Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “State of Fear” as Want to Read:
State of Fear
(John Bailey #2)
by
Catching the world's most wanted terrorist was supposed to be someone else's job...
John Bailey has a history of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The former war correspondent has been kidnapped and tortured – twice. Finally he’s living something that resembles a normal life. But all that changes when a terrorist murders a woman in front of Bailey in London.
The ...more
John Bailey has a history of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The former war correspondent has been kidnapped and tortured – twice. Finally he’s living something that resembles a normal life. But all that changes when a terrorist murders a woman in front of Bailey in London.
The ...more
Get A Copy
ebook, 400 pages
Published
July 22nd 2019
by Simon Schuster Australia
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
State of Fear,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about State of Fear
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of State of Fear

I approached this book with great anticipation, having loved the author's debut novel The Greater Good, hoping that this offering would live up to it's predecessor. I'm happy to say it did, and more!
In this book John Bailey, a journalist battling demons, is witness to a terrorist attack in London, one that has far reaching consequences. Trouble has a habit of following Bailey, and back in his home town of Sydney things start to escalate as the war on terror touches Bailey personally. With the th ...more
In this book John Bailey, a journalist battling demons, is witness to a terrorist attack in London, one that has far reaching consequences. Trouble has a habit of following Bailey, and back in his home town of Sydney things start to escalate as the war on terror touches Bailey personally. With the th ...more

*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
3.5 stars
Following the publication of The Greater Good in 2018, author Tim Ayliffe has released his second novel, State of Fear. A white knuckle political thriller, State of Fear again features John Bailey, a complex but intriguing lead, who displays a sense of dogged determination in his quest to seek retribution for a terrorist attack.
State of Fear follows The Greater Good, which was released last year to great success. Penned by an author who knows the in ...more
3.5 stars
Following the publication of The Greater Good in 2018, author Tim Ayliffe has released his second novel, State of Fear. A white knuckle political thriller, State of Fear again features John Bailey, a complex but intriguing lead, who displays a sense of dogged determination in his quest to seek retribution for a terrorist attack.
State of Fear follows The Greater Good, which was released last year to great success. Penned by an author who knows the in ...more

Remember the good old days of thriller fiction, with bad guys that were easy to pick and the good guys plentiful on the ground. Even the lone wolf types seem to inhabit a lot of corners, on a lot of dark streets, in a lot of mean places. Nowadays thriller fiction is reflecting the current day reality of terrorism, in particular political terrorism, in that the people committing the offences are often misguided, radicalised young people; the real bad guys are lurking presences in the background;
...more

Jun 30, 2019
Gloria Arthur
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
the-bookshelf
State of Fear
This was an engaging, fast paced and thought provoking read. The story was well written and a modern day Australian crime thriller.
John Bailey as a Middle East Correspondent was kidnapped and tortured fifteen years ago by extremists in Iraq and since has had to deal with the demons of his past. He is still a journalist and living a practically normal life but soon his world will be turned upside down once again.
He is invited overseas to London to give a talk about Islamic terrorism. ...more
This was an engaging, fast paced and thought provoking read. The story was well written and a modern day Australian crime thriller.
John Bailey as a Middle East Correspondent was kidnapped and tortured fifteen years ago by extremists in Iraq and since has had to deal with the demons of his past. He is still a journalist and living a practically normal life but soon his world will be turned upside down once again.
He is invited overseas to London to give a talk about Islamic terrorism. ...more

Nov 07, 2019
Belinda
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
thriller-mystery-horror,
2019-reads
I really enjoyed this story. Part of it was because it was set in Sydney and Western Sydney and I loved reading the setting so well depicted. However, there were times that the author diverged to make commentary about the government that didn't relate to the story. For example, in one part there was talk about the government's agenda in regards to the building and construction of apartments. Similarly there were times where the descriptions of a street like Parramatta Road lasted for a page. I t
...more

