Rules of Deception by Christopher Reich (Review)
Released July 2008 (Doubleday) * 400 pages * ISBN 10: 0385524064
I took the advance reader’s copy of Christopher Reich’s Rules of Deception on a road trip a couple weeks ago. The back copy looked so enticing that I didn’t want to wait until I got back to read it. I didn’t manage to finish it while I was away so I spent my first half a day back finishing up the book instead of working on my own writing. I’m happy to say the book lived up to its promise.
Dr. Jonathan Ransom loses his wife in a climbing accident in the Swiss Alps. A few days later, baggage claim tickets are delivered to his hotel room–for his wife. Not knowing what they might be for, he goes to claim them only to have two thugs try to steal the bags. The thugs are actually Swiss cops, and Ransom, having killed one of them, is now a killer and on the run. The contents of the bags reveal that his wife was not who he believed her to be. Ransom finds himself the subject of manhunt and the target of an assassin as he tries to discover who his wife really was and what is really going on.
The plot is intricate, the chapters are short, and the pacing is fast. I found that I was drawn right into the
story and was no longer aware of the author writing. Reich uses the technique of having a lot of separate strands of plot at the beginning of the book that he eventually connects until everything comes together. This technique is tricky because if it doesn’t work the reader ends up confused and aggravated. For me, Reich pulls it off. I did get confused a couple of times, but I chalk that up to only being able to read a chapter or two at a time when I was reading the beginning of the book (I was visiting family).
Reading Reich reminded me of David Morrell in some ways. Reich ties everything together and pays attention to all the details which reminded me of David Morrell’s Creepers (also an excellent and fast-paced read).
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2 Comments
I too loved the book but was confused at times - the ending.
[Edited by Ann to remove spoilers]
Any help on the ending would be appreciated.
Hi, q. I edited your comment for spoilers so that other visitors who haven’t read the book don’t see your comments on the ending.
I’m sorry that I can’t help you with your questions. I’ve read so many books since Rules of Deception that I can’t remember the details of the book enough to help you.
Maybe you can ask the author directly?