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In the feeble light of a London winter, Joe Tiplady walks his dog in the snow. He is not alone. Two men are tracking him, as is a woman with wolf eyes. Soon Joe will find himself caught in a storm of violence and retribution that he does not yet understand.
Around the world, a chain of events is in motion that will make Joe a priceless target. A retired Soviet general hunts for his missing daughter after a series of brutal murders. A ruthless assassin loses something so precious he will do anything to get it back. And in the mountains of Utah, a brilliant ex-CIA chief wrestles with his religion.
In the shadow of them all lies Zoba, strongman ruler of Russia and puppet-master of the world’s darkest operatives. Can Joe save himself from this dangerous web of power and revenge? Where can he run when there’s nowhere left to hide?
Please note: this book contains strong language and scenes of torture.
Around the world, a chain of events is in motion that will make Joe a priceless target. A retired Soviet general hunts for his missing daughter after a series of brutal murders. A ruthless assassin loses something so precious he will do anything to get it back. And in the mountains of Utah, a brilliant ex-CIA chief wrestles with his religion.
In the shadow of them all lies Zoba, strongman ruler of Russia and puppet-master of the world’s darkest operatives. Can Joe save himself from this dangerous web of power and revenge? Where can he run when there’s nowhere left to hide?
Please note: this book contains strong language and scenes of torture.
398 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2016
1516 people are currently reading
2270 people want to read
About the author
John Sweeney
18 books135 followersJohn Sweeney is an award-winning journalist and author, currently working as an investigative journalist for the BBC's Panorama series. Before joining the BBC in 2001, Sweeney worked for twelve years at The Observer, where he covered wars and revolutions in more than sixty countries including Romania, Algeria, Iraq, Chechnya, Burundi and Bosnia.
In 1996, He was sued for criminal defamation in France by the Barclay brothers, owners of the Daily Telegraph, but the claimants lost their case. At the time, Sweeney worked for the rival newspaper The Observer, and had given an interview on BBC Radio Guernsey alleging that they had been involved in corruption. Since the broadcast could also be heard in northern France, the claimants were able to bring their claim in the French courts. Sweeney was ordered to pay €3000 by the appeal court in Rennes, France
Sweeney spent four years investigating the cases of Sally Clark, Angela Cannings and Donna Anthony, three women who had been falsely imprisoned for killing their children. Sweeney's investigation helped to clear their names, and led to Sir Roy Meadow, the expert witness whose testimony had proved decisive in their convictions, being temporarily struck off the General Medical Council's medical register. Sweeney received the Paul Foot Award in 2005 in recognition of his work.
He has won several awards throughout his career, including:
1998: What the Papers Say Journalist of the Year prize for reports on human rights abuses in Algeria.
2000: an Emmy Award and a Royal Television Society prize for programs about the Massacre at Krusha e Madhe, Kosovo.
2001: the Amnesty International prize for "Victims of the Torture Train," about human rights abuses in Chechnya.
2003: a Sony Gold award (2003) for Best Radio News program.
2004: a Royal Television Society prize (2004) for "Angela's Hope," a BBC One documentary about a woman wrongly convicted of murdering her three babies.
2005: The Paul Foot Award.
"Scientology and Me", a Panorama investigation into Scientology written and presented by Sweeney, was aired on BBC One on Monday, 14 May 2007. Prior to its airing,video footage filmed by the Church of Scientology was released that showed Sweeney shouting at Scientology representative Tommy Davis during a visit to CCHR's "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death". The clips were sections of a documentary the Church of Scientology's Freedom Magazine TV produced about the BBC Panorama programme. Sweeney remarked that he lost his temper due to days of harassment by Davis and the Church, and a strong personal reaction to the psychiatry exhibit. He had been visited at his hotel by Davis, despite not having shared the address with the Church, and had been followed on several different occasions. Sweeney labelled the clips "attack videos" and others say they were produced to discredit himself and the documentary. The BBC in response aired its own full recording of the incident. Panorama's Editor Sandy Smith explained what happened and how the BBC dealt with the incident in a post on the BBC's Editor's Blog. An internal BBC investigation found that Sweeney's conduct at one point in the filming was clearly inappropriate, but also noted that Sweeney had apologised for his outburst and concluded that as a whole, filming of the documentary had been performed in a proper and fair manner. Later on that same year in the BBC Panorama year in review Sweeney said “..a new generation is making up its own mind, and for that I make no apology”. Only a month and a half later Project Chanology began. This time as a part of a rehearsed joke, Sweeney goes into a similar outburst in January 2009 when being interviewed on Radio 4 about the Tom Cruise film Valkyrie—clearly referring to the episode two years previously. A follow-up Panorama programme also hosted by Sweeney, which at an hour is twice the length of the original one was aired on the 28 September 2010. This documentary contained int
In 1996, He was sued for criminal defamation in France by the Barclay brothers, owners of the Daily Telegraph, but the claimants lost their case. At the time, Sweeney worked for the rival newspaper The Observer, and had given an interview on BBC Radio Guernsey alleging that they had been involved in corruption. Since the broadcast could also be heard in northern France, the claimants were able to bring their claim in the French courts. Sweeney was ordered to pay €3000 by the appeal court in Rennes, France
Sweeney spent four years investigating the cases of Sally Clark, Angela Cannings and Donna Anthony, three women who had been falsely imprisoned for killing their children. Sweeney's investigation helped to clear their names, and led to Sir Roy Meadow, the expert witness whose testimony had proved decisive in their convictions, being temporarily struck off the General Medical Council's medical register. Sweeney received the Paul Foot Award in 2005 in recognition of his work.
