Rules of Deception [Audio CD]

Christopher Reich (Author), Paul Michael (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Books On Tape (2008)
• ISBN-10: 1415948305
• ISBN-13: 978-1415948309
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,956,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi Everyone,

It's great to be part of Amazon's new Author Page. Here's a short bio.

I was born November 12, 1961 in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Los Angeles four years later, in late 1965. I graduated from Harvard School (now Harvard-Westlake) in 1979, then made the move to Washington DC where I attended the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Upon graduating with a degree in international economics (a field in which I was neither particularly gifted nor interested), I worked as a stock broker for two years. One day my best client said, "Chris, you're a nice guy, but you have no idea what you're doing in this business. You might get into trouble one day. You gotta get your butt to business school." I followed his advice and headed down to Austin, Tx, to earn an MBA at UT.

After graduating from UT, I moved even farther east....all the way to Switzerland, where I joined the Union Bank of Switzerland, first in Geneva and then in Zurich. I left banking and worked first as a consultant, and then as the CEO of a small watch company in Neuchatel. The only thing I missed out on was the chocolate business! Anyway, after 7 years in Switzerland, I decided that it was high time to become an author. I'd never written a short story and I hadn't taken a single English class in college. So what? I was a demon reader and I thought for sure I could do. My wonderful wife supported the decision wholeheartedly and we moved back to Austin, where I would write my first novel, Numbered Account.

The rest, as they say, is history....Or, as I say, "history in the making!!"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Starts well, but the plot is too complicated and it all gets silly, September 20, 2008

By 

Julia Flyte - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rules of Deception (Hardcover)

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.

76 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Following the "Rules", July 17, 2008

By 

Tom S. "filmfan3" (New York City) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Rules of Deception (Hardcover)

This is the first book I've read by Christopher Reich, and it is very good. I was prompted to buy it by all the critics and famous authors who compare it to Ludlum, Follett, Forsyth, Trevanian, etc.--all my favorite writers of globe-trotting espionage. RULES OF DECEPTION closely follows the formula set down by those masters, with the idealistic doctor/mountain climber being drawn into a frightening, ever-growing conspiracy and racing the clock to find his enemies and beat them, with plenty of fights, chases, and surprise revelations along the way. I read the book in a matter of hours, and I think most thriller fans will, too.

My one reservation that keeps this from being a 5-star recommendation is the fact that RULES seems to resemble a lot of other big thrillers a bit too much--Reich never quite seems to make this material his own. He has clearly been "inspired" by EYE OF THE NEEDLE, DAY OF THE JACKAL, THE EIGER SANCTION, and the complete works of Robert Ludlum. But, hey, that's a small complaint from a reader who counts all those as faves. If you're looking for a fast, satisfying summer read along these lines, RULES follows the rules as well as any book I've read in a long time. Try it.

35 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll want to read Rules....., July 16, 2008

By 

Robert Busko (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rules of Deception (Hardcover)

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.