Jonathan Lloyd, Forsyth’s longtime agent, has confirmed the death of Fredrick Forsyth, the acclaimed author died on Monday following a short illness at 86.  

‎“The world has lost one of its greatest thriller writers,” Lloyd said in a statement.  

‎Ferdrick Forsyth rose to fame with his masterfully crafted political thrillers, but his connection to Nigeria’s Biafran civil war left a lasting mark. As a young foreign correspondent, he covered the Nigerian Civil War from the frontlines, developing a deep empathy for the Biafran cause. This inspired The Biafra Story, one of the earliest comprehensive accounts of the conflict, and later he wrote about Emeka, a biography of Biafran leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.  

‎Born in Kent in 1938, Forsyth joined the Royal Air Force at 18, becoming one of its youngest pilots. He later transitioned into journalism, working for Reuters and the BBC. In a surprising 2015 revelation, he disclosed that he had also spent over two decades as an operative for MI6, Britain’s intelligence service.  

‎His literary career began unexpectedly. Broke and unemployed in 1971, he recalled thinking, “How do I get myself out of this hole?” His solution? Writing a novel. That novel, The Day of the Jackal, became a global sensation. The gripping story of an English assassin plotting to kill French President Charles de Gaulle was adapted into a 1973 film starring Edward Fox, with a 2024 TV remake featuring Eddie Redmayne.  

‎Forsyth went on to publish more than 25 books, including "The Odessa File", "The Dogs of War", and "The Fourth Protocol", selling over 75 million copies worldwide. His publisher, Bill Scott-Kerr, praised him as “the benchmark to which contemporary thriller writers aspire,” adding that working with Forsyth was “one of the great pleasures of my professional life.”  

‎The Odessa File (1972) was turned into a film starring Jon Voight, and a sequel, "Revenge of Odessa", co-written with Tony Kent, is set for release this August.  

‎Honored as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1997 for his contributions to literature, Forsyth leaves behind two sons from his first marriage to Carole Cunningham. His second wife, Sandy Molloy, passed away in October 2023.  

‎Forsyth’s legacy endures as one of the most influential thriller writers of his time, his work continuing to captivate readers around the world.