Jon Stock
{{Short description|British writer (born 1966)}}
{{For|those of a similar name|John Stock (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Jon Stock
| image = Jon_Stock.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| pseudonym = J.S. Monroe
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1966|5|12}}
| birth_place = England
| occupation = Author, columnist
| nationality = British
| period =
| genre = Spy thriller
| spouse = Hilary Stock
| children = 3
| website =
}}
Jon Stock (born 12 May 1966 in England) is a British author and journalist. Between 1997 and 2017, he wrote six spy novels under his own name: The Riot Act (1997); The Cardomom Club (2003); Dead Spy Running (2009); Games Traitors Play (2011); Dirty Little Secret; To Snare a Spy. He has also written five psychological thrillers under the pen name J.S. Monroe: Find Me (2017); Forget My Name (2018); The Other You (2020); The Man on Hackpen Hill (2021); No Place to Hide (2023). He has written one work of non-fiction: The Sleep Room: A Very British Medical Scandal (2025).
Early life and family
Stock was educated at Sherborne School in Dorset and at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He lives in Wiltshire with his wife Hilary Stock, a fine art photographer; they have three children.{{cite web
|url= http://www.arcadiabooks.co.uk/authors.php?id=49|title= Jon Stock|accessdate= 11 November 2008|publisher= Arcadia Books|url-status= dead|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110723192141/http://www.arcadiabooks.co.uk/authors.php?id=49|archivedate= 23 July 2011}} He has three brothers, one of whom is Andrew Stock, a past president of the Society of Wildlife Artists.{{cite web|url=https://oldshirburnian.org.uk/news/oss-reception-at-the-royal-arcade-gallery/|title=OSS Reception at The Royal Arcade Gallery|date=21 November 2017|work=Old Shirburnian Society}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2011/08/dorset-lives-%E2%80%93-stock-pictures/|title=Dorset Lives – Stock pictures|date=August 2011|work=Dorset Life}}
Journalism
After working for some years as a freelance journalist in London, Stock moved to India, where he was a columnist for The Week and, from 1998 to 2000, a foreign correspondent for The Daily Telegraph in New Delhi. He also lived in Cochin, Kerala. On his return to England, he worked for The Daily Telegraph and was the editor of the Weekend section of the paper from 2005 till 2010.{{cite web|url =http://www.gamestraitorsplay.com/Site/JON_STOCK.html|title=Jon Stock|accessdate=18 January 2011|archiveurl =
https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232303/http://www.gamestraitorsplay.com/Site/JON_STOCK.html|archivedate= 3 March 2016
|publisher=gamestraitorsplay.coms}} He left the paper in January 2010 to complete a trilogy of spy thrillers and returned in March 2013 to edit the paper's online books channel, before rejoining the staff as Weekend editor in June 2014. He left the paper in October 2015 to pursue his writing career.[https://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowships/jon-stock/ Jon Stock Novelist, Non-fiction writer] Royal Literary Fund 24 August 2022 From 2020 to 2023 He was the Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at Mansfield College, University of Oxford.
Bibliography
The Riot Act (1997) was published by Serpent's Tail and short-listed by the Crime Writers' Association for its best first novel award. It was published in France by Éditions Gallimard in 2002 as Lutte Des Casses as part of its Série Noire imprint.{{cite web|url= http://www.gallimard.fr/Gallimard-cgi/Appli_catal/vers_detail.pl?numero_titre=010039200|title= Jon Stock|accessdate = 11 November 2008|publisher= Éditions Gallimard|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110725110549/http://www.gallimard.fr/Gallimard-cgi/Appli_catal/vers_detail.pl?numero_titre=010039200|archivedate = 25 July 2011}}{{cite web|url= http://www.gallimard.fr/gallimard-cgi/Appli_catal/rech_collection.pl?collection=106100000&tri=ac|title= Collection SÉRIE NOIRE [p. 74]|accessdate = 11 November 2008|publisher= Éditions Gallimard|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110725110604/http://www.gallimard.fr/gallimard-cgi/Appli_catal/rech_collection.pl?collection=106100000&tri=ac|archivedate = 25 July 2011}}
The Cardamom Club (2003) was published by Blackamber (later part of Arcadia Books) in the UK, and by Penguin Books in India in 2004.
Dead Spy Running (2009), published by Blue Door, was the first book in the Legoland trilogy.[https://www.goodreads.com/series/90501-legoland-trilogy Legoland Trilogy ] Goodreads.com, 18 November 2014.
