Peter Roche’s Explosive Thriller Hits Shelves – And It’s Already Keeping Readers Up All Night
24 FEBRUARY 2026 | AVAILABLE NOW
Today, Peter Roche’s electrifying new thriller, PREY FOR REVENGE, debuts, revealing the hidden realities of black ops, solemn promises, and the perilous schemes of those who consider themselves lawless.
If you’ve been waiting for a thriller that combines the tactical precision of Reacher, the international intrigue of Gabriel Allon, and the relentless pace of Mitch Rapp, but with a female protagonist who refuses to be a victim, your wait is over.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A WIDOW BECOMES THE TARGET?
Six years ago, in the lawless expanse of The Badlands, where Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan collide, Captain Peter Meer took his shot. An elite SAS sniper on a black ops mission sanctioned by MI6, his target was terrorist commander Asif Badawi.
The mission failed spectacularly. In the firefight that followed, Peter killed Badawi’s three younger brothers before being cut down himself. Badawi escaped, wounded, enraged, and determined. His blood oath echoes across continents: Dr Cathy Meer and her children will pay for what was taken from him. For six years, Cathy has lived with that shadow. But shadows eventually become substance. And when Badawi’s promise transforms into an imminent threat, the widow of an SAS hero becomes prey.
Enter Captain Marcus de Vere.
THE PROTECTOR WHO BECOMES SOMETHING MORE
Marcus isn’t your typical bodyguard. He’s E Squadron, the most elite unit within the already legendary SAS. The operators who handle the jobs too dangerous, too sensitive, or too morally ambiguous for anyone else. These aren’t the men who knock on doors and ask permission. They’re the ones who eliminate problems before the public even knows those problems exist.
Fearless. Lethal. Uncompromising. And now, standing between Cathy Meer’s family and a terrorist’s vengeance. What neither Marcus nor Cathy anticipates is the bond that forms in the crucible of survival, a connection that defies every protocol, every rule, every logical boundary between protector and protected. It’s inconvenient. It’s dangerous. It’s undeniable.
In a world where trust can be fatal and distraction deadly, their growing attraction becomes both their greatest vulnerability and their most potent weapon.
THE CONSPIRACY THEY NEVER SAW COMING
Badawi’s pursuit is relentless, but it’s not random. As Marcus and Cathy dig deeper, patterns emerge, threads connecting international terrorism to domestic power structures in ways that shouldn’t exist but unmistakably do.
The Summer Hunt.
It’s not a metaphor. It’s an organisation. A secret society that has transformed murder into a refined art, protected by wealth, power, and connections that reach into the highest levels of British society. These aren’t rogue operatives or desperate criminals. They’re elites—bankers, politicians, aristocrats—who have decided that their privilege extends to hunting and killing young women for sport.
They operate with absolute impunity. Until they make the mistake of crossing paths with a widow who has nothing left to lose and a protector who specialises in making powerful people disappear.
What begins as a desperate defence against one man’s revenge explodes into a full-scale war against an enemy that shouldn’t exist in a civilised society, but thrives in its shadows.
WHAT MAKES PREY FOR REVENGE DIFFERENT?
AUTHENTIC MILITARY ACTION
Roche doesn’t just write about special forces; he understands them. The tactical operations, the weapons, the protocols, the psychological toll of doing violence for the greater good. This isn’t Hollywood fantasy. It’s the real world where operators make impossible choices and live with the consequences.
A HEROINE WHO FIGHTS BACK
Cathy Meer isn’t waiting to be rescued. She’s a doctor, a mother, and increasingly, a warrior. Watching her transformation from grieving widow to active participant in her own survival is one of the novel’s most compelling arcs. This is a woman who discovers that sometimes, the only way to protect what you love is to become what you fear.
THE ELITE WITHIN THE ELITE
E Squadron isn’t fiction; it’s the SAS unit that handles operations too sensitive for the regular squadrons. Chemical weapons threats. Hostage rescue in hostile nations. The missions that never make the news because they never officially happened. Marcus de Vere represents the peak of this brotherhood: operators who can’t be broken, bought, or intimidated.
ROMANCE THAT RAISES THE STAKES
The connection between Marcus and Cathy isn’t a subplot; it’s integral to the story. The chemistry between them intensifies every danger, deepens every parting, and heightens every reunion. In a world where showing emotion can get you killed, falling in love becomes the most dangerous thing either of them can do.
A VILLAIN YOU’LL BELIEVE EXISTS
The Summer Hunt society is terrifying precisely because it feels plausible. Throughout history, the powerful have protected their own. They’ve created systems in which wealth buys impunity and privilege erases accountability. Roche takes that uncomfortable truth and asks: What if they organised? What if they institutionalised it? The answer is chilling.
