Scorpion Betrayal

Scorpion #2

by Andrew Kaplan

"Kaplan has written one of the smartest, swiftest and most compelling spy novels I've read in years." —Harlan Coben, author of Live Wire "Wow! Scorpion Betrayal…delivers more heart-thumping twists and turns, beliefs and betrayals, than The Day of the Jackal and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold rolled into one." —Katherine Neville, author of The Eight A breakneck-paced international espionage thriller in the Robert Ludlum and Daniel Silva vein, Andrew Kaplan's phenomenal Scorpion Betrayal is a relentlessly exciting page-turner that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Featuring one of the most intriguing protagonists in spy fiction—an ex-CIA agent code-named Scorpion—on a breathtaking chase across the capitals of Europe in pursuit of a frighteningly elusive terrorist known as "the Palestinian," this is a novel that Alex Berenson, Ted Bell, Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, and Barry Eisler fans are going to love. And don't miss Andrew's new novel, Carrie's Run, available September 3rd, the official prequel novel to the hit Showtime series, Homeland, featuring CIA Intelligence Officer Carrie Mathison on a mission in the Middle East prior to Season 1. This riveting, original thriller reveals the compelling untold backstories of the series' main characters and takes fans deeper into the life and mind of the brilliant female spy. Find out how it all began in Carrie's Run.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Espionage, Audiobook, Mystery, Action

464 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 23, 1985

About the author

Andrew Kaplan is the author of two spy thriller book series: SCORPION and HOMELAND, as well as three earlier novels, DRAGONFIRE, HOUR OF THE ASSASSINS, and WAR OF THE RAVEN, which was selected by the American Library Association as one of the 100 best books ever written about World War II. A former freelance journalist and war correspondent, he covered events around the world and served in both the U.S. Army and the Israeli Army. His work has been called “a gold standard for thrillers” and has been translated into twenty languages, topping bestseller charts around the world. Recently three of Amazon’s top 20 thrillers at one time were Scorpion books: SCORPION BETRAYAL, SCORPION WINTER and SCORPION DECEPTION. In addition, he is the author of the runaway international bestseller, HOMELAND: CARRIE'S RUN, an original prequel novel based on the award-winning hit television series. HOMELAND: SAUL'S GAME is his second HOMELAND novel.

Reviews

[Nick Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second in the series to feature “The Scorpion”, a free-lance Black Ops agent who works for US Intelligence. This is, although not without flaws, a fast moving thriller. Scorpion is tasked with eliminating a radical that has plans for a “big one” before the bad guy gets to hit his target(s). Seen this many times, but it is well delivered, with pace and excitement as the chase goes from country to country. Scorpion has an Arabic upbringing so he can fit comfortably in Western and Eastern environments and this does give something different and interesting to the character. As this mission develops, Scorpion starts to realise he does not have the whole picture and there may be more at stake than he can possibly imagine.
The flaws? The author struggles a bit with dialogue with female characters, what is supposed to be sexually charged just feels lame. And some odd bits, we have Scorpion’s US contact in a foreign country being protected by the SAS for no reason. And in Italy we have US snipers protecting a major target, not something the Italians would contemplate!
But for its flaws, when the action gets going and the tradecraft is on display, this is entertaining stuff.

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Kaplan's second thriller about the man known only as 'Scorpion', Scorpion Betrayal (Harper 2012) is a bullet train through a web of deceit. Scorpion, an American agent not affiliated with any government agency is the best of the best. He is called in to find a terrorist who's devious plan will upend not just America, but the world. What he finds as he untangles this Gordian knot of intrigue is much more. It doesn't seem that anyone anywhere in the world can be honest with him, each other, or even their friends. That trust gene atrophied in the human character and Scorpion's task is to read between the lines, between the clues to find out what is really happening and then stop it.

It's intriguing to watch his mind work as he weighs clues, sifts through misinformation, and tracks down just the right thread to pull. He is an amazing, fascinating strategist which whether you enjoy reading political thrillers or write them, you won't want to miss.

