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John Purkiss #1
Ratcatcher
The police have Internal Affairs departments. British Intelligence has John Purkiss, the Ratcatcher.
Purkiss's job is straightforward. Track down agents of the intelligence services who are taking kickbacks, committing crimes, or otherwise abusing their positions. And bring them to justice.
Straightforward doesn't mean easy...
After a renegade British former spymaster, Fallon, is sighted in the Baltic city of Tallinn on the eve of a historic summit meeting between the Russian and Estonian presidents, Purkiss is despatched to investigate, and uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to tear Europe - and the world - apart.
But Purkiss has personal reasons for going after Fallon. Four years ago, Fallon was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Purkiss's fiancée, a murder Purkiss himself witnessed.
Now, in an atmosphere of treachery and sudden violence, as the countdown begins towards a potentially catastrophic conflict between Russia and the West, Purkiss must keep his desire for revenge under control for the sake of the world's - and his own - survival.
Described in Amazon reviews as a "cracker of a spy thriller" with "superbly choreographed action scenes" that "leave you feeling almost dizzy", RATCATCHER is both an adrenaline fuelled action adventure novel and a hardboiled mystery story which exposes the world of the spy, in which few motives and actions are purely black or white.
Purkiss's job is straightforward. Track down agents of the intelligence services who are taking kickbacks, committing crimes, or otherwise abusing their positions. And bring them to justice.
Straightforward doesn't mean easy...
After a renegade British former spymaster, Fallon, is sighted in the Baltic city of Tallinn on the eve of a historic summit meeting between the Russian and Estonian presidents, Purkiss is despatched to investigate, and uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to tear Europe - and the world - apart.
But Purkiss has personal reasons for going after Fallon. Four years ago, Fallon was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Purkiss's fiancée, a murder Purkiss himself witnessed.
Now, in an atmosphere of treachery and sudden violence, as the countdown begins towards a potentially catastrophic conflict between Russia and the West, Purkiss must keep his desire for revenge under control for the sake of the world's - and his own - survival.
Described in Amazon reviews as a "cracker of a spy thriller" with "superbly choreographed action scenes" that "leave you feeling almost dizzy", RATCATCHER is both an adrenaline fuelled action adventure novel and a hardboiled mystery story which exposes the world of the spy, in which few motives and actions are purely black or white.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 26, 2012
394 people are currently reading
1465 people want to read
About the author
Tim Stevens
30 books57 followersI'm British born but grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. Currently I live near London with my wife and daughters, where I work as a doctor in the National Health Service. Ratcatcher is my debut novel.
My blog, Thrillhound, is here:
http://timstevensblog.wordpress.com/
My blog, Thrillhound, is here:
http://timstevensblog.wordpress.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
November 14, 2017
On a recent episode of the Spybrary Spy Podcast, author Jeremy Duns highly recommended the work of Tim Stevens.
Jeremy is a huge fan of spy books as well as being a good spy writer himself so I knew I had to see what all the fuss was about.
'When an agent goes rogue, the Service would prefer to dispose of the problem quietly.'
Purkiss, the 'Ratcatcher' (great title!) is the man the Service send to track down and deal with the renegade agents. The story is set in Estonia, Tallinn is wonderfully depicted by Stevens. Highlighting not just the feel of the place but drawing on the historical bitterness between Russians and Estonians which acts as the backdrop to the story.
Purkiss is a believable character, unlike many of the heroes of today's bestsellers, he does not always get away, nor get his man and he suffers some brutal kick-ins as he chases his quarry.
The novel read like a fast moving movie, Stevens is a very literate storyteller and keeps the suspense pumping throughout the story. The hallmark of a great thriller writer is the 'twist', I did not see it coming and when the reveal came it was neatly woven into the story.
I am looking forward to reading more Tim Stevens!
Jeremy is a huge fan of spy books as well as being a good spy writer himself so I knew I had to see what all the fuss was about.
'When an agent goes rogue, the Service would prefer to dispose of the problem quietly.'
Purkiss, the 'Ratcatcher' (great title!) is the man the Service send to track down and deal with the renegade agents. The story is set in Estonia, Tallinn is wonderfully depicted by Stevens. Highlighting not just the feel of the place but drawing on the historical bitterness between Russians and Estonians which acts as the backdrop to the story.
Purkiss is a believable character, unlike many of the heroes of today's bestsellers, he does not always get away, nor get his man and he suffers some brutal kick-ins as he chases his quarry.