I really enjoyed this fast-paced thriller. It is set in a very real world where terror attacks occur far too frequently and way too close to home - in this case both Sydney and London. The story is well-written, fast-paced and engaging. It wasn't until I was almost half-way through that I realised that it's the second book in the John Bailey series, but I didn't feel like I had missed anything not having read the first one.
There were a few things I would have liked more explanation on at the end ...more
There were a few things I would have liked more explanation on at the end ...more

I really enjoyed Tim Ayliffe's debut and this follow up is another top read.
Journalist John Bailey finds himself right in the middle of a terrorist plot. Thought provoking, fast paced and frighteningly realistic, the story alternates between Sydney and London. ...more
Journalist John Bailey finds himself right in the middle of a terrorist plot. Thought provoking, fast paced and frighteningly realistic, the story alternates between Sydney and London. ...more

Tim Ayliffe has brought his A game to "State of Fear". His go-to character is called John Bailey whose past is littered with being in the wrong place at the wrong time as his role as a war correspondent saw him kidnapped and tortured twice. Now his life changes again as a woman is murdered right in front of him in London.
The mastermind behind this brutal attack is Mustafa al-Baghdadi, the very same man who tortured Bailey in Fallujah ten years earlier. He's also Number One on the FBI's most want ...more
The mastermind behind this brutal attack is Mustafa al-Baghdadi, the very same man who tortured Bailey in Fallujah ten years earlier. He's also Number One on the FBI's most want ...more

Aug 01, 2019
Shelleyrae at Book'd Out
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
provided-by-publisher,
arc-are
State of Fear is an entertaining contemporary thriller from Tim Ayliffe, his second novel featuring journalist, John Bailey.
Moments after Australian the veteran war correspondent concludes his speech for an audience in London’s Chatham House about his experience at the hands of a Islamic terrorist organisation, Bailey witnesses a radicalised jihadi youth slit the throat of an innocent woman in St James Square. Less than 48 hours later, back home in Sydney, Bailey learns that the spectacle was or ...more
Moments after Australian the veteran war correspondent concludes his speech for an audience in London’s Chatham House about his experience at the hands of a Islamic terrorist organisation, Bailey witnesses a radicalised jihadi youth slit the throat of an innocent woman in St James Square. Less than 48 hours later, back home in Sydney, Bailey learns that the spectacle was or ...more

This isn’t a genre I usually read (i.e. terrorist plots and the like), but this was an enjoyable book. The book follows John Bailey, a journalist, who finds himself caught up in a terrorist plot as a result of his past as a war correspondent in Iraq.
The plot was very fast-paced, especially the last quarter where I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough! Most of the book is set in Sydney, which personally I found enjoyable as it’s my hometown and I love hearing place names and locations that I know ...more
The plot was very fast-paced, especially the last quarter where I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough! Most of the book is set in Sydney, which personally I found enjoyable as it’s my hometown and I love hearing place names and locations that I know ...more

Book blurb...
‘Ayliffe delivers a taut, nail-biting page-turner straight from the headlines, stamping his mark on the modern day thriller’
John Bailey has a history of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The veteran war reporter has been kidnapped and tortured – twice. Finally he’s living something that resembles a normal life. But all that changes when a terrorist murders a woman in front of Bailey in London.
The mastermind behind the attack is Mustafa al-Baghdadi – No.1 on the FBI’s mos ...more
‘Ayliffe delivers a taut, nail-biting page-turner straight from the headlines, stamping his mark on the modern day thriller’
John Bailey has a history of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The veteran war reporter has been kidnapped and tortured – twice. Finally he’s living something that resembles a normal life. But all that changes when a terrorist murders a woman in front of Bailey in London.
The mastermind behind the attack is Mustafa al-Baghdadi – No.1 on the FBI’s mos ...more

I am not a big reader of thrillers but I do love to read a good one from time to time. This one didn't disappoint. I quite enjoyed it.
John Bailey is a journalist that always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and never seems to know what is waiting for him around the next corner. He has great friends around him that seem to keep him alive.
I loved the characters in this novel as they all brought something different to the story. And although it seemed to start a little slow it kept ...more
John Bailey is a journalist that always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and never seems to know what is waiting for him around the next corner. He has great friends around him that seem to keep him alive.
I loved the characters in this novel as they all brought something different to the story. And although it seemed to start a little slow it kept ...more