If I had to include a 'con' here, it would be that Scorpion is flat. He is that brilliant spy with no flaws, no emotion, and no personal life (this is why it lost one star). Kaplan wastes no time persuading us to like this hired killer. We will or will not, and that decision won't change the story. Even when Kaplan tries to inject a love interest, it doesn't ring true, seems more like misdirection (which it is). As a result, throughout the entire 400+ pages, I caromed off bad guys and bullets and nuclear disaster. Kaplan's depth of knowledge on foreign nations, foreign military, fighting tactics (I'd never heard of the Brazilian back leg sweep or the Krav Maga move) and law enforcement is impressive, so this never got boring, but it did get confusing. I wish I'd read this on a Kindle so I could search back for names and places I'd lost track of.

Overall, a well-written book with a superbly crafted plot, complicated and tricky in the best tradition of thrillers, with spies, radical Muslims, bio-weapons, amoral murderers, an armload of exotic foreign cities, and much much more. Don't miss it.

[D.J. Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Scorpion is a deep cover American intelligence agent. He's multilingual, a martial artist, skilled with firearms and explosives and possessed of familiarity with and contacts inside intelligence agencies and criminal gangs all over Europe and the Middle East. More than his enemies and his uncomfortable allies, the person he really distrusts is his slippery and politically-motivated superior, and with every risk he takes, every deeper level of plot he uncovers, the Scorpion has to ask himself: is he the player, or is he being played?

The Scorpion's target is the Palestinian, a nameless, faceless man organizing multiple terrorist attacks in the West, involving both bioweapons and a nuclear bomb. This novel is James Bond-like for its exciting action sequences, but ranks with the best Cold War spy fiction for complexity, paranoia and contemporary relevance. Recommended.

[Phil Sutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just sat down and read through all 3 of the Scorpion books and they are all excellent stories created by a true master of this genre. It is a benefit to start with his first book in the series "Scorpion" but definitely not necessary. Each book creates an intricate story of plots and sub plots and has the reader guessing to the end.
Scorpion Betrayal is one of the best books I have read of this genre and I have nearly 1000 signed books of the adventure, thriller and CIA action spy genre. It has everything and is one of those books you don't want to put down. Every time you think there is a straight line going in a set direction there is suddenly a massive road block and that is what this book has in plenty. If you are a reader of this genre, take the time to read the three books in the Scorpion series, they are well crafted and a credit to Mr. Kaplan

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library because it had gotten some decent reviews, but I just couldn't get into it. While I hate to give up on a book, I only read about a third of this one. Apparently Scorpion Betrayal is part of a series, and much of the time I felt like I was missing out on some character insight and/or background. The book jumped around from one scene to another without proper segues, and felt disjointed. It takes a skilled writer to write action scenes that are vivid, exciting and believable, and unfortunately I just didn't get that from this book. It was too contrived for my tastes. I may put the book down for a while and give it another try later, but for now I'm just not interested.

[Snidely · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of those books where a few different things were going on, possibly peripheral characters came and went with a few surprises and open holes along the way, and then, as the end approaches, the reader learns:

No, you thought it was A but it was really B. And, you remember when we all expected C and D? Well, those didn't happen, we didn't tell you that E did F and G instead and so it was K and L. And H wasn't really H but P in disguise.

This may not be the right way to describe it but basically to me this was lazy character and plot development and a rush at the end to plug holes and resolve missing pieces and deceptions. I really dislike stories that provide that experience. Better authors don't do that. This was my first book by this author and I may not read another.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Review submitted to Suspense Magazine)

[Steven Leitman · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I felt like I wasn't getting a good chance to learn about the main character. He's chasing an unknown enemy and we see some of him and it's the same thing, we get no real clear of how he came to his fanaticism. Of course there's a woman involved as well so far it just felt like this was pretty standard fare, nothing special, nothing new. Then the last quarter of the book things changed and the story became more interesting and the action/adventure is what i wished we'd had throughout the entire book.
While bottom line is it's a solid summertime reading Scorpion stays with you somehow and you want to read the next book in his series. Yes there's potential here and yes it reads at a good pace and finished strong. I'll read the next one and see if his run of books is worth continuing or if it is too predictable and formulaic.

