times
'Magnificently conceived and brilliantly executed' ANDREW TAYLOR
'Compelling and suspenseful ... kept me gripped throughout' AJAY CHOWDHURY
'Rich, epic ... exactly what a contemporary thriller should be' JEREMY DUNS
An explosive conspiracy is on the verge of detonation.
A Korean man is poisoned in broad-daylight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
A Russian intelligence officer is assassinated in a Washington hotel.
And a real-estate mogul has just become the 45th President of the United States.
The world teeters on the brink and three individuals find themselves caught up in the cross hairs:
Jenna, a seasoned CIA officer, whose past missions refuse to stay buried.
Lyosha, a student in Moscow who confronts Vladimir Putin on live TV only to suffer the consequences.
And Eric, a North Korean spy in the heart of the White House who adores the man he is working to undermine: the President.
In a world of shifting allegiances and betrayal, RED STAR DOWN is a global and gripping thriller that explores the intricate web of politics, espionage, and deception during of one of the most turbulent periods in recent history.
PRAISE FOR D.B. JOHN:
'Tense and compelling' James Swallow, Sunday Times bestselling author of NOMAD
'A vivid, convincing thriller' Sunday Times
'Fast-moving and compelling' Daily Mail
'A fine writer ... unmissable' Sunday Express
'Masterly' Guardian
THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE. THIS IS THE STORY OF WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE IT DOES.
A propulsive international spy thriller for fans of MOSCOW X, I AM PILGRIM and SLOW HORSES
'Heir to Frederick Forsyth... delightfully audacious spy story' The Times
'Magnificently conceived and brilliantly executed' ANDREW TAYLOR
'Compelling and suspenseful ... kept me gripped throughout' AJAY CHOWDHURY
'Rich, epic ... exactly what a contemporary thriller should be' JEREMY DUNS
An explosive conspiracy is on the verge of detonation.
A Korean man is poisoned in broad-daylight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
A Russian intelligence officer is assassinated in a Washington hotel.
And a real-estate mogul has just become the 45th President of the United States.
The world teeters on the brink and three individuals find themselves caught up in the cross hairs:
Jenna, a seasoned CIA officer, whose past missions refuse to stay buried.
Lyosha, a student in Moscow who confronts Vladimir Putin on live TV only to suffer the consequences.
And Eric, a North Korean spy in the heart of the White House who adores the man he is working to undermine: the President.
In a world of shifting allegiances and betrayal, RED STAR DOWN is a global and gripping thriller that explores the intricate web of politics, espionage, and deception during of one of the most turbulent periods in recent history.
PRAISE FOR D.B. JOHN:
'Tense and compelling' James Swallow, Sunday Times bestselling author of NOMAD
'A vivid, convincing thriller' Sunday Times
'Fast-moving and compelling' Daily Mail
'A fine writer ... unmissable' Sunday Express
'Masterly' Guardian
Reviews / Votes
A compelling and suspenseful thriller that kept me gripped throughout -- AJAY CHOWDHURY A richly satisfying thriller on an epic scale, magnificently conceived and brilliantly executed -- ANDREW TAYLOR Immensely enjoyable. A rich, epic thriller in the grand tradition ... This is exactly what a contemporary thriller should be: a gripping narrative with intriguing twists, vivid characters and well-drawn settings that is not merely very well researched about geopolitics but sheds new light on them too -- JEREMY DUNS A delightfully audacious spy story... a lot of fun to read, not least for John's insight that for the three autocratic leaders [Trump, Putin, Kim Jong Un] politics has become...more about dynasty than democracy * The Times * [A] superb doorstep of a book, that weaves real-life characters and events with fictional ones in a clever, believable spy thriller * The Sun *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
488 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-3348-2 (9781529933482)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
D. B. John
Red Star Down
The most explosive spy thriller you'll read this year, for fans of MOSCOW X, I AM PILGRIM and SLOW HORSES
E-Book
07/2025
Vintage Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Person
D. B. John grew up in Wales. He has lived in South Korea and is one of the few Westerners to have visited North Korea. He co-authored The Girl With Seven Names, Hyeonseo Lee's New York Times bestselling memoir about her escape from North Korea, and wrote the critically-acclaimed novel Star of the North.