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Simon Leonidovich #2
Bagman
The job of a high-risk courier is very simple.You pick something up. You drop something off.The hard part is not getting killed.When Kyra, the daughter of Big Jake Rynerson -- one of the world's wealthiest men -- is kidnapped in the Galápagos Islands, professional courier Simon Leonidovich is hired to deliver the ransom. But playing bagman for a billionaire is not so simple -- not when so many people stand to gain by Kyra's disappearance, and not when someone close to Big Jake is playing for the wrong team. To complicate matters, Simon finds himself falling for Big Jake's enticing and clever assistant, Caitlin Wells, though she may be the very one scheming to control the Rynerson empire.But when the money drop gets botched, the stakes turn deadly for both Simon and Kyra. From the dark jungles of Colombia to the flashy lights of Las Vegas, Simon matches wits against a cold-blooded adversary who seems to know his every move. Now he must somehow finish the job, save the girl, and figure out who's been pulling the strings before his pursuers deliver him into an unmarked grave.With rapid-fire action and devious plot twists, Bagman is a lightning-paced thriller that will keep you breathless until the final drop is made.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 27, 2004
6 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Jay MacLarty
6 books14 followersJay Hector MacLarty was an American entrepreneur and novelist known for his thrillers featuring professional courier Simon Leonidovitch. Born in Spirit Lake, Iowa, he spent his early years in Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. By the age of thirty, he had owned restaurants, nightclubs, and liquor stores before founding a series of retail stores and a software company. He also developed one of the first computerized handicapping programs for thoroughbred racing.
MacLarty later turned to fiction writing, taking a break from his software business to pursue his passion. His first novel, a thousand-page manuscript, remained unpublished, leading him to focus on writing commercially appealing thrillers. This resulted in a four-book series published by Simon & Schuster: The Courier (2003), Bagman (2004), Live Wire (2006), and Choke Point (2007). Each novel was nominated for a Barry Award, with Bagman receiving a starred review in Publishers Weekly.
Beyond writing, MacLarty was an active leader in the Las Vegas Writer's Group, helping aspiring writers advance their careers.
MacLarty later turned to fiction writing, taking a break from his software business to pursue his passion. His first novel, a thousand-page manuscript, remained unpublished, leading him to focus on writing commercially appealing thrillers. This resulted in a four-book series published by Simon & Schuster: The Courier (2003), Bagman (2004), Live Wire (2006), and Choke Point (2007). Each novel was nominated for a Barry Award, with Bagman receiving a starred review in Publishers Weekly.
Beyond writing, MacLarty was an active leader in the Las Vegas Writer's Group, helping aspiring writers advance their careers.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 14, 2014
RATING: 3.5
As I started to read this book, I really thought that I was going to dislike it. The basic premise was uninteresting. A rich young woman (Kyra Rynerson-Saladino) who is estranged from her rich daddy (Big Jake Rynerson) is kidnapped by a psychopath with the very scary nickname of El Pato, or "The Duck", since he tends to waddle when he walks. The psychopath is working with a partner who is close to the father. They ask for an exorbitant ransom, which is actually peanuts to Rynerson. The father hires a crack team to get his daughter back, among whom is a bagman by the name of Simon Leonidovich. Rynerson also has an executive assistant, Caitlin Wells, who is va-va-voom. Simon sees Caitlin; ooh la la.
The initial part of the book that set up the situation didn't promise anything out of the ordinary. But then, as the narration progressed, something interesting happened—the characters were not the caricatures that they originally seemed to be. Kyra was independent, feisty and extremely resourceful. Big Jake was not a rich buffoon who bought whatever he wanted. He worked his way from the ground up and had more savvy than any 10 entrepreneurs that you can think of. And his first wife, Kyra's mother, was an absolutely great character who regularly put Jake in his place. Simon was an understated guy who almost accidentally came to the rescue, but out of his own sense of reality rather than just luck. And the relationship with Caitlin, which looked like it would be a standard romance, was anything but.
Right before Kyra is snatched, she learns that she is pregnant; her marriage to Anthony Saladino is not working very well. She's worked hard to make her own way of life without relying on her father, from whom she's been estranged ever since he fooled around during his marriage to her mother. El Pato, the kidnapper, brings her to a remote area in South America. He is unbelievably cruel. He does not hurt Kyra directly, since she is his bargaining chip for millions of dollars, but the conditions under which she lives are abominable.
Jake puts together a team to deliver the ransom and hopefully get Kyra back alive, although the chances of that happening are slim, especially since it's apparent that someone close to Jake is involved in the plot. MacLarty builds incredible tension as the rescue operation proceeds. His only misstep is in having Kyra perform in almost super-human fashion.
