Puppet on a Chain

Rating:
Summary: A great novel from the master of suspense
Review: This is another of Maclean's successful detective novels. Some of the characters in the books are familiar from his another work, "Floodgate". The action takes place in Amsterdam and it's suburbs and along with intriguing the reader with a great plot, the author also succeeds in portraying the picturesque Hollandish city-life and countryside. Just like in most of his novels, the hero is an invincible individual, accompanied by an astonishingly beautiful woman, for whom he shows no sign of affection until the end. The plot itself is highly unpredictable and is full of interesting twists. It is a great read for any detective-story fan and is, of course, a must-read for MacLean fans.

Rating:
Summary: In the dark and loving it!
Review: This was not the first book of Maclean's that I read, but it was by far the best. This is the best of his keep-you-on-your toes writing. From the very beginning I was drawn in and lost througout the entire book on who the good guys were. This is one of the few books that I was glad to be totally in the dark. It just made the entire experience more enthralling. A short, but powerful book!

Rating:
Summary: In the dark and loving it!
Review: This was not the first book of Maclean's that I read, but it was by far the best. This is the best of his keep-you-on-your toes writing. From the very beginning I was drawn in and lost througout the entire book on who the good guys were. This is one of the few books that I was glad to be totally in the dark. It just made the entire experience more enthralling. A short, but powerful book!

Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful and entertaining
Review: When Major Paul Sherman of the London Bureau of Interpol arrives at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, he is not greeted in a very smooth manner. Indeed, he is viciously struck in the solar plexus by the airline bag of a swarthy man in a black coat. As Sherman starts to investigate the death of Jimmy Duclos, he wonders why his presence in Holland is so undesirable, all the more since he quickly notices that he is being followed by the grey nondescript anonymity of a man. Skilfully reversing the roles, Sherman follows the mysterious man who leads him unawares to the warehouse of a company called "Morgenstern and Muggenthaler". After having succeeded to penetrate the warehouse, Sherman finds the astonishing array of thousands of puppets identical in shape and size and, more surprisingly so, row upon row of books entitled "The Gabriel Bible". But why does each volume of these Bibles have a hole that was smoothly scooped out of its centre so that it extends almost to the entire with of the book? And why do these Bibles have a fly-leaf with the printed inscription: "With the Compliments of the First Reformed Church of the American Huguenot Society"? Well, surely not an easy mystery to solve for Major Sherman...