A Shot Rang Out - The Tangled Life and Mysterious Death of Thomas Cauldron: Author, Spy, Traitor

by Rob Adey, Richard Murkin

Who was Thomas Cauldron? An author of countless cheap paperbacks. A double agent. A pioneering wildlife broadcaster. And a mysterious corpse…

When the elderly Thomas Cauldron crashes into the home of local journalist Christopher Notchman and expires among the ruins of a coffee table, Notchman decides to solve the riddle of Cauldron’s death by tracing his eventful life. It’s a journey that takes the reader through the darkest corners of the 20th century, from the mayhem of the Great War to decadent 1920s London, from Cold War Berlin to the dystopia of a 1970s new town. Provocative and insightful, this biography raises questions which will send shock waves through the Establishment.

Genres: Thriller, Humor

265 pages, ebook

First published July 7, 2011

Reviews

[Alex Sarll]

Who can forget Thomas Cauldron, author of innumerable spy classics including An Apple for Himmler, Czechmate and A Dance to the Music of Bullets, and his trademark of always somehow managing to include a scene where his hero fights a gorilla? Less well-known today is the degree to which Cauldron's life followed the curious contours of the Twentieth Century. After fighting in the Great War as a schoolboy (for the Germans, at that), he and the challenging sculptress Teresa Maddington became leading lights of the Bright Young Things. But it was in divided Berlin that Cauldron's lifelong love of subterfuge found its greatest expression - because more than advancing any tedious ideology or national interest, Cauldron was above all a devotee of spying for spying's sake.

Thomas Cauldron is also, of course, entirely fictional. The subgenre in which smart people construct gloriously silly stories about terrible made-up authors runs back at least to Beerbohm's 'Enoch Soames', but the most obvious parallel here is Steve Aylett's deranged Lint. If A Shot Rang Out is ever so slightly less deranged than that wonderful book, it compensates with an extra layer in which the Pooterish narrator is himself drawn into his subject's shadowy legacy.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this through Goodreads, thank you!

I was expecting this to be a thriller/mystery but the unexpected bonus was it being funny as well. Thomas Cauldron seemed to have a crazy eventful life from his youngest memories up to his death as an older man. The book was very entertaining.

[Scarlett Sims · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book worked better in concept than in execution. Basically, it's the fictional biography of a fictional person who led a pretty ridiculous life. Most of the situations he gets into are bizarrely funny and it was certainly an entertaining read. My main complaint was going to be that because it is self-published, there are some typos and the like. HOWEVER, I did check out the book's website just now and the authors implied that maybe the typos weren't accidental. I'm not intrigued enough to go back through the book, but I do like things with layers like that, so if I'd known the first read-through I certainly would have payed more attention. Bottom line, this is a fun, entertaining mystery/espionage story. I wouldn't go out of my way to get a copy, but if you find yourself in possession of one, definitely pick it up.

I received my copy free from Goodreads First Reads.

[Lucy Leblanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first book I won on Good Reads and was pleasantly surprised when I received it. First, I must say, the title intrigued me as it reminded me of a late-night B-Movie. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the novel was indeed similar to my memories of those late-night shows. It had murder, mystery, intrique, shady characters, and plenty of chuckles written in. I enjoyed reading this book and found it to be a great way to escape my regular routine. I would recommend this book to anyone who is "hungering" to get away from the popular novels of today. Thank you, Rob Adey and Good Reads, for providing me with a delightful way to spend my evenings.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very lucky to win this novel through the Goodreads Giveaway. This is the biography of Thomas Cauldron's strange life but also Christopher Notchman's attempt to unravel the mystery surrounding his death. Thomas Cauldron lived a very private life. When the elderly Thomas Cauldron crashes into the home of local journalist Christopher Notchman and expires among the ruins of a coffee table, Notchman decides to solve the riddle of Cauldron’s death by tracing his eventful life. It’s a journey that will take the reader on a amazing ride. Very well written and well researched.

[Jessica Buike · Rating 1 out of 5]

A good spy story always intrigues me. Sadly, this one did not live up to my expectations. It was written in a rather boring style, and was very choppy. I liken it to a school report rather than a fluid book. Granted, it's a biography which sometimes do read dryly, but I just couldn't get into this book.

If you like dry biographies that are strictly history without any sort of fluidity to help it read better, you might like this. Otherwise, I'd suggest checking out something else.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am genuinely confused by the number of people who read this and thought Thomas Cauldron is an actual person who once existed in history. Well-researched??