Customer Reviews

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3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Christopher Reich's newest book, Rules of Vengeance, is the follow up to his book, Rules of Deception. Yet, while it is recommended that you read the latter book first, it isn't necessary -- as each book can be read as a stand alone.

The book features a very intricate plot: The wife of Dr. Ransom has been missing, and the woman that is standing in her place (fooling everyone by claiming to be Emma) has been revealed as an international secret agent. Only from the mind of Christopher Reich can a plot like this be constructed.

Anyway. While attending a medical convention in London, a group of foreign diplomats in killed in a car explosion, and someone points the finger at, Dr. Ransom, claiming he is the culprit responsible for the explosion. How is this possible?

The book starts out strong and ends even stronger. This is a thrill ride that buckles the reader in and refuses to let go until the final page. That is always what I look for in a great book. And what I always get from, Christopher Reich. Another book I would highly recommend is Conquest: The First Horseman (The Four Horsemen Series, Book 1) another incredible thrill ride that won't let the reader go.

I enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down sometimes. That said, it was a bit hard to follow and much harder to swallow.

I have read my share of books, and while understanding that this is fiction, the main characters are practically superhuman. Only Superman can escape the situations that Jonathan and Emma do! And Jonathan, a doctor working in remote corners of the world helping those who need it so desperately, must be a really quick study. He went from being a doctor in Africa to a super-spy able to leap tall buildins in a single bound! No, I mean able to track his super-spy wife while escaping all types of secret government and non-government (maybe) agencies. Phew, what a guy!

I did enjoy this book when I finally accepted that this was more science fiction than fiction. It can be a good read, but if you are looking for a believable spy novel, look elsewhere.

This continuation of the series smacks of an author with a contract trying to deliver a book on time with a poor concept in mind. There are glaring technical errors, the pace only picks up after half way and while reading this I really didn't care if either of the protagonists got whacked. The double whammy ending is contrived and no clues are given for an astute reader to pick up on. My take - don't bother.

Reading the previous book, Rules of Deception, first is recommended. Readers who haven't read Deception will find it hard to appreciate how deeply Jonathan loves Emma and is disappointed by her actions and the level at which Emma has apparently deceived him.

Readers who like this series should consider the Len Deighton series about the spy Bernard Samson (start with Berlin Game (Panther Books)). It's similar in that the hero is continually deceived and used by the woman he loves.

I like how this series treats the human interest concerns and motivations of the characters at the same level of importance as the action-packed spy story. There is good character development for all the major players except for Emma, who I feel is being intentionally under-developed until later in the series.

I'm anxiously awaiting the next book, Rules of Attack. At some point in the series, I hope we get a book summarizing the series from Emma's point of view.

I read the first book because it was on a list of books recommended by one of my favorite authors. When I discovered there was a second installment, I recalled that it had not been recommended. I can see why. I loved the first book. Reich has made Jonthan a terrific character, which to me just makes Emma even more detestable than perhaps she is intended to be. I will not read any more. "Rules of Vengeance" was just more of the same (Jonthan running around trying to bail Emma out) and obviously will continue to be. With the way this one ended (and reading the comments regarding "Rules of Betrayal"), it is going to get even more complicated, with no clear definition of Emma, which has already gotten boring for me.

I was truly hoping Jonthan would shoot Emma, so we could all move forward. I already see this series being the same template, bailing out Emma. For my two cents, the story can't change and the characters can't grow using the same template. If Emma had died, truly had died, Christopher Reich included a sworn oath that Emma was dead, never to be seen or heard of again, I would be reading "Rules of Betrayal" rather then writing this. There are two many other good stories to waste time reading the same one, over and over again.

1. lock pick sets are not sharpened; nor oiled (powdered graphite is used)
2. Sig (and most modern semiautomatics) pistols use magazines, not clips
3. The Cirrus SR22 is not a turboprop. (if it was a turboprop, it wouldn't burn gasoline, but Jet A) The airplane is available with a turbocharged motor)
4. partially filled fuel tanks are much more explosive than full tanks
5. firing a pistol out the window of a moving vehicle blinds the shooter (unless wearing googles) with unburned and partially burned gunpowder particles (first hand experience being a painful teacher here)
6. 9mm silencers are long and bulky and not all that silent and best used with subsonic rounds
7. Street, and especially tactical, cops don't carry pistols without a round already chambered (even in Italy and France)

And, unless this author's readers are primarily outside the US, how about using feet instead of meters?