After the forgettable start to the book, I found that I was pulled headfirst into the story. There was a moment when Kyra was attempting to escape from El Pato where I was literally holding my breath. In addition to the fast-paced action, I enjoyed the self-deprecating humor of Leonidovich. The book turned out to be surprisingly compelling, both in terms of plot and character.
As I started to read this book, I really thought that I was going to dislike it. The basic premise was uninteresting. A rich young woman (Kyra Rynerson-Saladino) who is estranged from her rich daddy (Big Jake Rynerson) is kidnapped by a psychopath with the very scary nickname of El Pato, or "The Duck", since he tends to waddle when he walks. The psychopath is working with a partner who is close to the father. They ask for an exorbitant ransom, which is actually peanuts to Rynerson. The father hires a crack team to get his daughter back, among whom is a bagman by the name of Simon Leonidovich. Rynerson also has an executive assistant, Caitlin Wells, who is va-va-voom. Simon sees Caitlin; ooh la la.
The initial part of the book that set up the situation didn't promise anything out of the ordinary. But then, as the narration progressed, something interesting happened—the characters were not the caricatures that they originally seemed to be. Kyra was independent, feisty and extremely resourceful. Big Jake was not a rich buffoon who bought whatever he wanted. He worked his way from the ground up and had more savvy than any 10 entrepreneurs that you can think of. And his first wife, Kyra's mother, was an absolutely great character who regularly put Jake in his place. Simon was an understated guy who almost accidentally came to the rescue, but out of his own sense of reality rather than just luck. And the relationship with Caitlin, which looked like it would be a standard romance, was anything but.
Right before Kyra is snatched, she learns that she is pregnant; her marriage to Anthony Saladino is not working very well. She's worked hard to make her own way of life without relying on her father, from whom she's been estranged ever since he fooled around during his marriage to her mother. El Pato, the kidnapper, brings her to a remote area in South America. He is unbelievably cruel. He does not hurt Kyra directly, since she is his bargaining chip for millions of dollars, but the conditions under which she lives are abominable.
Jake puts together a team to deliver the ransom and hopefully get Kyra back alive, although the chances of that happening are slim, especially since it's apparent that someone close to Jake is involved in the plot. MacLarty builds incredible tension as the rescue operation proceeds. His only misstep is in having Kyra perform in almost super-human fashion.
After the forgettable start to the book, I found that I was pulled headfirst into the story. There was a moment when Kyra was attempting to escape from El Pato where I was literally holding my breath. In addition to the fast-paced action, I enjoyed the self-deprecating humor of Leonidovich. The book turned out to be surprisingly compelling, both in terms of plot and character.
September 6, 2023
***************3.95 stars**************
*************RFR Rating Scale***********
This thriller marks the return of Simon Leonidovich as the can do delivery guy for the rich and famous. Simon is approached by Big Jake Rynerson, a wealthy hotel magnate who bears some similarity to Donald Trump….except for the fact that he has more human traits than Donald Trump.
Jake’s daughter has been kidnapped and Simon is tasked with the delivery of the ransom. After a period of time, Simon and his cohorts realize that the kidnappers have no intention of returning the daughter after the payoff. The ransom delivery turns into a high stakes rescue operation.
The Bagman is a well-rounded and interesting cat and mouse chase with a somewhat unexpected result. The hero is likeable, the villains are nasty and the story has more turns than a Formula 1 road race!
The Bagman is a fun read with interesting storylines and characters!
Recommended!
Robert Frank Ries
*************RFR Rating Scale***********
This thriller marks the return of Simon Leonidovich as the can do delivery guy for the rich and famous. Simon is approached by Big Jake Rynerson, a wealthy hotel magnate who bears some similarity to Donald Trump….except for the fact that he has more human traits than Donald Trump.
Jake’s daughter has been kidnapped and Simon is tasked with the delivery of the ransom. After a period of time, Simon and his cohorts realize that the kidnappers have no intention of returning the daughter after the payoff. The ransom delivery turns into a high stakes rescue operation.
The Bagman is a well-rounded and interesting cat and mouse chase with a somewhat unexpected result. The hero is likeable, the villains are nasty and the story has more turns than a Formula 1 road race!
The Bagman is a fun read with interesting storylines and characters!
Recommended!
Robert Frank Ries
October 13, 2014
The second in the series featuring high-price courier Simon is as good as the first 'The Courier.' It is a very decent, pacy thriller with some good action sequences. My only quibble is that Simon had to sit on the fence far too long in this one. Having said that, I would definitely go for the next book in this entertaining series.
July 8, 2009
The best of the series in my opinion.
February 22, 2021
Very interesting..
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews