Mark Parragh

Ex-spy and his billionaire backer save the world, one villainous plot at a time

The good: the novel begins with a spate of apparently meaningless (but costly) acts of vandalism against a small research establishment with nothing but worthy goals. John Crane, a spy who is out of a job since his section has been decommissioned, is brought in by a young, idealistic billionaire to find out what is going on. Crane shows his mental and physical skills in dealing with the original problem and is led show more deeper and deeper into trouble and danger as he pursues the man who is pulling the strings. The story is resolved well, with some unexpected twists and a bit of much needed humour.

The bad (well, the not so good...) as I was getting into the final third of the book I became increasingly aware that I didn’t know Crane much better than I had at the beginning. He was a bit of a cypher, lacking the personality that makes me root for a character. Once or twice I considered abandoning the book because of this. The writing is good. The plotting is good. But if I don’t care about the protagonist I am reluctant to invest the time is reading about him or her.

The ugly(ish): all the ‘product placement’. The details of not just brand, but model of car or gun or suit, or shoe, are to me frankly tedious. I freely admit that I am not a brand-conscious person, and it may be that some of these are well-known brands in the States, but if one has never heard of a designer then mentioning that name doesn’t convey any extra meaning to the brand-ignorant or the overseas reader, or indeed to the reader ten years down the line when that brand may have died a death. I know this sort of detail is very much in the Ian Fleming Bond tradition, but perhaps a bit more description to indicate the quality, rather than relying on brand names might be more accessible to a wide readership. show less

What a surprise! I thoroughly enjoyed Rope on Fire and commend the author on publishing his first novel and the start of a new series. So far, this is everything James Bond. If you enjoy reading about spies with special talents, gorgeous women, different countries, and fighting ruthless kingpins and their stooges, then this book is for you. It is well written and promises to take you into the wee hours of the night because you can't put it down.

At the end of the story, Mark Parragh includes show more a novella which takes readers into a new mission and expands a little on the original story. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

John Podlaski, author
"Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel" and "When Can I Stop Running?" show less