Having said all that, not a bad read. This author does get better with each book.
Read his bio. An interesting dude.

Christopher Reich hit a new highwater mark for himself in 2008 with RULES OF DECEPTION, an intriguing tale about a skilled surgeon who discovers that his wife is an espionage agent and has been leading a double life --- and deceiving him --- throughout their marriage. The novel ended with the possibility, though not necessarily the promise, of a sequel. RULES OF VENGEANCE, which picks up where RULES OF DECEPTION left off, is much more than a sequel; it is one of those books that authors dream of and readers die for.

Reich has always been a solid author, but RULES OF VENGEANCE is far and away his best book to date, combining action, mystery and human interest into a compelling and unstoppable experience. The story picks up approximately six months after RULES OF DECEPTION ends. Dr. Jonathan Ransom has taken a short leave from his Doctors Without Borders humanitarian practice in Africa to attend a medical conference in London where he has been invited to present a lecture. But he has hardly checked into his hotel when he is given enigmatic instructions that result in a reunion with his wife, Emma, whom he has not seen in over six months. Emma has been on the run from her old employer, Division, a secret American intelligence agency she betrayed during the events that took place in RULES OF DECEPTION.

Ransom's time with Emma is short and bittersweet; after informing him that she will be gone for at least a year, she disappears. Or attempts to. Ransom has practically no training in espionage, but is able to follow her to a location in London where he witnesses a horrific event: Emma detonates a car bomb that kills a group of bystanders and injures several others, including a Russian ambassador. Worse, it is Ransom who is blamed for the bloodbath by Kate Ford, an inspector with the London Metropolitan Police, and Colonel Graves, a dyspeptic but quietly competent higher-up with MI-5. Ford, already investigating the mysterious murder of a think tank genius, is convinced that it and the bombing are linked.

Not only must Ransom clear himself, he also has to find his wife in order to prevent her from carrying out the next stages of a terrorist action that he is convinced will have worldwide ramifications. In a scene worth the price of the book all by itself, Ransom manages to escape from custody. While being the object of a continent-wide manhunt, he travels from Italy to France, following a cold trail that Emma left six months before but that provides the only clues to her current whereabouts, as well as to the chilling target of her next mission.

There are many things to love about RULES OF VENGEANCE. One is the presentation of a locked room mystery during the first third of the book, which is solved through a combination of modern technology and keen-eyed observation, with the emphasis on the latter rather than the former. There is also the pursuit of Ransom through London and onto the European continent with the combined might and majesty of multiple police forces nipping at his heels. Ransom is not a trained spy, which is evident throughout the book. What he does possess is a keen ability to think on his feet, and quickly, so that those bits of spycraft he's picked up from Emma are adapted on the fly to meet the situation. And, if you thought you had exhausted your tolerance for car chase scenes, reserve judgment until Reich takes you on a mountain road pursuit that has the potential to end badly.

But my favorite element of RULES OF VENGEANCE is the ending, whereby Reich manages to raise more questions than are answered, sets up as many future volumes of this series as he might wish to write, and yet provides a satisfying conclusion that makes the book complete in and of itself. That is smart, intelligent and thoroughly entertaining storytelling, which is what you will find in RULES OF VENGEANCE from first page to last.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

At the beginning of every Christopher Reich story, I usually find myself wondering why I read this author's books because the first fifty pages make me so darn nervous. I guess the answer would be found in a similar question..."Why does someone ride a roller coaster?" They do so because it gives them the chills, a thrill and that sudden quiver of excitement. Well, I read Reich's books for the same reason and he is one author who has yet to disappoint me.

But my real question is.....how is Reich not on the tip of everyone's tongue when they talk about the best mystery/thriller authors out there? When this category comes up, readers always think of Connelly and Lehane and Finder. But guess what....it should be Connelly, Lehane, Finder AND Reich. In any other Reich review I've ever written, I usually talk about how I discovered him all on my own some years ago when he penned Numbered Account (a favorite). I've read everything since so I now consider myself not only a fan but an expert on this author.

