Shooting in the Dark [Hardcover]

Carolyn Hougan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1984

America is reeling from the Iran Hostage crisis, which is threatening to topple the Carter presidency, and Claire Brooks is reeling from the collapse of her marriage. Frantic to escape the wreckage, she hops a plane to Amsterdam. Tulips, wooden shoes...it sounds restful. Not exactly. Amsterdam is packed with visitors, some noisily celebrating the new queen's coronation, and some all-too-quietly plotting a response to Iran. Claire couldn't find Iran on a map, but a reckless one-night stand with a reporter lands her in the thick of the intrigue, where even tulips can pack a threat. She's already learned she cannot trust her husband, and now, it seems, she's stumbled into a world where everybody's loyalty is up for grabs.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Stunningly good....This novel is big. It's complicated. It's witty, it's violent, and it will give readers a first-rate run for their money" --The Los Angeles Herald

"Beautifully conveys the feel of that classic situation, the ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances" --Washington Post --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 315 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (March 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671467220
• ISBN-13: 978-0671467227
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,481,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Games spies play, circa 1979, July 5, 2008

By 

Blue in Washington "Barry Ballow" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Shooting in the Dark (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries) (Paperback)

Here's another good mystery retrieved from the archives and reprinted by Felony and Mayhem Publishers. Basically, it's about two interesting people--a beautiful American seriously wronged by her dull husband and a world-weary investigative reporter who become enmeshed in a high-stakes espionage caper that doesn't sort itself out till the last page of the book.

"Shooting in the Dark" is set in Amsterdam during the coronation week of the new Dutch Queen, and the author includes a lot of local politics, geography, culture and cuisine to the great benefit of the story line. The characters are very well laid out, and include some unusually funny dialogue between a couple of Mutt n' Jeff Dutch detectives and the poignant relationship between an older Dutch couple, also connected to the police. The heroine of the piece, the beautiful and bruised American, Claire Brooks, gradually emerges from her marital funk, to play an interesting role as the book nears its end. But the wild card here is an aging spy whose game is not fully revealed by the author until the final pages of the book.

All in all, this is a clever story with the very interesting city of Amsterdam as a colorful backdrop and full of well-developed characters who move convincingly through their roles in ways that make the reader care a great deal about their welfare.

Recommended. Also recommended, another Carolyn Hougan spy thriller in the Felony and Mayhem series: "The Romeo Flag."

17 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun!, April 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Shooting in the Dark (Mass Market Paperback)

This was an exciting and funny story. I particularly enjoyed the depiction of a very real woman in very unusual circumstances. She was someone to whom we all could relate. Very good!