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Scorpion #4
Scorpion Deception
Ex-CIA and now freelance agent Scorpion hunts a faceless enemy—a mysterious Iranian known only as “the Gardener”—in Andrew Kaplan's Scorpion Deception , the electrifying third installment of the espionage series that Suspense magazine says “matches the best of Ludlum, and then surpasses it.” Files containing highly classified information on CIA assets have been stolen from the U.S. embassy in Switzerland by a well-armed and well-trained hit squad.Under intense political pressure to find those who orchestrated the attack, the CIA turns to the deadliest agent they Scorpion. But Scorpion is unwilling to get involved...until he learns his name is at the top of the stolen list.Scorpion, a strong, intelligent, and lethal action hero, must travel to Iran to hunt down “the Gardener” before an all-out war erupts in this sensational spy thriller.
416 pages, ebook
First published May 28, 2013
20 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Kaplan
27 books138 followersAndrew 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.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 11, 2022
An exciting spy thriller taking place in the Middle East. The descriptions of the countryside bring it to life .
July 23, 2014
Six weeks out of a mission in the Soviet Union, and having turned freelance, former CIA agent codenamed Scorpion finds himself in Africa on a relief mission that turns deadly. In Switzerland, a hit team raids the American embassy and steals information listing names of government officials from various departments and agents...including Scorpion’s. The blame falls on Iran and as America gears up for possible war, Scorpion is pulled back into the espionage game to discover the truth. One enigmatic name surfaces: the Gardener. As Scorpion battles both time and enemy agents, the discoveries he makes may determine not only his fate but they may have international repercussions.
I read the previous Scorpion novel and was ready for more. This one roams from Africa to Spain to Iran and the action never stops. What other book will have you dodging bullets on the street of Paris before rolling you down a snow covered mountain outside of Tehran? Kaplan is an author you can depend on for a fast moving, no nonsense story with a few twists and turns to keep you guessing. Feel the sting of the Scorpion and put Kaplan on the list of authors to read.
Reviewed by Stephen Brayton, author of “Alpha” for Suspense Magazine
I read the previous Scorpion novel and was ready for more. This one roams from Africa to Spain to Iran and the action never stops. What other book will have you dodging bullets on the street of Paris before rolling you down a snow covered mountain outside of Tehran? Kaplan is an author you can depend on for a fast moving, no nonsense story with a few twists and turns to keep you guessing. Feel the sting of the Scorpion and put Kaplan on the list of authors to read.
Reviewed by Stephen Brayton, author of “Alpha” for Suspense Magazine
August 11, 2013
This is the most recent offering in the Scorpion series, Andrew Kaplan's cerebral spy stories with a reluctant hero who cannot escape his violent past. Ties to the CIA and earlier to an elite military unit keep drawing him back into a life of mind-boggling violence. He thought he was safe assisting relief efforts in North Africa, until ahighly trained group of commandos storms an embassy, killing everyone and capturing a list of American agents placed under deep cover. Scorpion's name is high on the list. After following false leads pointing to Iran, Scorpion traces the attack to an operative named Scane, a man just as lethal as he is, but is he the man behind the attack--an enigma code named The Gardner? The fast paced action pits the Scorpion against Skane, and ultimately the man the Scorpion believes to bethe Gardner, but there are certain contradictions and he is not sure. Kaplan's artfully constructed suspense keeps us hanging to the final page...and beyond. I just cannot give this book anything less than a five star, and I cannot send as message to Kaplan other than a plea to write faster. I am waiting!
January 25, 2015
Normally I'm a historical crime fiction reader but I thought I take a break with these scorpion series as I can't find many of my preferred authors... C'mon CJ Samson.. But all I can say about this scorpion series is I want MORE!!
November 2, 2013
I hoped there would be more Scorpion novels to come - and now Mr Kaplan forced himself to write at least another one. Great job!
September 15, 2022
Scorpion Deception Best in the Series
Great twists and turns keep you reading so you can't put down. Scorpion always has slot of action going on, never a dull moment. Its also a thrilling spy mystery with a bit of romance amid the job duties of a freelance good guy assassin. The is a great series, one of my favorites. Glad I found Andrew Kaplan the author. Bring us more.
