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House of the Hunted: A Novel [Hardcover]

Mark Mills
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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Book Description

April 3, 2012
Mark Mills, bestselling author of Amagansett, The Savage Garden, and The Information Officer, is renowned for blending riveting history, rich atmosphere, and thrilling suspense. Now, in House of the Hunted, Mills deftly unfolds a story of betrayal, love, and the inescapable pull of the past as an ex-spy finds himself drawn back into his treacherous former life.
 
Côte d’Azur, France, 1935: As Europe moves inexorably toward war, Tom Nash feels pleasantly removed, pursuing a quiet writing career on an idyllic stretch of the French Riveria. A former intelligence operative for the British government, Tom now finds refuge among the lively seaside community of expats and artists, hoping to put the worst deeds from his job—and memories of the woman he once loved—far behind him. But Tom’s peaceful existence is shattered when an unknown hit man tries to kill him in his sleep. Tom is sure that somebody knows his secrets, and that this attempt on his life won’t be the last.
 
Relying on his instincts for self-preservation, Tom suspects everyone of double-dealing, even people he considers his friends: the Russian art dealers from Paris, the exiled German dissidents, even his former boss and closest confidant. And as he plunges further into his haunted past, Tom feels himself turning into the person he used to be—a dangerous man, capable of anything.  
 
Combining vividly drawn characters and gripping acts of espionage, House of the Hunted is a superbly crafted novel by an exceptional and versatile storyteller.

Praise for House of the Hunted
 
“Suspenseful and romantic . . . reminiscent of some of the best spy novels of the past.”—CNN
 
“A wild-fire hybrid of John le Carré and Ernest Hemingway . . . an excellent read for those who enjoy both espionage and literary thrillers.”—Bookreporter
 
“[Mark] Mills is a polished stylist with a singular talent for capturing the defining moment when something precious is about to be lost forever.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“This is bloody brilliant. . . . A masterpiece of espionage fiction that fully thrills, while evoking a time and place with the assurance of Alan Furst’s forays into prewar Europe. This novel is beautifully crafted, breathless, and immensely satisfying.”—Olen Steinhauer, New York Times bestselling author of The Tourist and The Nearest Exit
 
“Explosive . . . a terse, carefully plotted journey [that will] have you guessing until the very end.”—Oprah.com
 
“Mesmerizing . . . [Mills’s] best work in an already accomplished career.”—The Independent

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Suspenseful and romantic . . . reminiscent of some of the best spy novels of the past.”—CNN
 
“A wild-fire hybrid of John le Carré and Ernest Hemingway . . . an excellent read for those who enjoy both espionage and literary thrillers.”—Bookreporter
 
“[Mark] Mills is a polished stylist with a singular talent for capturing the defining moment when something precious is about to be lost forever.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“This is bloody brilliant. . . . A masterpiece of espionage fiction that fully thrills, while evoking a time and place with the assurance of Alan Furst’s forays into prewar Europe. This novel is beautifully crafted, breathless, and immensely satisfying.”—Olen Steinhauer, New York Times bestselling author of The Tourist and The Nearest Exit
 
“Explosive . . . a terse, carefully plotted journey [that will] have you guessing until the very end.”—Oprah.com
 
“Mesmerizing . . . [Mills’s] best work in an already accomplished career.”—The Independent

About the Author

Mark Mills is a screenwriter and the author of The Information Officer, The Savage Garden, and Amagansett. His first novel, Amagansett, was published in a dozen countries and received the British Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey Memorial Dagger Award, and The Savage Garden was a #1 bestseller in the United Kingdom. A graduate of Cambridge University, he lives in Oxford with his wife and their two children.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Random House (April 3, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1400068193
  • ISBN-13: 978-1400068197
  • Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.1 x 9.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Sophistication and grit April 3, 2012
Format:Hardcover
House of the Hunted begins in midstream, as if it were the sequel to a novel that had already set up the plot and established the characters. It is 1919 in Petrograd. As Irina Bibikov is surreptitiously released from prison, Tom Nash, who orchestrated her escape and is the father of her unborn child, flees from Cheka patrols. Little by little, Mark Mills fills in the backstory. We learn that Nash was working for the British Foreign Office until, after barely escaping from Petrograd during the Russian Revolution, he joined the SIS to better his chances of assisting the woman he loves. His attempt to spirit Irina out of the country goes disastrously wrong; Nash has been betrayed and is lucky to make a second escape from Russia.

After that tense beginning, the story flashes forward to 1935. It again begins in mid-stride, introducing new characters in a new setting (Toulon, France) as if they were already familiar to the reader. The focus nonetheless remains on Nash, who is haunted by his failure to rescue Irina. Despite his retirement from a life of danger, Nash becomes the target of an assassination attempt. Even worse, he suspects he has been betrayed by one of his friends. At that point the novel blends suspense and mystery as Nash tries to figure out who wants him dead and why. The threat forces Nash to look back upon his life, giving the reader an abbreviated view of the events that shaped him, including some ugly childhood memories.

