Frederick Forsyth: I’ve written my last thriller
HE has led a life of intrigue and adventure, frequently putting himself in harm’s way to research books that have made him a bestseller.
But Frederick Forsyth has revealed he has now written his last novel, after his wife threatened him with divorce if he undertook any more dangerous missions.
Forsyth, 77, whose novels include The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Dogs of War, took a trip to war-torn Somalia to research his last thriller, The Kill List, in which an ex-Marine is tasked with bringing down the world’s most wanted man.
During Forsyth’s stay in Mogadishu, fighting was going on, with tracer fire flying past his hotel window.
When his wife learned this, he disclosed at the Edinburgh International Book Festival yesterday, she insisted it must be his final escapade.
In conversation with Rebus author Ian Rankin, he said: ‘I think The Kill List is the last. It’s age – I’ll be 78 next week.
‘When I was doing The Kill List I had to go to a place called Mogadishu – which is not nice – in Somalia.
‘My wife Sandy said, “Are you insane? If you do any more of these blasted stupid trips I’m going to go and see Fiona Shackleton.” She’s a divorce lawyer.
‘I don’t think Sandy meant it but she’s rather pleased I’ve stopped after going to a place like that at 74.’
Forsyth’s announcement at the festival, where he was promoting his memoir The Outsider: My Life In Intrigue, follows his disclosure last summer that he had worked for MI6 for 20 years.
This confirmed the suspicions of fans that his highly realistic spy novels must have been informed by personal involvement with British intelligence.
The author, who was never paid for his MI6 work, had no qualms about revealing the truth. He said: ‘It was controversial... but not about the security of our country.’