Rules of Deception
by Christopher Reich
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Book Reviews of Rules of Deception
Book Review: Starts well, but the plot is too complicated and it all gets silly
Summary: 3 Stars
When I started reading "Rules of Deception", I was immediately hooked. I wanted to know where the story was going to go and it felt like I was in for a great ride. Dr Johnathan Ransom is devastated when his wife is killed in a tragic skiing accident. However that evening he receives baggage checks in an envelope addressed to her, which leads him to a bag than contains another woman's clothing, the keys to a luxury Mercedes, an enormous wad of cash and a passport in an unfamiliar name but with his wife's photograph. Before he can even process this discovery, he finds himself a wanted man on the run - pursued by the police, but also by a mysterious assassin called The Ghost. There are multiple layers to the story and at least one major twist that completely took me by surprise. The story is very current and feels well researched.
The main problem with this book is that the plot tries too hard to be clever and thus becomes overly complicated and convoluted. There is more than one set of villains and keeping so many players juggled means that we don't spend enough time with Ransom, who is easily the most involving character. There's such a large cast of bland characters and I was always struggling to remember who they were and where they fitted in to the story. The plot also has some major plot holes that simply don't stand up to logic. Ultimately it all gets a bit silly. Instead of being gripped as the tension builds towards the climax, I found myself getting less and less interested.
This is a perfectly readable and mildly diverting thriller, but it's not as good as you think it's going to be when you start it.
Book Review: You'll want to read Rules.....
Summary: 5 Stars
Christopher Reich's Rules of Deception is a stupendous read with one twist after another. Rules of Deception contains more suspense that the old movie serials of decades past and
delivers a great story to boot.
Without giving too much a way the protagonist Jonathan Ransom, one of those really nice guys who also happens to be a surgeon working with Doctors Without Borders is pursuing his passion of mountain climbing is the Alps with his wife, Emma. Mountain climbing has tons of risks and with this trip the odds are against Ransom; an avalanche sweeps Emma to her death. Badly shaken Ransom returns to his hotel only to find an envelope delivery awaiting his now dead wife with two claims tickets inside. Using these tickets he finds her secret luggage and the contents reveal that there was a lot more to Emma than he knew. What mayhem follows.
Don't judge this book until you've finished it. Reich provides us with a story that builds as it goes and in the end you'll be glad you stuck with the book. Jonathan eventually reveals himself to be quite the adventurer and engages in wild chases and the use of disguises as he eludes the international manhunt for him.
With characters like Emma's best friend Simone Noiret and Marcus von Daniken, head of the Swiss counterterrorism organization, the story is colorful and engaging. Reich, in the manner of Tom Clancy, is at ease with the incorporation of high tech gadgets into his story and this adds a lot to the suspense.
This is my first Christopher Reich's book but it won't be my last.
I highly recommend Rules of Deception.
Book Review: An okay read, ruined by a preposterous underlying plot issue
Summary: 2 Stars
In this novel, a doctor who practices in Third World countries as a volunteer with Doctors Without Borders finds himself embroiled in a scheme of international intrigue, terrorism, and government corruption at the highest levels. He must outthink and outfight his opponents while trying to unravel the mystery of why he's the object of an international manhunt, wrongly implicated as a terrorist, and accused of murder.
As an escapist thriller, this book works as far as the mechanics of the action; a lot of shooting in picturesque locales. The realization of the individual characters is pretty thin, though, so it's hard to build up much empathy on more than a very superficial level. I didn't find myself invested in them at all.
Frankly, this book - with the exception of its fatal flaw - works better as a script for a movie than as an engrossing novel.
Now to the real problem.
SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!
The key plot device - the actual perpetrators of the terrorist action - is one that in my opinion fell out of style back in the 70s: the "rogue" US government agency. And the reason it's so hackneyed is that in this day and age of government oversight and extremely partisan politics, it's simply beyond incredible that such an agency would not only be able to gather the resources necessary to carry out this scheme, but that a "competing" agency would let them continue on their path simply to discredit them.
I mean.... HUH?????
It was simply ludicrous beyond belief, and had me laughing out loud.
Book Review: Good book, but human rights quibble
Summary: 4 Stars
Jonathan Ransom is on a ski trip with his wife in the Swiss Alps when she is injured. When he returns with help, she appears to have fallen to her death down a crevasse in the ice. In mourning back at his hotel room, he receives a note to pick up two packages at the train station arriving for her. When he picks up the packages he's assaulted by two men who also want them. Jonathan escapes with the packages, but inside finds evidence that his wife had more than one identity and was not at all who she seemed to be. He is now on the run from various groups, with each new thing he finds out deepening his knowledge of his wife's duplicity.
This is a fast read with an enjoyably complicated plot. The NYT review made it sound like the best thing since sliced bread, but I wouldn't go quite that far. At the end I almost felt inclined to go back and look over the events again in terms of how they meshed together for believability, but that might ruin the fun. A slight opening was left for a sequel; if there ever is one, I'll be inclined to read it.
I do have a specific problem with the book, which is somewhat political. Considering we have an administration (soon to end) which uses fiction as an inspiration for how they do things (ie. getting ideas from the tv show "24" as referenced in Jane Mayer's The Dark Side) I don't think it's responsible to portray extraordinary rendition or torture as useful ways of getting accurate information or keeping people safe. That is a fiction.
Book Review: Stunning Thriller, Full of Suspense and Intrigue
Summary: 5 Stars
Rules of Deception kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book! I could hardly bring myself to set it down. It is a masterful thriller, full of suspense and intrigue.
Jonathan Ransom is a physician with Doctors without Borders. He is married to Emma who also works for the organization. They met eight years ago and up until this time, they've traveled throughout war-torn regions in northern Africa and the Middle East, tending to those injured by the conflict.
While enjoying holiday in Switzerland, Emma is killed in a freak ski accident, leaving Jonathan to pick of the pieces of her life. Things start to unravel almost immediately when Emma receives two baggage claim tickets, the day after her death. Curious, Jonathan teams up with Emma's best friend, Simone, who arrives on the scene shortly after her death, and together , they go to fetch the items from the depot. A melee occurs and two policemen end up dead. Suddenly, nobody is who they seem.
Jonathan discovers that Emma had a secret life, one where much is at stake in terms of world peace. He finds himself on the run as he tries to protect himself, and get to the bottom of a horrible plot designed to incite war. As the bodies start to pile up, will Jonathan solve this mystery before it is too late?
I would highly recommend Rules of Deception to anyone who enjoys a good, historical, politically-charged thriller! Check out his other titles as well. Numbered Account is one of my favorites!