Great twists and turns keep you reading so you can't put down. Scorpion always has slot of action going on, never a dull moment. Its also a thrilling spy mystery with a bit of romance amid the job duties of a freelance good guy assassin. The is a great series, one of my favorites. Glad I found Andrew Kaplan the author. Bring us more.
April 6, 2024
Kaplan Only Gets Better !!
This is one of the best espionage thrillers series I have ever read!
Scorpion is a tremendous character with real world faults….Iam looking forward to the next book …. Get going AK !!!
This is one of the best espionage thrillers series I have ever read!
Scorpion is a tremendous character with real world faults….Iam looking forward to the next book …. Get going AK !!!
February 24, 2016
A strong 3.4 stars. not quite deserving a 4 but much better than a 3
This was #4 in the Scorpion series. But I decided to start with this one as it was on sale, I've never heard of the author (not until Homeland came on TV that is), and I wanted to try another genre. I like action adventure spy stories, but SF/Fantasy is my first love. So please take this review as a biased opinion of a reader who picked this up cause it had an interesting cover with a discount sticker on it.
A spy, globe hopping espionage, hit squads, sex, violence...what more could a guy ask for? For me, a reason to care about Scorpion.
Kaplan is an author who can write well. In today's market, that's saying something. His descriptions make each setting seem very real. Details and mood engages the reader. Kaplan's writing is better than average. The reader is whisked away to escape snipers on the streets of Paris, meeting a contact over coffee (and an omelet) in a café in Barcelona, an ambush turned massacre in Switzerland, and the proverbial ticking clock as Scorpion races to find the bad guy, a man named "the Gardner". Gotta love a spy story with great bad guy names like Scale and the Gardner
There are some things that didn't work for me. The characters seemed a bit predictable. I don't want to say flat because they were done well, but whenever I am asking myself why I don't care about anybody in the story, I often find a character that I understand before the author tells me too much about them. Cut out characters are bad, but characters who don't surprise you can make for a boring read. Ask yourself what kind of Character you think Scorpion is...
--You're probably right.
It's a difficult line to walk between expectation and lack of surprise, making the character arc an important element of a traditional spy story. Again, Kaplan can write - don't get me wrong. He is an accomplished story-teller. But I kept finding myself hoping for something I didn't see coming.
But then again, it's probably just me. Maybe I should stay away from the genre.
Another observation was the flow of the story. Some of the scenes seemed to be strung along just to have some more action, a gun fight, or chase scene. Action is great, it just needs a purpose. If it doesn't move the plot, I'm left wondering why it was in there. Did I miss something?
Then some of the wording seemed awkward. Here is an example. If it's not a big deal for you - disregard this observation.
It is a good story. If you like the genre, you will like the book. But for me, it is sort of like watching Tom Cruise or Nick Cage in an action movie. I don't care for the actors, but they do what they do well enough, I guess. So I watch Mission Impossible, Jack Reacher, and 8mm, Face Off.
But for a glimpse of my tastes (to give you some perspective) consider this - despite the poor reviews and the fact that Travolta and Whitaker played aliens in a story written by L. Ron Hubbard, Battlefield Earth was not a bad movie. I liked it.oh God...what's wrong with me?
Remember, this is just one reader's opinion.
Hope this helps.
This was #4 in the Scorpion series. But I decided to start with this one as it was on sale, I've never heard of the author (not until Homeland came on TV that is), and I wanted to try another genre. I like action adventure spy stories, but SF/Fantasy is my first love. So please take this review as a biased opinion of a reader who picked this up cause it had an interesting cover with a discount sticker on it.
A spy, globe hopping espionage, hit squads, sex, violence...what more could a guy ask for? For me, a reason to care about Scorpion.
Kaplan is an author who can write well. In today's market, that's saying something. His descriptions make each setting seem very real. Details and mood engages the reader. Kaplan's writing is better than average. The reader is whisked away to escape snipers on the streets of Paris, meeting a contact over coffee (and an omelet) in a café in Barcelona, an ambush turned massacre in Switzerland, and the proverbial ticking clock as Scorpion races to find the bad guy, a man named "the Gardner". Gotta love a spy story with great bad guy names like Scale and the Gardner
There are some things that didn't work for me. The characters seemed a bit predictable. I don't want to say flat because they were done well, but whenever I am asking myself why I don't care about anybody in the story, I often find a character that I understand before the author tells me too much about them. Cut out characters are bad, but characters who don't surprise you can make for a boring read. Ask yourself what kind of Character you think Scorpion is...