[Nicci Carrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully crafted, rich in details about the middle east, spycraft, politics, and WMDs, I find Kaplan's work a bit scary because it's so believable. I learned a lot and really liked Scorpion. I'll be reading the series.

[MLC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scorpion gets called back into action to save the world. Fast paced action in this book as he starts putting the pieces together traveling the globe. Great plot twists leave you guessing at the ending.

[AnnieM · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like military thrillers, but this didn’t have enough story (or enough for me to connect with) to connect the military with the people. Not my thing I guess

[Pb]

not a total slay tbh i cried cuz i made myself finish it and almost died of boredom and yet
somehow i still think its worth a read

[Vica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't even finish it, it's boring as hell maybe its not my type of literature

[Mysterytribune · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew Kaplan is best known for his spy thriller novels featuring a former operative code-named Scorpion. He worked as a freelance journalist and war correspondent for the International Herald Tribune and has also served in the army. His new novel Scorpion Betrayal will be released in Mass Market Paperback edition on March 27, 2012.

A Brief Summary:

The head of Egypt's State Internal Security is brutally murdered in a Cairo cafe by a faceless killer known only as "the Palestinian." The murder becomes an opening move in a chilling game of terror which catches the international intelligence community completely off-guard. They know this has been just a message and there is intelligence that something really big is coming. Therefore the CIA turns Scorpion to mitigate the damage and get rid of the Palestinian issue.

The breakneck hunt for a mastermind is leading Scorpion from the Middle East to the dangerous underworld of the capitals of Europe and then to the United States.

Our Take:

In a nutshell, the whole story is about the encounter between Scorpion and the Palestinian represents. After the story begins with the assassination of Egypt's State Internal Security, the subsequent chapters of the book are set in different cities from Beirut to Damascus to Utrecht (Netherlands) and Rome. Palestinian needs to go to different countries and set his plan in motion and Scorpion needs to stop him.

The chasing scenes such as the one in Rome when Scorpion is on a motor bike and the Palestinian in an automobile is gripping. There are also chilling chapters, like the one in Utrecht where the theme is less of the action and more spy-activity driven. The last chapter of the book ties up a lot of loose ends, and the story ends up in an exciting yet predictable way.

The topic of almost all the plots are the same as the typical current political issues we read in the newspapers: The tension about Iran's nuclear program, Russia's role in global politics, secret operations in Pakistan and so on.

The author has also used the familiar spy techniques like disguise, secret notes, coded messages and blackmail in his story and the result is fast-paced and engaging read.

Overall, a nice read for the beach (or the train).

Our Rating: 3.0

More at http://www.mysterytribune.com or @mysterytribune

[Michael Griswold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew Kaplan's "Scorpion Betrayal" combines all the elements of an old school detective story with terrorism and espionage to create a fast paced adrenaline laced thrill ride. The two main characters, the Scorpion and The Palestinian are both shadowy figures on separate missions that are bound to collide. The Palestinian-a terrorist hell bent on global destruction, the Scorpion-a mysterious agent who is loosely tied to the CIA.

Kaplan keeps the reader guessing as the line between good and evil blurs. It gets to the point where the reader does not know who to trust. Like any great political thriller, the intrigue is not resolved until the very last page. Like the very best political thrillers though there is also a hint at a very real life political realityof governments acting to fit their interests (though in a perhaps exaggerated way.) Ultimately, the Scorpion Betrayal will leave the reader entertained, and perhaps deep in thought.

[Tom Tischler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Egypt's Head of Internal State Security is brutally murdered
in a Cairo cafe by a faceless killer known only as the
Palestinian. It is move one in a chilling game of terror that
catches the International Intelligence Community off guard.
The CIA turns to the only man they believe can get to the
bottom of this. He is code named The Scorpion. The mastermind
is leading The Scorpion from the Middle East to the capitols
of Europe. The fate of the free world is in the hands of two
well matched adversaries and there is no room for error.
But a shocking truth has been kept from The Scorpion and a
beauty will blind him to the ultimate betrayal. This is book
two in The Scorpion series and although I would'nt call it a
page turner it is still a pretty good story.