John Bailey is a war correspondent journalist from Sydney, living a life of trying to recover from too much alcohol drinking, nightmares of being held hostage by one of the worlds most dangerous terrorists and trying to keep his romantic relationship going with his girlfriend Sharon Dexter, who works as a cop with the Counter Terrorism Unit.
Bailey’s ordeal begins when he gets a phone call from an unknown caller but he instantly recognised the voice-the wanted terrorist who tortured and held him ...more
Bailey’s ordeal begins when he gets a phone call from an unknown caller but he instantly recognised the voice-the wanted terrorist who tortured and held him ...more

Love the local landmarks that set this book so clearly in Sydney. Noted that most of the driving is done at night which explains how Bailey can cross the city in less than a day. I hadn’t read the first book and John Bailey is living with a lot of stuff from his colourful history. Ayliffe obviously has a rich history himself and we get a fair amount of (Tim’s) Baileys views on current media, politics, race issues and society in general. From the physical description I was kind of picturing a Bar
...more

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for my book.
Boy, does this book move along. Straight into the action and it keeps coming. There is deceit, action, corruption, threats and even a little bit of romance. John Bailey, the former war correspondent is a believable character. He wants a normal life, after being kidnapped and tortured, but becomes involved with a deadly terrorist. Bailey's life is certainly not normal.
Very exciting read. ...more
Boy, does this book move along. Straight into the action and it keeps coming. There is deceit, action, corruption, threats and even a little bit of romance. John Bailey, the former war correspondent is a believable character. He wants a normal life, after being kidnapped and tortured, but becomes involved with a deadly terrorist. Bailey's life is certainly not normal.
Very exciting read. ...more

Fast moving & action packed thriller. Very enjoyable book to read - well developed characters & great interaction between them. Hints of greater social commentary every now & then without getting too "preachy". And the story line hovers beautifully in the shadows between believable & incredible. Clear, concise prose that conveys the scenes & the story well. Very highly recommended as an Australian thriller. Will certainly read any future instalments about Bailey.
...more

Aug 26, 2019
Lyn
added it
A real page turner that taps into present day politics and concerns. The fear that terrorism generates is captured in this book. The radicalisation of young people is an issue, as well as racism and religion. The ending seemed a bit rushed, and I feel there must be a sequel somewhere in the offing.

Absolutely brilliant! The book had me absolutely captivated within the first couple of pages ... add to that the novelty of the two key characters living within my local area :) ... seriously though, fabulous story, not without its surprises. Story built around a terrorist plot that starts in London and makes it's way to Sydney. Definitely worth reading! I'll be going back for more!
...more

I would have given this well crafted thriller a high score except for one moment towards the end of the book where I simply don't believe the scenario the writer has created. There's no psychological truth to the moment. Which is a pity. Because otherwise, this story of journalists, spies and policy working together to solve a terrorist threat is a good read.
...more

Aug 29, 2019
Simona
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
library-loans-2019
Scary - with a sad dismiss
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Tim Ayliffe has been a journalist for almost 20 years and is the Managing Editor of Television and Video for ABC News. He has also worked as TV News Editor for ABC News and the Executive Producer of ABC News Breakfast.
Before joining the ABC in 2006, Tim worked in London for Sky News as a digital and television journalist. The Greater Good is the first book in Ayliffe's John Bailey crime-thriller ...more
Before joining the ABC in 2006, Tim worked in London for Sky News as a digital and television journalist. The Greater Good is the first book in Ayliffe's John Bailey crime-thriller ...more
Other books in the series
John Bailey
(2 books)
Related Articles
Die-hard mystery fans are always on the hunt for their next supremely satisfying whodunit. To help you stock that Want to Read shelf, we asked...
41 likes · 21 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »