Ambush [Hardcover]

Paul Carson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2008

American expat Scott Nolan has recently moved to Ireland and enjoys a flourishing career as a doctor, a rising media profile as a persuasive campaigner against drug abuse, and is very much in love with Laura, his beautiful new wife. But one wintry Dublin morning, Scott’s life is changed forever when a team of contract killers attempts a daring double ambush. Their target: Ireland’s antidrug government minister and his medical spokesman, Dr. Scott Nolan. The attack goes horribly wrong, and in the bloodbath that follows, Laura is killed by a bullet meant for Nolan. Fueled by grief and revenge, and desperate to claim back his life and find the killers, Scott enters into an uneasy alliance with his wife’s brother, police detective Mark Higgins. Together they embark on a highly controversial international covert mission to slowly and systematically infiltrate the drug scene and track down the assassin. Using secret U.S. army interrogation compounds and breaking almost every law in the land, the duo finally close in on their target . . . . This nail biting, heart-pounding blockbuster weaves a tale from the back streets of Dublin to the red-light districts of Amsterdam and the seedy streets of Bangkok, accelerating to a breathtaking climax that will test Nolan’s physical and moral fortitude to the absolute limit.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Clichéd prose mars this tale of revenge from Irish author Carson (Betrayal). Scott Nolan, a mild-mannered American doctor who's recently moved to Dublin, and his adored wife, Laura (she of the dancing blue eyes that mocked and taunted), enjoy a wonderful life filled with love (They kissed, long and lovingly, wet and hungrily). When Laura is shot dead in an ambush aimed at Ireland's antidrug-crusading justice minister, Harry Power, Scott enlists the help of his Irish cop brother-in-law, Mark Higgins, to find and kill the mastermind behind the attack. Ireland's senior police officer, Commissioner Peter Cunningham, and Power agree to a secret plan whereby Scott uses his medical skills to extort information from drug dealers he and Higgins kidnap in their effort to track down the villain. The modern Dublin setting may interest U.S. readers who otherwise will find the writing itself out-of-date. (June)
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From Booklist

Carson returns with a second exciting thriller (following Betrayal, 2007), once again featuring a doctor in modern Ireland, Scott Nolan, an American ex-pat with an Irish wife, who is gunned down driving Nolan to work. Drug gangs are immediately suspected as Nolan has been active in antidrug campaigns, but there is no easy solution, not even for Nolan’s revenge-obsessed police detective brother-in-law, Mark. Nolan talks himself into an undercover role and, together with Mark, sets off a high-stakes international investigation, which races to a dramatic conclusion that features plenty of twists and turns along the way. Scenes from the viewpoints of the killers as well as the trackers increase the tension. Essential reading for Carson’s fans and for readers of Tess Gerritsen and Michael Palmer. The international stage and helter-skelter pace is reminiscent of the posthumous works of Robert Ludlum. Readers grabbed by the exciting opener and willing to accept Dr. Nolan’s about-face from pediatrician to covert agent will be treated to an action-packed summer read. --Jessica Moyer

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (June 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312367112
• ISBN-13: 978-0312367114
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,369,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars good read, November 30, 2010

By 

A. Oguz (Schaumburg, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ambush (Hardcover)

I got the audio book and listened to it. The performer is very good and gives the book justice.

It's a good read.. cliches here and there.. my favorite.. "looking into the middle distance".. at some point, I started counting the number of people "looking into the middle distance".. a lot of the characters are caricatures..

But still.. I was entertained.. and that's what counts for me in this case..

If you are thinking about getting the book, expect to be entertained and not much more..
--

4.0 out of 5 stars exciting thriller, June 15, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ambush (Hardcover)

Dr. Scott Nolan and his wife Laura leave America for him to practice medicine Dublin. They are a loving couple and look forward to a long life together. Everything collapses when Laura is killed during an errant shot, which targeted Ireland's anti-drug Justice Minister, Harry Power.

Serene before he became a widower, an angry grieving Scott wants vengeance against the chief assassin. His also upset brother-in-law, Irish Police Officer Mark Higgins agrees to help him uncover the identity of the chief plotter who arranged the murder of an innocent out of avarice. Senior police officer, Commissioner Peter Cunningham and Power agree to blink while Nolan and Higgins abduct drug dealers so that the former can use his medical skills to extract information leading to the kingpin.

This is an exciting thriller that will remind readers of Clancy's Patriot Game. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action from the moment the innocent Laura is gunned down and never slows down until a final confrontation with a major twist on the way to the altercation. Although a stretch wider than the Blarney Stone, this is a fun thriller in which the end justifies the mean.

Harriet Klausner