PERFECT FOR FANS OF…
Vince Flynn’s MITCH RAPP series → If you love the unflinching portrayal of CIA operations and the moral complexity of fighting terrorists, you’ll devour this.
Lee Child’s JACK REACHER novels → Readers who appreciate military precision, tactical combat, and a protagonist who refuses to back down will feel right at home.
Daniel Silva’s GABRIEL ALLON series → For those who crave international intrigue, intelligence operations, and the moral weight of necessary violence.
Tom Clancy’s political thrillers → Fans of geopolitical complexity and military accuracy will appreciate Roche’s attention to detail.
Suzanne Brockmann’s romantic suspense → If you love military romance where the action never stops, and the stakes are life-and-death.
THE QUESTIONS THAT WILL HAUNT YOU
PREY FOR REVENGE doesn’t offer easy answers. It asks uncomfortable questions:
When justice fails, does vengeance become righteous?
Badawi’s brothers were terrorists, but they were also brothers. Does that make his quest for revenge understandable, even if it’s unforgivable?
How far would you go to protect your children?
Cathy crosses lines she never imagined crossing. The question isn’t whether you’d do the same, it’s whether you’d be able to live with yourself afterwards.
What happens when the system protects the guilty?
The Summer Hunt exists because powerful people ensure it can. When institutions fail, what recourse exists except to become what you’re fighting against?
Can love survive in a world built on violence?
Marcus and Cathy are both shaped by loss. Can two people forged in fire build something that doesn’t burn?
These aren’t hypothetical questions. By the final page, you’ll have answers, and they won’t be comfortable ones.
INSIDE THE WORLD OF E SQUADRON
For readers fascinated by special forces operations, PREY FOR REVENGE offers unprecedented access to the world of Britain’s most secretive warriors.
E Squadron operates under the direct authority of the Director of Special Forces and, when necessary, MI6. They’re the ones who handle:
- Counter-terrorism operations in denied areas
- Hostage rescue when diplomatic solutions fail
- Chemical and biological weapons threats
- Black operations that can never be acknowledged
Their selection process makes regular SAS selection look easy. Their operators are fluent in multiple languages, trained in advanced interrogation resistance, and psychologically assessed to ensure they can make kill decisions without hesitation or trauma.
Marcus de Vere is the best of the best, an operator who’s seen and done things that would break lesser men. Watching him navigate not just the physical threats but the emotional minefield of caring for someone when caring can be fatal is one of the novel’s greatest pleasures.
THE SUMMER HUNT: WEALTH, POWER, AND MURDER
What makes The Summer Hunt so disturbing isn’t just what they do, it’s how normal they are. These aren’t monsters lurking in shadows. They’re:
- Members of Parliament who write laws during the day and break the most fundamental ones at night
- CEOs whose corporate donations fund political campaigns and buy silence
- Aristocrats whose family names open doors that remain closed to law enforcement
- Bankers who understand that money doesn’t just talk, it erases
They’ve created an institution where murder is gamified, where young women are prey, and where the only rule is: don’t get caught. And even if you do, you won’t be punished.
Until Cathy Meer and Marcus de Vere stumble into their world and refuse to look away.
The confrontation between working-class soldiers and aristocratic killers isn’t just physical—it’s ideological. It’s about who has the right to take a life. It’s about whether money and breeding really do place someone above the law. It’s about what happens when the wolves realise they’re being hunted.
AVAILABLE NOW—DON’T MISS THE THRILLER EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
PREY FOR REVENGE is available today in:
- Trade Paperback (6″ × 9″, 417 pages of relentless action)
- eBook (All major retailers)
- Audiobook (Coming soon)
FOR BOOK CLUBS
PREY FOR REVENGE is an ideal book club selection, offering rich discussion material about:
- Justice vs. vengeance
- Moral compromise in the name of protection
- Power and accountability
- Gender roles in traditionally male-dominated genres
- The psychology of grief and survival
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter Roche brings an insider’s understanding of military operations and intelligence work to his fiction. His novels don’t just entertain—they challenge readers to confront uncomfortable truths about the world we live in and the prices paid by those who protect it.
With PREY FOR REVENGE, Roche establishes himself as a master of the modern thriller, capable of delivering heart-stopping action while never sacrificing character depth, emotional resonance, or moral complexity.
THE VERDICT
If you’re looking for a thriller that will keep you up all night, make you question everything, and leave you desperate for the sequel, PREY FOR REVENGE delivers on every level.
The hunt begins today. Whose side will you be on?
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Prey for Revenge by Peter Roche | 417 Pages | Trade Paperback & eBook | Available Now
ARROW GATE PUBLISHING 