The Devil in the Downdraft

After a year away from the Army, ex-Royal Marine sniper turned Australian Army Padre, Rob Llewellyn, and his wife Anne begin a new chapter in Queensland. Anne, now Chief of Staff to a Combat Brigade, is quietly anxious—Rob’s last deployment to Afghanistan left deep scars, and she fears his return to chaplaincy, this time with an Army Aviation Regiment, may reopen old wounds.
But Anne has challenges of her own. A hostile work environment and ghosts from her past threaten her hard-won stability. Meanwhile, a local journalist begins targeting the military with biting exposés—undermining morale and casting doubt on the institution they’ve both given their lives to serve.
As the pressure mounts, Rob and Anne find themselves reckoning not just with their roles, but with the hidden cost of their years in uniform—and the sobering truth that some of the deepest wounds aren’t inflicted by war, but by the lives they’ve tried to build in its wake.
The Devil in Downdraft is a gripping, quietly devastating novel of psychological pressure, institutional fragility, and hard-won love—marking a turning point in the Rob Llewellyn series as the couple begin to reckon with everything they’ve carried... and everything they can no longer ignore.

About the Author :

Roger Marsh is the author of The Shepherd’s Overwatch series of novels, which are drawn from his own service as a Padre in the Australian Army during the War on Terror. Serving alongside frontline troops in Afghanistan, Roger witnessed the brutal realities of modern conflict — not only its physical toll, but its deep psychological and spiritual wounds.

The son of a Korean War veteran, Roger was raised in rural Australia, where he developed a love for the outdoors, martial arts, and the quiet resilience of country life. Before joining the Army, Roger attended the University of Queensland, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts with specialisation in Biblical languages and political sociology, and also worked in the security sector. These experiences combined to further shape his understanding of human complexity, and of hazards that can come in the line of duty. In time, he also completed theological studies, and went into the ministry.

Roger lives with his wife and family in rural Queensland. He is also an avid scale modeller, archer, and marksman, as well as being a Welsh speaker. Not currently in paid ministry, Roger divides his time between writing, mentoring, cooking, walking dogs, and hanging around with his family.