A. J. Quinnell

Man on Fire is a 1980 thriller novel by the English novelist Philip Nicholson, writing as A. J. Quinnell. The plot features his popular character Creasy, an American-born former member of the French Foreign Legion, in his first appearance.

The Mahdi is a 1981 thriller novel by Philip Nicholson, writing as A. J. Quinnell. The book was published in 1981 by Macmillan in the UK then in January 1982 by William Morrow & Co in the US and deals with political power struggles over a presumed Muslim prophet.

Creasy is on a mission to rescue a US serviceman taken prisoner 26 years earlier during the Vietnam War. However, he has been tricked into this by a high-ranking officer of the Khmer Rouge, who harbours a grudge against Creasy for the death of her father. A dangerous cat and mouse game ensues.