Patrick Hyde returns a favor by helping British secret agent Philip Cass prove that he is innocent of killing his mistress, a famous Indian movie star. By the author of Firefox. 40,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Spy novels have a time-honored formula: plunk the hero down in a foreign country, compromise his cover immediately, then get him the hell out. Thomas's latest (after A Hood Crow ) is one of those top-notch examples that make you forget the formula even as they adhere to it. Brisk action, gripping suspense and a cynical look at international politics mark this latest adventure of British secret agent Patrick Hyde, called out of retirement by Peter Shelley, the new Director General of the Secret Intelligence Service, to run an errand in India. One of Shelley's operatives, Philip Cass, is accused of murdering his lover, the wife of V. K. Sharmar, a government minister who is next in line to be prime minister of India. Sharmar, a former classmate of Shelley's and a "friend" of Her Majesty's government, has framed Cass for the killing because the agent has uncovered evidence that the politician is a heroin smuggler. When the current prime minister dies, Sharmar's prominence increases and Cass's tenuous ties to the SIS home office are weakened. Cass has become an embarrassment to the British government and Hyde is ordered to eliminate the problem. But Hyde is not about to let the man who once saved his life languish in jail, or be "shot trying to escape." The action begins almost immediately, the pace never flags and Thomas's prose is direct and unobtrusive: no flab, no filler, all muscle.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Unlike his retired master Sir Kenneth Aubrey (A Hooded Crow, 1991), bullheaded Patrick Hyde isn't allowed to go gentle into that good night: Aubrey's replacement, Peter Shelley, talks him into going to India to look into Hyde's old mate Philip Cass's story that he didn't kill his mistress, film star Sereena Sharmar, wife of the minister of tourism. From the beginning there's no mystery about who really murdered Sereena: it was the outraged husband, oily V.K. Sharmar, whose wealth came from harvesting heroin poppies. But when the aging prime minster dies and V.K.'s wily brother Prakesh insinuates V.K. into the job, both Delhi Station and Shelley, an old school chum of V.K.'s, reverse their engines and hang Cass out to dry. The fate of one Englishman is nothing, of course, compared to the reputation of a statesman who can bring about Indian peace and stability, not to mention an open door to European trade. Disgusted with London, Hyde goes it on his own. First, he struggles to follow Cass's frantically cryptic hints to the evidence of the Sharmars' corruption; then, hearing that Cass has escaped from prison, he follows his trail to Kashmir in hopes of catching him there before his police torturers can apply the coup de grƒce. Oh, and he sets his own girlfriend, Ros Woode, to get close to V.K.'s mistress, Sara Mallowby, landing her in as much solitary peril as himself. By the time of the rousing climax, Ros will be sitting terrified aboard a flight to Paris waiting for the two men across the aisle to assassinate her, while wounded Cass and dogged Hyde will be dodging airborne pursuers as they climb a mountain pass to Afghanistan. Hyde thinks his Indian adversaries are still playing the games of the 70's, but this whole story has an unabashedly period flavor, from its bold loner hero to its transparently compromised politicos. Enjoy, enjoy. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not much mystery,
This review is from: Playing With Cobras (Paperback)
I haven't read Craig Thomas in a while, but I remember liking some of his other books - Sea Leopard, Firefox Down, Hooded Crow, Lions Den. I don't remember the others but this one really had little mystery. You know the villians and good guys from the outset; after that its just turning pages to see what happens.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read,
By
This review is from: Playing With Cobras (Paperback)
This was the 1st "novel" that I ever read. I was in middle school when I read this the 1st time about 12 yrs. ago and I remember loving how the book ended back then. I had to reread again and I found it just as enjoyable the 2nd time around, probably more enjoyable, since I could follow the whole plot this time. Like someone else said, it isn't "classic literature" but it will entertain and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Especially once the escape through the himilayan mountains with Cass and Hyde 1 step ahead of the Indian army begins
5.0 out of 5 stars
Patrick Hyde and the Indian Incident,
By BeauButabi (Beaverton, Oregon) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Playing With Cobras (Paperback)
With the close of the cold war, Craig Thomas often used multi-million dollar companies as the villians in his novels published in the '90's as opposed to opposite sides of government. But he's able to use his old formula once more, this time with drug-dealing Indian politicians.
In Delhi, British agent Philip Cass uncovers the drug-dealing plot of VK Sharmar who could be in a position to become the next Prime Minister of India. Nervous of being found out, Sharmar frames Cass of the murder of an Inidan film star Cass is having an affair with, who happens to be Sharmar's wife. After Cass is arrested for the murder, Peter Shelley, now head of SIS after Kenneth Aubrey retied at the end of A Hooded Crow, re-inlistes Patrick Hyde back into the service, who also retired along with Aubrey. Hyde is reluctant to come back, but because Cass helped him out in the events of The Bear's Tears and The Last Raven, he feels he owes his friend the returned favor. Hyde arrives in India to look into the matter and decides Cass is innocent. But then Sharmar becomes the new Prime Minister. Now untouchable, Shelley has no choice but to tell Hyde to leave the Cass case alone, but Hyde won't have that and desperately tries to clear Cass before it's too late. To make things complicated, Ros, Hyde's girlfriend, gets caught in the middle. Her and Hyde were going to head for Australia after finishing his business in India, but when things get complicated Hyde ends up having to use Ros's help, putting her in great danger in the process. This is a really great Craig book. And although it's pretty much a by-the-numbers typical thriller, it's very entertaining. Patrick Hyde is one of my favorite of Craig's characters, and this one is the most Hyde-dominated book of the ones he appears in. Really great stuff.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