[David Matteri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate Kaplan's style of action writing, however the rest of the book fell short and I stopped reading halfway through. Perhaps if I read the first book in the series I would have a stronger emotional tie with the protagonist, but this book seems to take itself too seriously and the hero seems flat and humorless. If you like spy thrillers and have read Kaplan's work before, then you will enjoy this book. I may try reading Kaplan's other works, but this one didn't satisfy as much as I had hoped.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

SPY THRILLER! IN MY OPINION THIS IS A BOOK THAT MAY APEAL TO A CERTAIN TYPE OF READER AND SORRY TO SAY I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. WHILE THE PLOT SEEMS TO BE GOOD THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT HAPPEN YOU NEED A SCORE CARD. THE CHARACTERS TO WHICH I GIVE THE MOST IMPORTANCE ARE AGAIN IN MY OPINION NOT WELL WRITTEN. LIKE I SAID BEFORE THIS BOOK WILL APEAL TO A CERTAIN TYPE OF READER BUT FOR THE REST OF US I CANNOT RECCOMEND THIS BOOK.

[Warren Thoms · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good story with twists and turns but I found it a hard read. I am not sure if it was the writing style or I just was not in much of a reading mood the past few days. Kaplan has two more books in this series but I am not sure if I will continue with it. I am going to take some time and then try the third book and see how it goes. I wish there had been a little more about Scorpion, background and different other things that would have made me feel more for him.

[Jeffery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lot's of 'inside baseball' of the spy game in this one. Kaplan inserts too many foreign phrases into the dialog, which he doesn't always translate and which begins to tire the reader.

All in all, not bad, but I haven't read the other book(s) in the series and I found myself somewhat lost at times.

Kaplan surely knows what he's talking about and the plot was very good.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit tough going at first. Also agree with some reviewers that the continual use of foreign languages is quite distracting -- although this diminishes significantly as the book goes on. The story is complex, the feeling is real, and the end is a huge surprise. And very scary since highly plausible. An excellent and very current plot, with movie written all over it.

[Carole · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were so many Arabic and Dutch words that it threw off my concentration. Also he had to explain the moves he used in fight scenes as if it was a text book. The story line was good, but I was distracted much of the time.

[Jenn Hutchinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scorpion was a little too undercover for me. Had a hard time understanding where the hell he was and why the hell he was there in the first place. But he did seem to know what he was doing and he certainly got his spy business done.

[LNae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm dropping this down a star, because guess what... I've read this book. It is an action thriller spy bang-bang book that covers the Middle East and Europe. I enjoyed it as a summer read, but I didn't remember any of the plot.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! Really like the character and the journey across the whole world! Sudden twist at the end of the book; really enjoyed that. Although I must admit I didn't really get the ending and was a little surprised when I found out it was already over. Gonna read the other books soon too!

[Ed · Rating 1 out of 5]

One-dimensional characters, overly-complex confusing plot, repetitive writing. Gave up because I didn't care about the characters or about learning how it was going to end. Life's too short to waste on this kind of book.

[Rosemary Dreyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars: This is the second book in the Scorpion books. I found it more choppy, with leaps in action, and harder to follow. While I like this character and the fast paced action, I don't think this book was as well crafted as the previous one.

[Indigoaalane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Natuke liiga palju organisatsioone, tegelasi ja liine. Mul kulus aega, et kõik meelde jääks ja mingi loogika tekiks.
Aga muidu tore põnevik.

Hea ka teada, et 2012 on ameeriklase jaoks Eesti endiselt Venemaa...:(

[Mikaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's exciting, it's brilliant, and the action never stops. Andrew Kaplan knows how to keep his readers on their toes.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for fans of The Bourne Identity series. It has lots of action and twists to the plot, all in exotic settings.