The Rhythm Section [Hardcover]

Mark Burnell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2000

"Have you ever killed anyone? Not in self-defense."
"What are you asking that for?
"Because I'm curious."
"You can't know what it feels like by being told."
"I don't want to know what it feels like. I want to know how you actually make the leap from planning to do it to actually pulling the trigger."

Stephanie Patrick's life is destroyed by the crash of flight NEO027. Her family was on board and there were no survivors. Devastated, she drops out of college and her life spins out of control as she enters a world of drugs and prostitution--until a journalist discovers that the crash wasn't an accident. A bomb was planted on the plane that killed her family. Filled with rage, and with nothing left to loose, she focuses on one goal: revenge.

The opportunity to obtain it arrives quickly when Stephanie is approached and recruited by an extremely covert intelligence organization. She is young, smart, and beautiful--and has no family, making her the perfect candidate. The organization offers her a deal. She must undergo rigorous training; learn how to control her heart rate and breathing ("the rhythm section"), how to operate various weapons skillfully and efficiently, and she must improve her physical requirements, she will be given a new identity and asked to commit acts of terrorism on behalf of the organization. When she completes these assignments successfully--and proves her loyalty--she will be offered the opportunity to take out the terrorists who brought down flight NEO027. Stephanie agrees to all of the organization's demands without hesitation.

As "Petra," a mercenary terrorist based out of Germany, and as "Marina," an international businesswoman based in London, she enters the brutal world of international espionage, and adapts quickly. She is able to numb her feelings and act on instinct alone. But as the stakes get higher, Stephanie begins to question what her value really is. Is the organization telling her the truth--do they know who caused flight NEO027 to explode? Or are they using her for some other agenda? More important: Is avenging her family worth the price she is paying? And if it isn't--will the organization that created her let her go?

Violent, edgy, and unpredictable, The Rhythm Section takes readers deep into the world of international espionage , it is a nonstop thriller from the first page to the last.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

After the death of her parents and brother in a plane crash over the Atlantic, Stephanie Patrick descends into a life of prostitution and dissolution. She begins to pull herself together when a journalist tells her that the crash was no accident, that it was a terrorist bombing covered up by the world's intelligence agencies. Then the journalist is murdered, and Stephanie is recruited into a shadowy law enforcement agency to become a killer. If the plot of this first novel sounds a little like the movie and TV series La Femme Nikita, that's understandable. But Burnell manages to inject some new life into the tired premise. Stephanie is a tough, resilient heroine, seriously challenged by the multiple personalities she's forced to don, while focused laserlike on avenging her family's death. Even the terrorists emerge as more than cardboard cutouts, especially in the climactic scene in which Stephanie confronts her antagonist. What begins as a B-movie knockoff ends as an entertaining meditation on the futility of terrorist brinkmanship. George Needham

Review

"Boy can [Burnell] tell a story. Fascinating reading." -- --Erie, PA Times

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (January 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060194650
• ISBN-13: 978-0060194659
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,665,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite the Page Turner, August 11, 2001

By 

bibliomane01 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rhythm Section (Mass Market Paperback)

As the jaded consumer of hundreds of thrillers I'm something of a tough audience, but Mark Burnell's debut novel was a genuine page turner and I was very impressed with it. Yes, the plot bears more than a passing resemblance to "La Femme Nikita" and yes, the book is a little too long and drags a bit in the middle, but Stefanie Patrick is much too interesting a heroine and Burnell much too good a storyteller to let small quibbles get in the way of "a crackling good yarn." The book is about how a drug-taking prostitute a few steps from her final fix is transformed into the dreaded Petra Reuter, unstoppable international assassin. There is plenty of sex and violence and a plethora of repulsive terrorists - in short, enough to keep the average thriller fan happily engaged for hours. I'm looking forward to Mr. Burnell's next foray with bated breath.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars la femme nikita, in print, February 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rhythm Section (Hardcover)

This highly readable thriller closely parallels that fine movie 'la femme nikita': down-and-out junkie gets turned into government assassin. The author does a good job of getting under the skin of the heroine, exposing the vulnerability under the shell of the ostensibly cold-blooded killer, and also exploring the dimensions of international terrorism. Well-written and action-packed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So So, September 24, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rhythm Section (Hardcover)

A good premise used successfully in La Femme Nikita but well-executed in this book. Plot is good, with unexpected twists and turns and in fact hits a little too close to home!!Generally well written.
However, suspend your discriminating thought powers (drug addict prostitute becomes a super slueth and has epiphany re revenge). The lead character is too hokey and her characterization is quite muddled and inconsistent. The plot devices work only if you believe the good guys and the bad guys are selectively stupid, overlooking the obvious and our gal is not.