Games Traitors Play (2011), published by Blue Door, was the second book in the Legoland trilogy.{{cite web
|url =http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Titles/46041/games-traitors-play-jon-stock-9780007300723|title =Games Traitors Play|accessdate =18 January 2011|publisher =Harper Collins}}
Dirty Little Secret (2012), published by Blue Door, was the concluding book in the Legoland trilogy.
Stock had signed a three-book deal in July 2008 with Blue Door, a HarperCollins imprint, for "a good six-figure sum", according to The Bookseller.{{cite web|url=http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/News/Pages/The_Blue_Door_Opens.aspx|title=The Blue Door Opens|accessdate=28 August 2008|publisher=HarperCollins|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801164420/http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/News/Pages/The_Blue_Door_Opens.aspx|archivedate= 1 August 2008|url-status=dead
}}{{cite web|url= http://www.thebookseller.com/news/63055-janson-smith-opens-blue-door.html|title= Janson-Smith opens Blue Door|accessdate= 28 August 2008|work= The Bookseller|url-status= dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080802060724/http://www.thebookseller.com/news/63055-janson-smith-opens-blue-door.html|archivedate =2 August 2008}} The spy novel series, known as the Legoland trilogy, all feature MI6 officer Daniel Marchant. While researching for Dirty Little Secret he came across the Seraj, an Iranian fast attack craft based on the high-performance British speedboat, the Bradstone Challenger.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120826010454/http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/24/irans-new-super-fast-naval-gunships/ "Iran's new super-fast naval gunships"], CNN Security Clearance – CNN.com Blogs, 24 August 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012. Stock wrote a detailed article in the Daily Telegraph,Jon Stock, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9486815/Little-boat-big-danger-how-a-British-made-speedboat-has-become-a-weapon-in-Irans-standoff-with-the-US.html "Little boat, big danger: how a British-made speedboat has become a weapon in Iran's standoff with the US"], The Telegraph, 20 August 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012. on how the Iranians plan to use it as a fast attack boat against the United States Navy in any future conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.
To Snare a Spy (2017) was published by The Nare Hotel Co Ltd.[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34838418-to-snare-a-spy To Snare a Spy] Goodreads.com 25 April 2017 It is a spy thriller featuring protagonist Noah, a teenager who learns of a Russian mole in the British government.[http://www.narehotel.co.uk/tosnareaspy The country house hotel by the sea...] The Nare 25 April 2017
Find Me (2017) was written under the pen name J.S. Monroe and published by Head of Zeus.{{cite web|title='Sensational' thriller to HoZ|url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/sensational-thriller-hoz-335601|website=The Bookseller|accessdate=20 July 2016}}{{cite web|title=Authors|url=http://www.janklowandnesbit.co.uk/js-monroe|website=Janklow and Nesbit|accessdate=20 July 2016}} It was published in the UK in February 2017 and by Harlequin MIRA in the US in March 2017.{{cite web|title=Find Me|url=http://headofzeus.com/book/find-me|website=Head of Zeus|accessdate=20 July 2016}}{{cite web|title=London Book Fair Briefcase 2016|url=http://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/article_free.asp?pid=london_book_fair_briefcase_2016|website=Book Brunch|accessdate=20 July 2016}} Find Me is a 'high concept' psychological thriller featuring Jar, a young Irish writer, who is convinced that his girlfriend, who committed suicide five years ago at university, might still be alive. Publishers Marketplace has mentioned Find Me as having "notes of Harlan Coben's Tell No One and Ian McEwan's Sweet Tooth".{{cite web|title=Publishers Marketplace – Publishers Lunch|url=https://freshpickeddeals.com/publishersmarketplace.com/publishers-lunch-1503048|website=Fresh Picked Deals|accessdate=20 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814111115/https://freshpickeddeals.com/publishersmarketplace.com/publishers-lunch-1503048|archive-date=14 August 2016|url-status=dead}} Find Me had been translated into 14 languages by 2017.[https://www.amazon.co.uk/J.S.-Monroe/e/B01N7XV557 J.S. Monroe] Amazon 31 October 2017{{cite web |url=https://www.bardonchinese.com/admin/download/file/2017-09-27/59cb12375827c.pdf |title=NEVER FORGET J. S. Monroe page 19 |publisher=Bardon Chinese Media Agency |access-date=31 October 2017}}[https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/865780.Jon_Stock Jon Stock] Goodreads.com 8 August 2018