The novel read like a fast moving movie, Stevens is a very literate storyteller and keeps the suspense pumping throughout the story. The hallmark of a great thriller writer is the 'twist', I did not see it coming and when the reveal came it was neatly woven into the story.
I am looking forward to reading more Tim Stevens!
June 23, 2012
I’m a huge fan of spy novels and read them all the time. Unfortunately, after a while many of them start to feel the same, like many authors (especially new ones) are using the same recycled plot over and over again. But I like trying out new authors and thought the premise of “Ratcatcher” sounded interesting (great title). But I fully admit I didn’t have the highest expectations going in…well, consider me blown away! I read Ratcatcher in the span on one evening (one of the few books I’ve ever read in one night) much to my own amazement. Tim Stevens is a talented writer, and I was hooked in by the way he weaved so many characters and storylines together to create a wholly addicting story that I couldn’t put down until the final conclusion. I’d love to read more from this author in the future.
December 5, 2013
This one was a very pleasant find. The rat catcher is non stop action and suspense. I am always on the lookout for a good series and this is book 1 of 3. The main character Purkiss is well formed and thought out with a great back story. Great character development with the side kicks and just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. I would recommend this book for serious readers, if you don't pay attention you could get lost. With that being said if your a fan of the spy/spec ops genre then this series is for you. A very solid 4.5 stars give it a try gang.. You can't beat the price on amazon it's free! I'm now on to book number 2, I'll keep you posted.
March 20, 2013
Fast-paced and hard to put down (sorry for the cliche). If you like Bond and Mission Impossible this is for you, without the impossible mission of understanding the plot.
February 23, 2014
I've read a few dry runs over the last few months, but this is at last, the real deal. A modern spy thriller with enough background depth, invention, style and substance to stand comparison with some of the besr of yester-year. A real page-turner and not loaded down with blather and unnecessary flannel. Speaking of which, this is quite probably the novel the reviewers quoted on the backs of recent Charles Cummings books thought they were reading. Their quotes of fulsome praise could be grafted onto the back cover of ‘Ratcatcher' and not cause any embarrassment to either party.
'Ratcatcher' is how a spy, or espionage thriller really should be. Old fashioned in attitude, in the way the story is approached, modern in execution (this is just my way of thinking, I'm perfectly prepared to be led off in the old straitjacket to the funny farm if enough of you disagree). Old fashioned but modern as well, in that several of the enemies are Russian. The Iron Curtain has been bought by the oligarcs, I suppose. If reviewers then, are going to throw words like ‘John' and ‘Le' and ‘Carre' about, they might as well get it right and throw them in the direction of excellent books like ‘Ratcatcher' and not half-baked efforts like 'A Spy By Nature' and the larger part of 'A Foreign Country.’
So, the ‘Ratcatcher' of the title, is the main man of the book, one John Purkiss. He works for the British Secret Services and catches ‘dirty’ spies. Dirty ‘rats.’ Those spies who aren’t playing by the rules. Though of course, that would seem to me to be rule number one in the spy handbook - not to play by the rules. Oh, well. Anyway, a former highly placed British spy, ‘Fallon', has gone rogue and gone missing, unbeknown to Purkiss, who thinks he's in prison for killing Purkiss’ ex-fiancée (a rather traumatic event for Purkiss, as he witnessed it). Fallon suddenly appears, photographed on the streets of the Estonian capital Talinn. Interest is piqued, because it is the eve of a historic Estonian/Russian summit, where the respective Presidents are to meet and seal an agreement. Along with Fallon, there also surfaces a really rather unsettling rumour of a plan to disrupt said historic summit in a way that could plunge Europe, along with most of the rest of the world, back into the dark days of the afore-mentioned Cold War.
Purkiss as a lead character felt fully-realised and with a past and motive for the present that was plausible, believable and above all, interesting. Actually, the book as a whole reminded me of Jon Stock’s books and his lead character Daniel Marchant. And that’s a good thing. I think Jon Stock would have probably gone a little more balls-out in the final conclusion, but Ratcatcher is probably the better for not doing so.
‘Ratcatcher' is a really rather excellent, well planned, well worked and thoroughly enjoyable thriller. There are plenty of twists and unforseen turns to lift it above a lot of the ones I read which fall back on the unlikely use of technology to paper over what was achieved in the good old days with nous, leg-work, chalk marks on the wall, or even just ‘gut-feelings.’ Whilst no one actually says "you bastard, Regan (or Purkiss)", it felt sometimes like they might have wanted to. Tim Stevens is clearly a writer who knows his way round a spy thriller, and a writer I will look forward to reading a lot more of in the future.
'Ratcatcher' is how a spy, or espionage thriller really should be. Old fashioned in attitude, in the way the story is approached, modern in execution (this is just my way of thinking, I'm perfectly prepared to be led off in the old straitjacket to the funny farm if enough of you disagree). Old fashioned but modern as well, in that several of the enemies are Russian. The Iron Curtain has been bought by the oligarcs, I suppose. If reviewers then, are going to throw words like ‘John' and ‘Le' and ‘Carre' about, they might as well get it right and throw them in the direction of excellent books like ‘Ratcatcher' and not half-baked efforts like 'A Spy By Nature' and the larger part of 'A Foreign Country.’
So, the ‘Ratcatcher' of the title, is the main man of the book, one John Purkiss. He works for the British Secret Services and catches ‘dirty’ spies. Dirty ‘rats.’ Those spies who aren’t playing by the rules. Though of course, that would seem to me to be rule number one in the spy handbook - not to play by the rules. Oh, well. Anyway, a former highly placed British spy, ‘Fallon', has gone rogue and gone missing, unbeknown to Purkiss, who thinks he's in prison for killing Purkiss’ ex-fiancée (a rather traumatic event for Purkiss, as he witnessed it). Fallon suddenly appears, photographed on the streets of the Estonian capital Talinn. Interest is piqued, because it is the eve of a historic Estonian/Russian summit, where the respective Presidents are to meet and seal an agreement. Along with Fallon, there also surfaces a really rather unsettling rumour of a plan to disrupt said historic summit in a way that could plunge Europe, along with most of the rest of the world, back into the dark days of the afore-mentioned Cold War.
Purkiss as a lead character felt fully-realised and with a past and motive for the present that was plausible, believable and above all, interesting. Actually, the book as a whole reminded me of Jon Stock’s books and his lead character Daniel Marchant. And that’s a good thing. I think Jon Stock would have probably gone a little more balls-out in the final conclusion, but Ratcatcher is probably the better for not doing so.
‘Ratcatcher' is a really rather excellent, well planned, well worked and thoroughly enjoyable thriller. There are plenty of twists and unforseen turns to lift it above a lot of the ones I read which fall back on the unlikely use of technology to paper over what was achieved in the good old days with nous, leg-work, chalk marks on the wall, or even just ‘gut-feelings.’ Whilst no one actually says "you bastard, Regan (or Purkiss)", it felt sometimes like they might have wanted to. Tim Stevens is clearly a writer who knows his way round a spy thriller, and a writer I will look forward to reading a lot more of in the future.
May 8, 2012
Croatia: our hero, John Purkiss, has been detained by the police just as he was supposed to be meeting with the bad guy. They release him but by now he is late and his accomplice has left voice messages letting him know that he was going in alone. To make things worse he learns that his nemesis, Fallon, who murdered his fiancee in front of him, is no longer in prison.
Estonia: Fallon was seen in Tallinn and Purkiss is off to find him. A shadowy, undefined character referred to as the Jacobin knows he is coming and starts a series of events to stop him. Purkiss meets a group of British agents who are following some leads related to an upcoming event in Tallinn involving the Presidents of Estonia and Russia. They join forces and agree to share anything they learn.
Purkiss is no Teflon-coated super agent; sometimes he puts himself in the wrong place and suffers the consequences. Sometimes those consequences affect others around him. But he does seem realistic, as do all the other characters. Dialog is good and never seems forced. The characters themselves are well formed, but their voices are not always as distinct, making it difficult on occasion to know who is speaking when it is not defined.
The actions scenes flow well and the underlying story is infectious, always pulling you along. These scenes are the best part of the book, high points which are well paced.
The formatting was an area of weakness: all the text was left-aligned, scene-change indicators were not always present, speech was sometimes difficult to assign to the players.
This book is not one I would take to the beach for an easy read as you may have to work to keep the story and characters aligned in your head, but I do believe it is worth the effort.
If I had a 3.6 rating, I would probably go with that, but I don’t so a four it is.
Enjoy it, but be prepared to do some work.
(I read the Kindle edition, provided by the author for review.)