The characters in House of the Hunted are all erudite, well-educated and often artistic. They make impossibly witty dinner conversation while consuming bottle after bottle of fine wine. They are nonetheless a believable mix of Russians, Americans, Germans, French, and British, the sort of folk who might have summered (or lived) in a charming harbor town in the south of France between the two world wars. Nash's relationship with a goddaughter who is blossoming into adulthood adds an interesting dimension to Nash's character as he tries to decide what to do about their changing relationship.

This isn't a novel of jaw-dropping developments, and in that low-key sense House of the Hunted is more credible than many espionage thrillers. Several small interpersonal dramas substitute for blockbuster international intrigue, although those dramas give birth to intrigues of their own. There is nonetheless a significant surprise at the end, as well as a smaller one, neither of which I anticipated. This is a novel without loose ends; all the storylines are carefully knotted together as the story reaches its climax.

Mills' prose is as smooth as the cognac the characters love to drink. He tells a smart, engaging tale. While I felt emotionally detached from Nash and the other characters (maybe I'm just not a cognac kind of guy), I appreciated the skillful storytelling and enjoyed the unexpected plot developments. The final chapter sets up the possibility of a sequel that I would love to read. Nash is a worthy heir to James Bond, sophistication and grit without all the flash and gadgetry. If the option were available, I would give House of the Hunted 4 1/2 stars.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great, story April 8, 2012
Format:Hardcover
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for and honest review.

The house of the Hunted tells the story of Tom Nash, who is trying to figure out why someone tried to have him killed by a professional assassin. His past comes back as he tries to build a `normal' life in the hectic days just before World War 2 in southern France.
Nash, a former spy in revolutionary Russia, has managed to `retire' from the spy business and is living like a well-funded playboy, enjoying dinner parties and the occasional company of his colorful neighbors.

Mills's descriptions are vivid and clear enough to transport the reader to the locales and settings in the story. The characters are interesting, even though Mills never lets the reader completely inside their lives and heads.

I won't give away the ending, but I have to say I was somewhat disappointed in how things wrapped up. The point is supposed to be the `bad guy trying to move on and have a normal life' tale, but Nash always seems so decent that even the few flashbacks and backstory don't make him feel ruthless, making his struggle to civilize himself ring somewhat hollow. It is still an entertaining story, but lacks the full punch that the author probably intended.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars House of the Hunted June 25, 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
An interesting premise marred by stilted dialogue and mediocre characterizations. The beginning of the novel held so much promise for me and then it kind of all fell apart once the main character left Russia and the action picked up in France. There were certain lines of dialogue from which I actually cringed out loud. There were several moments when I almost stopped reading the book. But, then I decided to keep going on to the end because I had liked the beginning so much. Oh well.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Spies always get me interested
Spy stories always seem to get me confused but I seemed to be able to get my head around this one, easy to read. Read more
Published 2 months ago by AnnBen
2.0 out of 5 stars Okay
It was a little sketchy at first. The beginning of the story was hard to follow then it was more interesting but you knew who was ending up with whom

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Published 2 months ago by Blue Angel
2.0 out of 5 stars Terrible and Creepy
The book started out great and went downhill from there. After that first chapter in Russia, the rest of the book takes place in the south of France, where wealthy, spoiled people... Read more
Published 5 months ago by MMMouse
5.0 out of 5 stars Review of House of the Hunted
Typical Mills, which means that it is tightly plotted, with finely detailed characters and a convincing presentation of time and places.
Published 8 months ago by J. Koger
2.0 out of 5 stars A Tad Too Familiar
Mark Mills' Amagansett, set in the Hamptons, was an enjoyable read a couple of summers ago so I hoped this tale set on the French Riviera in 1935 would be equally engaging. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jeffrey Swystun
2.0 out of 5 stars Falls Short of the Mark
I very much enjoyed Amangansett, the first Mark Mills book I read. Thus, I was looking forward to reading House of the Hunted, his latest release. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Daniel Putkowski
4.0 out of 5 stars First book I read by Mark Mills
This book made me look for more novels by the author. Great story, setting and characters, especially if you like spy novels. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Diana Byrd
1.0 out of 5 stars creepy in a bad way
This book has thin characteriztion, flimsy plot and no feel for the time period. The worst part is the sexual tension between the 40 year old main charcater and his 20 year old... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Karen McManus
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Summer Read
Mark Mills' latest offering, "House of the Hunted," makes a great summer read. Set in 1935 Europe but rooted in the espionage world of 1919, this quasi spy thriller begins with... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Librarian
5.0 out of 5 stars inter war thriller
This thriller begins in Petrograd, 1919 and involves British SIS intelligence agent Tom Nash. His pregnant girlfriend, Irina, has been arrested and, he believes, executed. Read more
Published 12 months ago by David L. Poremba
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