*An ex-CIA turned freelance spyWhat do you think he will do? Will he be successful? Will he kill bad guys? Will he get laid?
*Has few clues and No witnesses
*Meets a good looking woman
--You're probably right.
It's a difficult line to walk between expectation and lack of surprise, making the character arc an important element of a traditional spy story. Again, Kaplan can write - don't get me wrong. He is an accomplished story-teller. But I kept finding myself hoping for something I didn't see coming.
But then again, it's probably just me. Maybe I should stay away from the genre.
Another observation was the flow of the story. Some of the scenes seemed to be strung along just to have some more action, a gun fight, or chase scene. Action is great, it just needs a purpose. If it doesn't move the plot, I'm left wondering why it was in there. Did I miss something?
Then some of the wording seemed awkward. Here is an example. If it's not a big deal for you - disregard this observation.
"...But," Sandrine, the French woman doctor said...Just...awkward. Can't quite put my finger on it. Not depicting a strong female character? Maybe. A string of adjectives left after the editor cut out words? Maybe. My shiny red teacher's ballpoint correcting pen looking for something to do when I have to reread a line? Probably.
It is a good story. If you like the genre, you will like the book. But for me, it is sort of like watching Tom Cruise or Nick Cage in an action movie. I don't care for the actors, but they do what they do well enough, I guess. So I watch Mission Impossible, Jack Reacher, and 8mm, Face Off.
But for a glimpse of my tastes (to give you some perspective) consider this - despite the poor reviews and the fact that Travolta and Whitaker played aliens in a story written by L. Ron Hubbard, Battlefield Earth was not a bad movie. I liked it.
Remember, this is just one reader's opinion.
Hope this helps.
July 7, 2017
I'm a fan of books in this genre. Indeed, the first thriller I read was "The Bourne Identity" when I was in high school, so I thought I'd give "Scorpion Deception" a try as I had never heard of this author and wanted to read something new.
Alas, this ended up a DNF. The storytelling was just so facile, and events occurred with little-to-no set up. That's bad enough, but events also seemed to skim from one happening to another.
As a veteran of this genre, I'm familiar with the well-trod trope of the male lead getting into bed with some sexy lady. I thought I was inured to the contrived, sometimes cheesy way in which this happens. I guess not, as I had to laugh - yes, laugh at the dumb, ridiculous manner Scorpion and his Sandrine (NGO doctor helping the poor folks in Somalia) hooked up. It was not only laughably ham-fisted, it was basically a case of wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am.
I will say this: "Scorpion Deception" is a more modern version of the thriller. I suppose it was inevitable that with the success of the Bourne trilogy of films, this sort of kinetic, more fluid action would overtake the slow boil thrillers of yore. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I didn't really enjoy Andrew Kaplan's version of "Scorpion as Bourne [the Matt Damon version]."
I'm not sure if all of Kaplan's other thrillers (whether in this series or not) are written in a similar manner, but I'm not willing to find out.
Alas, this ended up a DNF. The storytelling was just so facile, and events occurred with little-to-no set up. That's bad enough, but events also seemed to skim from one happening to another.
As a veteran of this genre, I'm familiar with the well-trod trope of the male lead getting into bed with some sexy lady. I thought I was inured to the contrived, sometimes cheesy way in which this happens. I guess not, as I had to laugh - yes, laugh at the dumb, ridiculous manner Scorpion and his Sandrine (NGO doctor helping the poor folks in Somalia) hooked up. It was not only laughably ham-fisted, it was basically a case of wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am.
I will say this: "Scorpion Deception" is a more modern version of the thriller. I suppose it was inevitable that with the success of the Bourne trilogy of films, this sort of kinetic, more fluid action would overtake the slow boil thrillers of yore. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I didn't really enjoy Andrew Kaplan's version of "Scorpion as Bourne [the Matt Damon version]."
I'm not sure if all of Kaplan's other thrillers (whether in this series or not) are written in a similar manner, but I'm not willing to find out.
