Dr. Jonathan Ransom is treating indigent people in Afghanistan, when his submissive assistant slits the throat of a Afghan rebel leader, which thrusts Ranson into the middle of a plot to recover the nuclear payload of a lost ICBM in the wintry highlands. Meanwhile his wife Emma is implicated in the assassination attempt of a Saudi prince, tortured, and left for dead. Emma's boss at Division, Frank Connor, has Ransom masquerade as a plastic surgeon for the arms dealer trying to broker the sale of the nuke. All hell breaks loose, and Emma, Frank, Jonathan and his spy trainer (Danni from Israel) have to work to save NYC from an Afghan lunatic. ( )

Rules of Betrayal by Christopher Reich is a suspense novel of international intrigue. This is the third novel by Reich featuring Dr. Jonathan Ransom and his undercover-agent wife Emma. In this novel Dr. Jonathan Ransom is in Afghanistan providing medical care when he gets caught in a raid that turns into a firefight. This eventually leads to Jonathan becoming involved with Division, a secret U.S. government agency, and participating in one of their secret missions that involves recovering a once lost nuclear bomb before terrorists get it and perhaps rescuing Emma.

In Rules of Betrayal, Reich provides plenty of plot twists and turns. In his world of espionage the players are all more than capable of betraying each other and no one is safe. Jonathan is entering this world of professionals as an amateur with some good instincts but little training. The bad guys are bad and you might wonder exactly who are the good guys. This results in plenty of tension and a satisfying thriller. As most people will expect, all the narrow escapes in Rules of Betrayal require you to suspend disbelief.

I must confess that I haven't read the previous two novels, Rules of Vengeance and Rules of Deception, featuring Dr. Jonathan and Emma Ransom. Although Rules of Betrayal can most certainly be read alone without the previous two novels, it did feel like I was missing some important backstory that would have help to develop the characters and their history more fully. If you're thinking of reading this series and suspect jumping into the story without all the background information would hinder your enjoyment, it would benefit you to read the previous two novels before this one (and I'm sure there will be a fourth book too).

On the other hand if you are looking for some summer escapism and like novels with international intrigue, then Rules of Betrayal won't disappoint you.This would be a great airplane book/summer vacation reading. http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/

Disclosure: I received this novel through the Goodreads First Reads program.

Quote:

For eight years he had traveled the world as a physician with Doctors Without Borders. He had worked from the top of Africa to the bottom. He had spent time in Kosovo, Beirut, and Iraq, too. Wherever he was located, his mission was to bring medical care to those who needed it most. Politics was not a factor. There were no good guys or bad guys. There were only patients.
He'd arrived in Afghanistan two months before, but he no longer worked for Doctors Without Borders. Events in the recent past prevented him from working in an official capacity as a physician or surgeon for them or anyone else. The man at the American embassy had told him he was crazy to venture into the Red Zone-the Red Zone being anywhere outside Kabul. When Jonathan said he was traveling alone, without bodyguards or weapons or any personal security whatsoever, so that he might offer medical care to people in the remotest villages, the man called him "suicidal." Jonathan didn't think so. He had calculated the risks, weighed them against his responsibilities, and found the balance equal, more or less. pg. 21 ( )

I received a free copy of this book from the Good Reads First reads program! Thank you for introducing me to this author.

I am surprised I haven't read something by Christopher Reich before! This would make a great spy thriller movie like a good James Bond, but with the husband/wife combo of Jonathan and Emma. It seemed real and made me wonder if any of this was based on true facts. Totally pulse pounding and engrossing this book kicks off the summer season with a bang. ( )

Rules Of Betrayal by Christopher Reich
Published by Doubleday
ISBN 978-0-385-53154-2
At the request of Doubleday, a HC was sent, at no cost to me for my personal opinion
Synopsis (from book's jacket): In 1980 an American B-52 bomber transporting a top-secret weapon crashes high on the peaks of a remote mountain range on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Nearly thirty years later, deep in the unforgiving, Taliban-controlled Lashkar Province of Afghanistan, Dr. Jonathan Ransom is making amends for the violence in his past. The woman he married, Emma Ransom, a.k.a. Lara Antonova, is in fact a spy and an assassin who used his job with Doctors Without Borders as her cover story. Now she is missing-most likely in the hands of a charismatic and violent arms dealer who goes by the name Lord Balfour. Emma is also being hunted by two conflicting shadow agencies-Division in the U.S. and the FSB in Russia.
After Ransom is nearly killed in a stunning double cross in Tora Bora, he is summoned by Frank Connor, the power broker a the helm of Division, and presented with an impossible choice. Jonathan must undertake a harrowing one-man mission into Balfour's lair to save Emma or stand by while a weapon of mass destruction is acquired by the most dangerous terrorist in Afghanistan-an unforgettable true believer known as The Hawk.
My Thoughts and Opinion: I wasn't a big fan of government espionage storylines, but when I read the synopsis, I thought that I might enjoy this read. I was surprised that within the first few pages, I was not only enjoying it but was also pulled in. I didn't realize, when I accepted the request for review, that this was the 3rd book in a series. Not having read the first two, I feel that this book can stand on it's own. For a spy thriller, it did hold my attention at times but then, there were some parts where I lost interest. This is my opinion, and my opinion only, rating this book is difficult. For those that enjoy this type of novel, it would probably receive a 4/5. But since I am not a big fan of espionage, I would give it a 2/5 because I did struggle through some of the book. So to be fair to the author and those that enjoy the double agent storyline, I will average it out.
My Rating: 3 ( )

Rules of Betrayal by Christopher Reich is the third book in his Dr. Jonathan Ransom series. This was the first book I'd read by this author.

Ransom is a physician with Doctors Without Borders and is married to Emma, who just happens to be an international spy. Emma has disappeared and no one, not even her handlers are sure what side she's on anymore - America's or Russia's.

Jonathan is brought in by the head of 'Division' - they want to send him to try and find Emma and the arms dealer she may be with. The dealer is looking to use a weapon of mass destruction against the US.

Lots of crosses, double crosses, espionage, intrigue and plot lines taken straight from current headlines. The story moves along quickly and there's no lack of action. Although this book could certainly be read as a stand alone, I did feel a little out of the picture as I didn't have a firm grasp on what had gone on before. Emma is a shadow figure until 3/4 through the book. Ransom is an interesting character and it would be worth going back to start at the beginning to know him better. And there's definitely a fourth book in the works.

I can see this series being made into a movie a la Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Fans of Brad Thor and Vince Flynn would enjoy this series. ( )