Forget My Name (2018) was published by 'Head of Zeus under the pen name J.S. Monroe. This book is about a woman who loses her memory, and only remembers her home address, and has lost all her IDs after her bag is stolen.[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40380085.Forget_My_Name Forget My Name] Goodreads.com 8 August 2018
The Other You (2020) was published by Head of Zeus under the pen name J.S. Monroe. It is a psychological thriller about a super recogniser called Kate, who suspects that her partner has been replaced by his doppelgänger.[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49421804-the-other-you The Other You] Goodreads.com 9 January 2020
The Man on Hackpen Hill (2021) was published by Head of Zeus under the pen name J.S. Monroe and is the third novel to feature DI Silas Hart, head of Swindon CID. A suspense thriller, it begins with the discovery of a dead body in the middle of a mathematical crop circle in Wiltshire.[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Hackpen-Hill-J-S-Monroe-ebook/dp/B08NCWHN16/ The Man on Hackpen Hill] Amazon UK 5 March 2021
No Place to Hide (2023) was published by Head of Zeus under the pen name J.S. Monroe. A psychological thriller, it is about a successful doctor in London whose life and marriage implode when his past as a medical student catches up with him.[https://headofzeus.com/books/9781801109345 No Place to Hide] Head of Zeus 23 August 2022[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60600415-no-place-to-hide No Place to Hide] GoodReads 23 August 2022
The Sleep Room: A Very British Medical Scandal (2025), published by The Bridge Street Press, was Stock's first work of non-fiction.[https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/the-bridge-street-press-acquires-stocks-chilling-psychiatric-expose-the-sleep-room-in-major-pre-empt The Bridge Street Press acquires Stock's 'chilling' psychiatric exposé The Sleep Room in major pre-empt] The Bookseller 18 January 2023 The book is about British psychiatrist William Sargant and his experimental treatment of women in the 60's and 70's at St Thomas' Hospital in London. As well as accessing Sargant's papers at the Wellcome Collection and recently released documents at National Archives in Kew, Stock contacted survivors of Sargant's experiments and the book includes their testimonies.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/29/he-still-features-in-my-nightmares-how-a-sinister-psychiatrist-put-hundreds-of-women-in-deep-drug-induced-comas|title='He still features in my nightmares': how a sinister psychiatrist put hundreds of women in deep, drug-induced comas|first=Jon|last=Stock|date=29 March 2025|work=The Guardian}}
Movie deal
Warner Bros. acquired the movie rights to the Dead Spy Running franchise in October 2008 to make the first of a proposed three-movie franchise.{{cite news
|url =https://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSTRE49N0EE20081024|title =Director McG is 'Spy' guy for action franchise|author=Borys Kit|date =23 October 2008|accessdate =11 November 2008
|agency =Reuters}} They signed on Charlie's Angels director McG to direct the movie along with Stephen Gaghan to write the screen play.{{cite news|url =https://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=53059|title =Stephen Gaghan Adapting Dead Spy Running|date =19 February 2009|accessdate =15 September 2012|publisher =Comingsoon.net}} In September 2012 Warner Brothers announced that they had hired Adam Wingard to direct, and Simon Barrett to rewrite the screenplay of Dead Spy Running.Mike Fleming Jr, [https://deadline.com/2012/09/warner-bros-sets-director-adam-wingard-and-scribe-simon-barrett-for-dead-spy-running-335997/ "Warner Bros Sets Director Adam Wingard And Scribe Simon Barrett For ‘Dead Spy Running’"], Deadline, New York. Retrieved 15 September 2012. In 2014, McG bought the movie rights with his own company, Wonderland Sound and Vision.Nellie Andreeva and Mike Fleming Jr, [https://deadline.com/2013/06/mcgs-wonderland-now-a-monied-company-with-ld-entertainment-partnership-gina-girolamo-heads-tv-529041/ "McG's Wonderland Now A Monied Company"], Deadline Hollywood, 25 June 2013.[http://www.tracking-board.com/tb-exclusive-mcgs-wonderland-sound-and-vision-gets-a-little-fractured/ "McG's Wonderland Sound and Vision Gets a Little 'Fractured'"], The Tracking Board, 17 April 2014.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://jsthrillers.com/ J.S. Monroe]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stock, Jon}}
Category:People educated at Sherborne School
Category:20th-century British novelists
Category:21st-century British novelists
Category:Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Category:British male journalists
Category:British male novelists