Estonia: Fallon was seen in Tallinn and Purkiss is off to find him. A shadowy, undefined character referred to as the Jacobin knows he is coming and starts a series of events to stop him. Purkiss meets a group of British agents who are following some leads related to an upcoming event in Tallinn involving the Presidents of Estonia and Russia. They join forces and agree to share anything they learn.
Purkiss is no Teflon-coated super agent; sometimes he puts himself in the wrong place and suffers the consequences. Sometimes those consequences affect others around him. But he does seem realistic, as do all the other characters. Dialog is good and never seems forced. The characters themselves are well formed, but their voices are not always as distinct, making it difficult on occasion to know who is speaking when it is not defined.
The actions scenes flow well and the underlying story is infectious, always pulling you along. These scenes are the best part of the book, high points which are well paced.
The formatting was an area of weakness: all the text was left-aligned, scene-change indicators were not always present, speech was sometimes difficult to assign to the players.
This book is not one I would take to the beach for an easy read as you may have to work to keep the story and characters aligned in your head, but I do believe it is worth the effort.
If I had a 3.6 rating, I would probably go with that, but I don’t so a four it is.
Enjoy it, but be prepared to do some work.
(I read the Kindle edition, provided by the author for review.)
September 11, 2012
This is a highly literate, well-written, multi-layered spy story with a large cast of characters. On the surface, at least, it has a simple plot: British intelligence assigns a spy named Purkiss to pursue a turncoat spy named Fallon who also happens to have murdered Purkiss’ love interest. Through various twists and turns and action scenes, Purkiss tracks Fallon to a location involving heads of state. Guess what happens next. On second thought, don’t try.
I concur with many of the comments made by other reviewers on the book’s high points. It is fast-paced and filled with action scenes. The author’s technical knowledge of human anatomy probably adds a degree of realism. The dialogue is excellent—tight and well-edited, without a wasted word. The main character, Purkiss, is well developed and believable, no James Bond quasi-superhero. The descriptions are right on. Stevens has a genuine talent for the simile; not a dud in the book.
I do have a few qualms. Ratcatcher is not an easy read. You have to pay attention and, if you have a memory like mine, take notes to keep track of the characters, locations, and various relationships. Characters may appear without introduction or description, act, have thoughts, and enter the story without context. It is only after reading further that a reader is able (or unable) to make sense of them and how they fit into the story. Likewise, chapters often begin with a line of dialogue, without attribution, and it is only later that one finds out who said what. Perhaps all this is intentional. Ratcatcher is a spy story and spy business is often a mystery. Some folks like puzzles.
Overall, a splendid book.
I concur with many of the comments made by other reviewers on the book’s high points. It is fast-paced and filled with action scenes. The author’s technical knowledge of human anatomy probably adds a degree of realism. The dialogue is excellent—tight and well-edited, without a wasted word. The main character, Purkiss, is well developed and believable, no James Bond quasi-superhero. The descriptions are right on. Stevens has a genuine talent for the simile; not a dud in the book.
I do have a few qualms. Ratcatcher is not an easy read. You have to pay attention and, if you have a memory like mine, take notes to keep track of the characters, locations, and various relationships. Characters may appear without introduction or description, act, have thoughts, and enter the story without context. It is only after reading further that a reader is able (or unable) to make sense of them and how they fit into the story. Likewise, chapters often begin with a line of dialogue, without attribution, and it is only later that one finds out who said what. Perhaps all this is intentional. Ratcatcher is a spy story and spy business is often a mystery. Some folks like puzzles.
Overall, a splendid book.
August 9, 2013
John Purkiss is not officially a British Secret Intelligence Service employee. He's a contract worker, and he catches agents who have turned rogue. On assignment in Croatia, he gets a text from his superior: Come back ASAP. Attached is a photo of a former agent who should have been safely in prison for life but who is out. This man, Fallon, killed Purkiss' fiancee.
His superiors believe Fallon is out to disrupt a conference between the Russian and Estonian presidents, and Purkiss has to stop him.
A straightforward beginning but then the twists begin. This is no simple spy story. This is a complicated, never-sure-what's-going-on thriller.
A good read.
His superiors believe Fallon is out to disrupt a conference between the Russian and Estonian presidents, and Purkiss has to stop him.
A straightforward beginning but then the twists begin. This is no simple spy story. This is a complicated, never-sure-what's-going-on thriller.
A good read.
December 23, 2013
If you've been a fan of Ian Fleming or Robert Ludlum and their respective characters James Bond and Jason Bourne then this book is for you I'm hoping that Mr.Stevens will continue to writing about John Purkess because I believe he could be the next James Bond
May 8, 2016
Why can't every spy thriller be this good? Not only does this book have unexpected plot twists and turns, but it's actually properly researched. The Russian characters have real Russian names—what a shock! There are no random names of historical figures that aren't actually common in Russia, like those that appear in Christopher Reich's Rules of Vengeance. (To be clear, I really like Reich's book. I was disappointed that he gave one of his characters the last name of Witte, though. Sergei Witte was a famous tsarist minister, but his name is actually relatively uncommon in Russia. It's as if the author plucked it from a history book without knowing.)
Anyway, back to the review of Ratcatcher. This book is fabulous. The author even gets the tensions between Russia and Estonia right. If you want to read a fast-paced spy thriller with believable, realistic characters and a fascinating situation heavily influenced by historical events (I'm an amateur historian, so I appreciate when authors are aware of historical events), check out this book. When I got it, it was free on Kindle, so you really have nothing to lose by giving it a try.
If I could give it SIX stars out of five I would. Well done indeed.
Anyway, back to the review of Ratcatcher. This book is fabulous. The author even gets the tensions between Russia and Estonia right. If you want to read a fast-paced spy thriller with believable, realistic characters and a fascinating situation heavily influenced by historical events (I'm an amateur historian, so I appreciate when authors are aware of historical events), check out this book. When I got it, it was free on Kindle, so you really have nothing to lose by giving it a try.
If I could give it SIX stars out of five I would. Well done indeed.
April 20, 2015
I downloaded this book as a freebie, so I wasn't expecting too much. Was I pleasantly surprised though? For a debut book it had me totally hooked, with plenty of action and suspense throughout the book, and a pleasant change from the normal run of the mill espionage type thriller. It was well thought out, with plenty of credible characters, and only a few implausibilities along the way. I will say this though, it isn't a book for taking your time over, as it is possible to lose track of which character is which.
So the basic premise behind John Purkiss is that he is a former British intelligence officer, who now puts his skills and mind against catching operatives who have gone bad. His onetime friend, turned rogue, has turned up in Estonia. Could he be there to scupper an historic peace accord between Estonia and Russia? It is time to send the Ratcatcher in to track this man down, who he thought was still imprisoned at Her Majesty's pleasure. Add in a few more rogue elements and you have a cracking story on your hands.
Four stars seem too low for this book, and were it not for the confusion with so many characters it would have had all five from me, so four and a half seems a fair grading. I will definitely be looking out for more from this author.
So the basic premise behind John Purkiss is that he is a former British intelligence officer, who now puts his skills and mind against catching operatives who have gone bad. His onetime friend, turned rogue, has turned up in Estonia. Could he be there to scupper an historic peace accord between Estonia and Russia? It is time to send the Ratcatcher in to track this man down, who he thought was still imprisoned at Her Majesty's pleasure. Add in a few more rogue elements and you have a cracking story on your hands.
Four stars seem too low for this book, and were it not for the confusion with so many characters it would have had all five from me, so four and a half seems a fair grading. I will definitely be looking out for more from this author.
March 16, 2013
Anyone who enjoys thriller and spy novels yet claims that self-published ones are not worth reading needs only to read this one. Author Tim Stevens grabs your attention from the beginning and pulls--no yanks--you through this well-crafted tale. It's also nicely edited. (And remember that the author is British, so those funny spellings are not typos).
There's plenty of action, mystery, and surprises here to satisfy the reader, and the characterizations are spot on. This, in my opinion, is a very solid 4-star book. Nits and quibbles? Maybe a couple of minor ones, but nothing worth mentioned. Read and enjoy. I certainly plan to pick up more of Tim Stevens' work in the very near future.
There's plenty of action, mystery, and surprises here to satisfy the reader, and the characterizations are spot on. This, in my opinion, is a very solid 4-star book. Nits and quibbles? Maybe a couple of minor ones, but nothing worth mentioned. Read and enjoy. I certainly plan to pick up more of Tim Stevens' work in the very near future.
