Christopher Kruse has moved to the south of France with his wife and daughter to become a better man—to escape his past as a high-priced security agent and his guilt over old wrongs. But after a harrowing accident, he finds himself drawn into a web of political gamesmanship and murder. When his wife disappears, Kruse must draw on his old instincts to find her, ahead of the police and two sinister members of a Corsican crime family. His desperate search leads him closer to his wife, and deeper into the dangerous machinations of the most powerful leaders in the country.

Come Barbarians is a gripping novel of love and loss, murder, revenge and political conspiracy. Todd Babiak has created a complex, magnetic character forced to confront his bleakest hour and his darkest impulses.

Todd Babiak is an award-winning author, journalist and screenwriter. His second novel, The Garneau Block, was a #1 regional bestseller, a longlisted title for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the winner of the City of Edmonton Book Prize. His third novel, The Book of Stanley, is in development for television. Babiak is a columnist for the Edmonton Journal and on the board of PEN Canada. Visit his website at www.toddbabiak.com.

Todd Babiak's profile page

• Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year

“With Come Barbarians, Todd Babiak stands shoulder to shoulder with Greene and le Carré, but makes the world his own, infusing it with French New Wave cinema and an emotionally resonant voice to craft a thriller of distinction, and of the heart.” — Andrew Pyper, bestselling author of The Demonologist

“Todd has crafted a dark mystery that had me contemplating, ‘What would I do?’ all the while painting a beautiful landscape. Would make Richard Castle proud!” — Nathan Fillion, star of Castle

“Come Barbarians is a smashing success on both fronts [literary and thriller]. The story snaps and twists in all the right places. . . . It’s a treat.” — Edmonton Journal

“If you like The Wire TV series, you’ll like Come Barbarians. . . . Babiak is one of my favourite authors and he’s written a spine-tingling thriller that should be read with the lights on and the doors locked.” — Vancouver Sun

“A gritty crime story set in France. . . . The plot comes with enougn action to be straight from the script of a Hollywood thriller.” — Quill & Quire

“Come Barbarians is a page-turner in the vein of Steig Larsson’s Millennium trilogy.” — The Globe and Mail