The Chrysalis Option

Kiana Azunna has survived the kinds of losses that should end a life — first as a child in Nigeria, then as a Royal Marine in Afghanistan.

Kiana knows all about struggle and loss. Orphaned before she was ten and left in charge of her younger sister, she was the first woman to earn the green beret of the Royal Marine Commandos. While she has learned how to “fit in,” she is longing for a place where she truly belongs. When a mission goes tragically wrong during the pull-out from Afghanistan, she doubts that place exists for her.

When Britain's Secret Intelligence Service recruits her into a deniable program called Chrysalis — tasked with quietly removing the world's most dangerous “problems” — she discovers a new battlefield where politics, crime, and private armies blur into one. Her missions pull her from London's quiet corners to war-scarred frontiers, where an elusive Austrian power broker and a shadowy organization known as the Abigor Legion keep resurfacing.

But the deeper Kiana digs, the more the hunt turns personal, drawing her and her younger sister back to the country they fled — and toward enemies who don't just kill, but traffic in leverage. Smart, stylish, and relentlessly human.

When the SIS comes calling, Kiana sees a chance to start over, but can she? On a mission where she will find herself tested to a degree never expected, will she find that real home with her sister, a man she loves, and a new purpose in life?

The Chrysalis Option is a fast, international thriller about power, grief, and what it costs to stop monsters without becoming one.

• An Interview with a Captain — Long War Journal
• Captain Cares for Pets Left Behind in Egypt — Army.mil
• Army Captain Rescues Pets Left Behind, Egypt Evacuation — DVIDS
• Capt. Coulson — DVIDS Video Feature
• Group Resettling Afghans Faces Scrutiny — US News
• In-Store Book Signing — International Spy Museum

• “A great read. Really enjoyed it.”
• “The Chrysalis Option: Excellent and easy read. Great purchase.”
• “Fantastic plot and characters! This author really knows his stuff. His characters come to life and the settings are real. Suspenseful — I couldn't put it down! Looking forward to the next one in this series.”
• “Nobody like Kiana. In the style of Ian Fleming, Coulson has created the most unlikely but engaging hero in years. A Nigerian-British woman orphaned as a child turned Royal Marine Commando becomes the most iconic of spy heroes in the British tradition.”
• “Compelling and suspenseful — I couldn't put it down. Great character development and written in a way that you can see the movie in your head while you are reading it.”