February 3, 2014
This is the first novel in the Tim Perkins series. The protagonist is a special agent for British clandestine services, and his assignment is to detect and eliminate, euphemistically speaking, "rats" (embedded enemy double agents). The. setting is Estonia, one of the countries that composed the former Soviet Union. The Russian leader is preparing to attend a ceremony honoring Estonian war dead, and the event becomes the venue for an assasination attempt. I love biography, history, and historical fiction from the Slavic region set during this era. So much intrigue, corruption runs rampant, memories and old grudges seem to last forever. This is a good espionage genre mystery thriller that keeps surprising the reader until the final pages.
December 22, 2014
Fast moving. Lots of action. Pretty good book.
I would have liked to the characters to be a bit more developed when they were introduced so I could keep track of them a bit better.
For this genre I like the plausibility meter to stay firmly in the yellow zone, but the plausibility meter got into the red zone a few times when he would go into a situation out gunned and out-manned and then somehow manage to miraculously escape.
Spoiler alert: The winding up scene got a bit too dumb when he had the means and the opportunity to stop the attack by disabling the helicopter and damaging the missile, yet he didn't do it.
I would have liked to the characters to be a bit more developed when they were introduced so I could keep track of them a bit better.
For this genre I like the plausibility meter to stay firmly in the yellow zone, but the plausibility meter got into the red zone a few times when he would go into a situation out gunned and out-manned and then somehow manage to miraculously escape.
Spoiler alert: The winding up scene got a bit too dumb when he had the means and the opportunity to stop the attack by disabling the helicopter and damaging the missile, yet he didn't do it.
July 12, 2018
I liked it. Not the finest of its kind but more then serviceable. It was a little cliché, the action was a little to descriptive for my taste but it had a couple of nice twists and overall I felt it was well written. 3.5 stars but they don’t let you pick that.
As always these options are just an opinion and I sincerely applaud the author for having the courage to put their work up for public consumption and examination!
One cliché to pick on and not just this author. Am I the only one that would like to see the bad guys succeed just so that I can be surprised and expect surprise from a series? Mix it up people, it’s fiction let the bad stuff happen!
As always these options are just an opinion and I sincerely applaud the author for having the courage to put their work up for public consumption and examination!
One cliché to pick on and not just this author. Am I the only one that would like to see the bad guys succeed just so that I can be surprised and expect surprise from a series? Mix it up people, it’s fiction let the bad stuff happen!
February 6, 2014
Tim Stevens Did His Job
An author's job is to entertain the reader, in this case I have been. I went to Estonia and checked into the middle of espionage, spies, fanatical nationalists, smuggling of advanced weapons. assassination plotting, interrogation, double-agents, the heist of an armored cash transporter, and so much more. This is my new bench-mark for the 'page-turner'.
An author's job is to entertain the reader, in this case I have been. I went to Estonia and checked into the middle of espionage, spies, fanatical nationalists, smuggling of advanced weapons. assassination plotting, interrogation, double-agents, the heist of an armored cash transporter, and so much more. This is my new bench-mark for the 'page-turner'.
January 30, 2014
This was a freebie I downloaded through BookBub, but it's one of the best spy/thriller novels I've read in some time. Plenty of action, and the plot twists and turns enough to keep you guessing virtually until the end. I'm going to be looking for more books by Tim Stevens!
November 13, 2015
It was ok
February 3, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
March 6, 2024
This is the first in a series starring John Purkiss, the intelligence services answer to Internal Affairs. Every organisation has it’s bad apples, and Purkiss finds them.
It is the early 2010s, and a former agent, supposedly to be in prison, is spotted in Tallinn, and Purkiss is assigned to find him. The pair have history. A few years earlier, Fallon murdered Purkiss’s fiancé. Days before a summit between the Russian and Estonian president, Purkiss stumbles across a conspiracy to disrupt the event and throw the world into chaos.
This is very much an action-focused thriller. Purkiss is full of tricks and tradecraft, and is apparently made of granite. However, he is not the typical lone-wolf (Reacher, Bourne etc.) and relies on allies and a small team in this story. Things moves along at pace, and the story is compressed into a few days of thrills and spills as you would expect from the genre. Although this over a decade old, I just discovered it on an old episode of a podcast I listen to and will be looking to get the next in the series.
It is the early 2010s, and a former agent, supposedly to be in prison, is spotted in Tallinn, and Purkiss is assigned to find him. The pair have history. A few years earlier, Fallon murdered Purkiss’s fiancé. Days before a summit between the Russian and Estonian president, Purkiss stumbles across a conspiracy to disrupt the event and throw the world into chaos.