September 10, 2013
A terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Switzerland results in the theft of classified documents. There are no witnesses and no clues, but the CIA is determined to call in the best damage control they have. Fortunately for them Scorpion’s personal information is at the top of the list. Scorpion’s search for answers takes him on a wild goose around the world. Along the way he sinks deeper into the quagmire of misinformation in an endless game of cat and mouse. Even so, he must stay one step ahead of a hit squad determined to kill him. As Scorpion works his way into the inner circle of Tehran, time is running short. Someone wants an excuse to bomb Iran and this is it. Before the end Scorpion will find the man they call “the Gardner” and put an end to his games. This fast paced spy thriller is the third in Mr. Kaplan’s Scorpion series. The story seems a tad stale, but the delivery is sharp and detailed. Readers who enjoy Bourne style espionage will eat this one up. Kaitlin Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More - See more at: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/Book...
May 1, 2017
I can't imagine that there won't be any follow-up of the Scorpion series. So many threads of Scorpion Deception have been left open. Please, Andrew Kaplan!
W ataku na ambasadę amerykańską w Bernie giną ludzie, a w ręce terrorystów dostaje się lista czynnych agentów wywiadu. Jest na niej również Skorpion. Ślady prowadzą do Iranu, gdzie działa zleceniodawca zamachowców o kryptonimie Ogrodnik. Wszystko wskazuje na to, że Iran przygotowuje się do wojny z Ameryką. Czy Skorpionowi uda się zdemaskować irański spisek i zapobiec wojnie?
Treść czwartego tomu cyklu o Skorpionie jest jeszcze bardziej zakręcona niż było to w poprzednich częściach. Rzeczywiście, wszyscy oszukują tu wszystkich, stąd zapewne tytuł powieści. Jako czytelnik też czuję się trochę oszukana. Jest bowiem tak, że pobyt Skorpiona w Iranie jest niby szczegółowo relacjonowany, łącznie ze wszystkimi jego rozmowami i przemyśleniami. Aż tu nagle okazuje się, że nie do końca tak było...
Trudno coś więcej napisać o zawartości książki, aby nie były to spoilery. Może tylko warto zadać pytanie, czy Skorpion natrafił wreszcie na godnego siebie przeciwnika i czy ich pojedynek będzie kontynuowany? Z tym ostatnim jednak mogą być pewne kłopoty, jako że Oszustwo Skorpiona to ostatnia część serialu. Chyba że Andrew Kaplan wywiąże się z obietnicy i jeszcze do swojego bohatera powróci. Ciekawiłoby mnie też, czy będzie ciąg dalszy najnowszego romansu Skorpiona. Tym bardziej, że afrykańskie losy Sandrine, francuskiej lekarki, w której szaleńczo się zakochał, to wątek równie ciekawy jak ten główny, szpiegowski.
W ataku na ambasadę amerykańską w Bernie giną ludzie, a w ręce terrorystów dostaje się lista czynnych agentów wywiadu. Jest na niej również Skorpion. Ślady prowadzą do Iranu, gdzie działa zleceniodawca zamachowców o kryptonimie Ogrodnik. Wszystko wskazuje na to, że Iran przygotowuje się do wojny z Ameryką. Czy Skorpionowi uda się zdemaskować irański spisek i zapobiec wojnie?
Treść czwartego tomu cyklu o Skorpionie jest jeszcze bardziej zakręcona niż było to w poprzednich częściach. Rzeczywiście, wszyscy oszukują tu wszystkich, stąd zapewne tytuł powieści. Jako czytelnik też czuję się trochę oszukana. Jest bowiem tak, że pobyt Skorpiona w Iranie jest niby szczegółowo relacjonowany, łącznie ze wszystkimi jego rozmowami i przemyśleniami. Aż tu nagle okazuje się, że nie do końca tak było...
Trudno coś więcej napisać o zawartości książki, aby nie były to spoilery. Może tylko warto zadać pytanie, czy Skorpion natrafił wreszcie na godnego siebie przeciwnika i czy ich pojedynek będzie kontynuowany? Z tym ostatnim jednak mogą być pewne kłopoty, jako że Oszustwo Skorpiona to ostatnia część serialu. Chyba że Andrew Kaplan wywiąże się z obietnicy i jeszcze do swojego bohatera powróci. Ciekawiłoby mnie też, czy będzie ciąg dalszy najnowszego romansu Skorpiona. Tym bardziej, że afrykańskie losy Sandrine, francuskiej lekarki, w której szaleńczo się zakochał, to wątek równie ciekawy jak ten główny, szpiegowski.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews