Rules of Deception (Jonathan Ransom Series #1)

From the Publisher

“Turbo-charged.... Entertainingly serpentine.”—The New York Times“A globe-trotting, bomb-ticking, loyalty-blurring thriller.” —People"Rules of Deception packs a wallop. Christopher Reich is at the top of his game."—David Baldacci“First-rate…. Sophisticated, suspenseful, even surprising.” —Washington Post"Never has a plane ride gone by so quickly! Rules of Deception was such a thrilling and compelling read that I spent the whole flight anxiously turning the pages, breathless to find out how it ended. Full of stunning twists and turns, packed with suspense, this is everything a great thriller should be."—Tess Gerritsen“Rules of Deception is an ingenious thriller set credibly in the shadowy world of international espionage. This one has it all: well-drawn characters, wonderful writing, exotic settings, and a high-tech terrorist plot that will keep you breathlessly racing along right through its electrifying climax.”—Nelson DeMille"There's a reason why Christopher Reich is a superstar writer. You'll find it on page one of this book. And page two. And page three . . . and all the way to the vivid end of this great new thriller."—Lee Child“Rules of Deception is pure suspense—an ingenious spy thriller for the new millennium.”—Linda Fairstein“Rules of Deception delivers pure suspense, intrigue, and adventure from its first page to its last. Christopher Reich is the master of the espionage thriller for the twenty-first century.”—Clive Cussler"Fast-paced and intriguing, Rules of Deception is a great international thriller full of twists and turns that kept me guessing to the very end. A very enjoyable read."—Kate Mosse"Once again, Chris Reich is firing on all cylinders. Rules of Deception is a supple, elegant thriller with a beguiling sophistication. Reich catches the reader on page one and utterly commands you to finish through a plot that carries triumphantly from one thrilling climax to another. He certainly knows how to manipulate the reader in exciting ways, and he's an expert (as his award-winning The Patriots Club proved) in creating a riveting imagined world so real you wonder if it was actually imagined."—Steve Berry“Rules of Deception is an intense, impossible-to-put down spy novel—like Robert Ludlum at his very best."—Vince Flynn

Janet Maslin

The formula for such books is so familiar that it's hard to spot the good ones, at least at first glance. Rules of Deception is the rare version that begins in by-the-numbers fashion, promising not much, but furiously picks up steam as it goes…Mr. Reich turns out to have a turbo-charged plot in the offing, and he begins explicating it with more originality and verve than might initially have been expected.
—The New York Times

Publishers Weekly

In true Hitchcockian tradition, Reich plunges his unsuspecting protagonist, Dr. Jonathan Ransom, into a dangerous world of international intrigue and death. After his wife dies in a skiing accident in the Swiss Alps, Ransom learns she had been leading a double life as a spy. What starts out as a search for answers about his late wife's past quickly escalates into a frantic life and death chase across northern Europe. Paul Michael proves quite adept at narrating this complicated story. Using just the right emphasis on key words, he keeps the listener involved. With solid conviction in his voice, Michael grounds Reich's over-the-top prose. Although his no-frills interpretation of Ransom is a little bland, Michael essays a rogues' gallery of distinctly voiced and accented supporting characters. Reich keeps the action coming, and Michael stays with him chase for chase. A Doubleday hardcover (Reviews, May 5). (July)

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Library Journal

Reich's everyman hero, Jonathan Ransom, is plunged into a world of intrigue when his wife dies in an accident. Growing questions about her true identity dig him deeper into trouble. Ransom is unaware that he is interrupting the endgame of an enormous and long-running conspiracy that he-and the Swiss cop tracking him-could derail. Reich (Patriot's Club) throws readers off the scent but never loses control of the plot. He skillfully handles the pacing, and this results in a suspenseful story balanced by cinematic action scenes. Highly recommended-fans of early Ludlum will particularly enjoy it. [See Prepub Alert, LJ3/1/08.]

—Andrew Smith

Kirkus Reviews

International intrigue in the 21st century, according to Reich's latest thriller, looks an awful lot like international intrigue in the 20th. After an Alpine skiing accident takes the life of beautiful nurse Emma, her widow, Dr. Jonathan Ransom, a surgeon who works for Doctors Without Borders, opens an envelope addressed to her to find a pair of claim checks. When he and Emma's friend Simone Noiret travel to Landquart to reclaim the checked items-two suitcases-they attract the attention of a pair of Swiss police officers who grab the bags and then, when Jonathan resists, try to kill him. Acting just like any of Reich's other intrepid amateur spies (The Patriots Club, 2005, etc.), he kills one of them, leaves the other seriously wounded and takes to the road. What to make of the mysterious items he finds inside the suitcases when he finally has a minute to look? Jonathan knows only that he's seeing a side of Emma he never suspected. But a series of obligingly interspersed chapters has already alerted savvy readers to a high-stakes plot. It's clear early on that it involves a superstitious assassin called the Ghost, a zealous anti-terrorist called the Pilot and the struggle for knowledge about lightweight, unpiloted drone aircraft and control of Iran's nuclear stockpile. What's not clear till much later-some readers will never be certain-is who's on first, given that the law-enforcement personnel of two different countries seem intent mainly on dispatching their compatriots in rival law-enforcement divisions. For better or worse, they all more or less succeed. Proof positive that whatever state-of-the-art labels you paste on fictional spies, their main appeal remains nostalgic. Agent:Richard Pine/InkWell Management