Last year, he delighted his fans by starting a series with Dr. Jonathan Ransom as the main character. Working for Doctors Without Borders, he was the perfect protagonist as his job takes him around the world. But it wasn't just Jonathan we were following. It was also his wife Emma who, we found out in Rules of Deception, works for a secret US agency referred to as "Division". This agency does things even the CIA and FBI can't touch. "Deception" ended on such a note that Emma was forced to go into hiding while Jonathan returned to Africa, once again helping those in need. Vengeance finds them meeting up again in London but this will be no honeymoon for The Ransoms. Considering that this doctor is married to someone who is a secret spy/assassin means that their marriage is not going to include a white picket fence and a dog.

There is one thing I can say about Christopher Reich and that is you can never figure out where he is going with a story until HE decides you are going to get there. And, once you do arrive, he still confuses you to the point of wanting to email him and ask him exactly what is going on. You think you know how it ends, but you probably won't know if you're right until the next book comes out.

I'm a huge proponent of reading books in order and honestly feel that to really appreciate Rules of Vengeance, you should read Rules of Deception first. This way you can understand the relationship between husband and wife or, dare I say, mentor and apprentice. For it's hard for this doctor to be married to this woman and not have some of her expertise rub off on him. And it is this rubbing off that will save Jonathan's life as he escapes from the police when he is accused of doing something his wife has done. As everyone is searching for Emma Ransom (after she car bombed a Russian convoy), they feel the only way to catch up with her is to follow her husband. The chase is on and it's quite a ride as Jonathan has them traveling from country to country in Emma's pursuit. But while they just want to catch her, Jonathan wants to stop her as he realizes what her next assignment is.

Emma Ransom (although we find out this isn't even her real name) is so diabolical that I can't even imagine this marriage lasting past this book. As I was reading I was thinking, "how can these two even go out for dinner together." I can't imagine where Reich is going to take us in the next book in this series other than having Division recruit Jonathan as one of their own. He certainly has the skills.

So you did good by me Mr. Reich. For all you other reviewers out there, just know that this is one author who reads these reviews. He's great at taking constructive criticism but, as you can imagine, that is something that is not usually dished out on his behalf. Once again, I applaud you on another great one!!!

Rules of Vengeance finds Dr. Jonathan Ransom trying to get on with his life after his wife chose her work over him: perhaps understandable because Emma is an agent for a clandestine US intelligence agency referred to as The Division. Ransom is a physician with Doctors Without Borders in Africa, but he is asked to rejoin society temporarily to give a keynote address at a medical conference in the UK. He never gets to deliver his speech however, because Emma makes contact with him first, and he witnesses a crime committed by her which drags him into an international terrorist operation. No longer knowing who to trust, Ransom sets out on his own as a fugitive in search of the truth about his wife.

The first book in this series, Rules of Deception, showed a lot of promise but suffered from uneven pacing and was confusing at times. Those problems are fixed in Vengeance, which lives up to the potential shown in the previous book. The short chapters cut between the different characters, which keeps the readers turning the pages. The cat and mouse pursuit of Ransom alone makes this a great thriller, but Reich also peppers in enough details of high-tech spy gear and weaponry to make Vengeance a smart story as well. Highly recommended!

You should read Rules of Deception before reading this one as it's a continuation of the last book. One of the better authors. The plot is a little bit ho-hum as almost everything has been done before in the past decade in the explosion of writers and books, but it's not a bad plot. I won't regurgitate it here, except to say it's got to do with spies.

What I like about this book is the writing. The book is easy to read and easy to follow, that's important as some of today's best sellers have very bad writing in them and are hard to follow. I liked the characters, not 100% fully fleshed, but enough to keep my attention. The characters could have been deepened. Yes, there are a very few technical flaws, but the author can't be blamed: there is no "Queen's Guard"; I think the Scots Guards had the wrong appellation in the book; Graves is too young to be a retired colonel unless he was a lt. colonel and full colonel in name only, but these are minor and would only bother people conversant with military terms. Those didn't really take away from my enjoyment of the book (and proves again the point that authors should only write about things they know about) but I'm definitely going to read the other books that this author has written.