BLIND Eye by John McLaren is a tense thriller set in modern times, which takes a penetrating look at one of the greatest dilemmas likely to face the modern fighting man and his superiors:

when is simply following orders no longer morally defensible?

When will the man or woman nearest the action decide that he or she has a better vantage point than the top brass thousands of miles away? And if those closest to the crisis refuse to follow orders, what can the government do about it? Especially if that person is in command of the ultimate floating war machine.

Chris Cameron is clever, charismatic, a natural leader, but he would never have risen so high in the Royal Navy without mastering the maverick streak that defined his early career as a fighter pilot.

When Whitehall orders Cameron's aircraft carrier to take up position near to the territorial waters of an African state that might secretly be planning large-scale slaughter, the scene is set for something of a mission impossible. The situation on the ground in Africa is rapidly deteriorating, yet there is mounting pressure on the Foreign Office to withdraw the aircraft carrier.

It results in Cameron coming face to face with the greatest crisis of his personal and professional life --a dilemma that could present the government with the truly ultimate military nightmare.

This is five star fiction for those demanding thriller fans, who revel in a really gripping yarn that will keep them reading well into the night. Quite simply, it's a knockout.

Blind Eye by John McLaren (Simon and Schuster, £10)