This is very much an action-focused thriller. Purkiss is full of tricks and tradecraft, and is apparently made of granite. However, he is not the typical lone-wolf (Reacher, Bourne etc.) and relies on allies and a small team in this story. Things moves along at pace, and the story is compressed into a few days of thrills and spills as you would expect from the genre. Although this over a decade old, I just discovered it on an old episode of a podcast I listen to and will be looking to get the next in the series.
August 29, 2019
I mentioned Harry Palmer in my last review, which is serendipitous because this book feels a lot like a Harry Palmer movie too. Amped up a bit, sped along; it still feels like real life but a very unusual version of real life because most people aren't international spies. Flashy world famous spies overturn the apple cart, but nobody in John Purkiss's world wants the hassle and paperwork something like that would generate. There are more books in this series and I plan to check them out to see how things go without the plot aid of his dead wife to spur things on.
January 27, 2020
A Real Thriller
This is one of those books that is hard to put down once it is begun. The action is non-stop and the threads of intrigues are endless. A well told tale indeed that maintains it's grip from start to finish. I saw no gap of weakness to deduct any portion of a star so I have to confer all five stars to this outstanding work. A right royal action thriller that delivered in style. Author Tim Stevens is the real deal.
This is one of those books that is hard to put down once it is begun. The action is non-stop and the threads of intrigues are endless. A well told tale indeed that maintains it's grip from start to finish. I saw no gap of weakness to deduct any portion of a star so I have to confer all five stars to this outstanding work. A right royal action thriller that delivered in style. Author Tim Stevens is the real deal.
November 15, 2024
Not so great because it is endless confrontations
between the protagonist and jillions of bad
guys. And each conflict is told in so much
hand-to-hand detail (probably much better
if it were in a movie) that my eyes glaze over
trying to keep up with how the fight is going
each time. The ending is somewhat of a good
thriller and has its twist as to 'who' the bad
guy is.
Slightly recommended.
between the protagonist and jillions of bad
guys. And each conflict is told in so much
hand-to-hand detail (probably much better
if it were in a movie) that my eyes glaze over
trying to keep up with how the fight is going
each time. The ending is somewhat of a good
thriller and has its twist as to 'who' the bad
guy is.
Slightly recommended.
November 2, 2017
Awkward writing but a great story.
The action was perfectly described with words that put the reader in the center. Much of the rest of the narrative moved in fits and starts. The ending was satisfying, but left a few loose ends, no doubt for the next book. Not an easy read but worth the effort.
The action was perfectly described with words that put the reader in the center. Much of the rest of the narrative moved in fits and starts. The ending was satisfying, but left a few loose ends, no doubt for the next book. Not an easy read but worth the effort.
April 19, 2018
Ratcatcher is a superb thriller, that will keep you riveted to your seat. Stevens has outdone himself. Well written with action scenes so realistic that it feels as if you are experiencing it first hand. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and would recommend it to anyone who favours action thrillers. Cannot wait to take up the next Tim Stevens creation and roll into the action.
August 19, 2018
Great story, unbelievable mix of characters, unable to tell good from bad
Purkiss straightened, walked along the railing away from Vale. He saw movement below, and stopped. From behind him Vale said: ‘So this is where you throw your badge and gun into the river.’
Purkiss straightened, walked along the railing away from Vale. He saw movement below, and stopped. From behind him Vale said: ‘So this is where you throw your badge and gun into the river.’
August 30, 2020
Spare and complex
Lots of twists and turns in this thriller. The writing is spare with flashes of almost poetic brilliance. Other than a few small editing glitches, the prose is clean. Well done and recommended.
Lots of twists and turns in this thriller. The writing is spare with flashes of almost poetic brilliance. Other than a few small editing glitches, the prose is clean. Well done and recommended.
January 29, 2021
John Purkiss works for an off-the -book agency who eliminates threats/bad guys throughout the world. His greatest enemy (who killed his girlfriend) is out of prison and John is on the hunt. Good plot, fast read. I rate this a 4.2
September 18, 2022
The book has more of action sequences which at times get exaggerated. There is no spying nor rat catching. The pace is good and definitely kept me turning the pages. Ideal for fans of high octane thrillers.
October 21, 2016
Gripping thriller
I read these kind of books so thought I would give it a whirl
Very exciting and unexpected twists enthralling book would recommend to anyone who likes a good thriller
I read these kind of books so thought I would give it a whirl
Very exciting and unexpected twists enthralling book would recommend to anyone who likes a good thriller
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