He has won several awards throughout his career, including:
1998: What the Papers Say Journalist of the Year prize for reports on human rights abuses in Algeria.
2000: an Emmy Award and a Royal Television Society prize for programs about the Massacre at Krusha e Madhe, Kosovo.
2001: the Amnesty International prize for "Victims of the Torture Train," about human rights abuses in Chechnya.
2003: a Sony Gold award (2003) for Best Radio News program.
2004: a Royal Television Society prize (2004) for "Angela's Hope," a BBC One documentary about a woman wrongly convicted of murdering her three babies.
2005: The Paul Foot Award.
"Scientology and Me", a Panorama investigation into Scientology written and presented by Sweeney, was aired on BBC One on Monday, 14 May 2007. Prior to its airing,video footage filmed by the Church of Scientology was released that showed Sweeney shouting at Scientology representative Tommy Davis during a visit to CCHR's "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death". The clips were sections of a documentary the Church of Scientology's Freedom Magazine TV produced about the BBC Panorama programme. Sweeney remarked that he lost his temper due to days of harassment by Davis and the Church, and a strong personal reaction to the psychiatry exhibit. He had been visited at his hotel by Davis, despite not having shared the address with the Church, and had been followed on several different occasions. Sweeney labelled the clips "attack videos" and others say they were produced to discredit himself and the documentary. The BBC in response aired its own full recording of the incident. Panorama's Editor Sandy Smith explained what happened and how the BBC dealt with the incident in a post on the BBC's Editor's Blog. An internal BBC investigation found that Sweeney's conduct at one point in the filming was clearly inappropriate, but also noted that Sweeney had apologised for his outburst and concluded that as a whole, filming of the documentary had been performed in a proper and fair manner. Later on that same year in the BBC Panorama year in review Sweeney said “..a new generation is making up its own mind, and for that I make no apology”. Only a month and a half later Project Chanology began. This time as a part of a rehearsed joke, Sweeney goes into a similar outburst in January 2009 when being interviewed on Radio 4 about the Tom Cruise film Valkyrie—clearly referring to the episode two years previously. A follow-up Panorama programme also hosted by Sweeney, which at an hour is twice the length of the original one was aired on the 28 September 2010. This documentary contained int
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 246 reviews
January 14, 2017
I am only at 6%, but can not finish. Very seldom can I not finish a book so this makes me sad. This was my Kindle first book and not a good choice for me. The flow is bad, story crude, and writing disjointed.
June 10, 2016
Makes me question the authors credentials
Granted I'm only 14% of the way into the book, but the depiction of Mormons is so appallingly wrong that it casts a shadow on the entire story as well as the author's credentials as a journalist.
My ability to suspend disbelief and immerse myself into the story is hampered by the flagrant inaccuracies as he depicts Mormons.
The author is a journalist. I would expect him to be able to do basic research to discover that:
1) Mormons don't talk or dress or act like stereotypical Deep South hillbillies. Mormons are not backwoods hicks. Not even the ones near Bear Lake.
2) Mormons don't worship Moroni not expect him to come to them in times of distress or danger.
3) All church discipline happens on a local level, not at headquarters.
Three very clear and concise facts the author decides to completely disregard in favor of some weird alternative universe.
Delving into the other subtle and crafty attacks on Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon (etc) is beyond the scope and purpose of this review. I'm not writing here to specifically defend the faith. Rather to simply to point out that if the author's depiction of Mormons is indicative of the supposed accuracy of the other people and situations depicted throughout the book, the reader can safely assume this the story either: a work virtually devoid of fact, held together only by the barest of threads based in reality; written by a man with an ax to grind against Mormons; written by a man who has no journalistic integrity and no desire to anchor his work in any sort of reality.
Or all three.
I recognize this is a work of fiction. I get it. Am author can take some liberties, sure. He can depict a group of people however he chooses.
But when he draws from real life and fictionalizing it, the reader expects some degree of accuracy. Readers wants to think the author is drawing on his experience and molding a fictional story around real life. Readers want to suspend their disbelief for a few hours and think, "this could really happen."
We as readers don't want to be jarred into reality by gross inaccuracies or question depictions in every other situation and scene because the author got one aspect so wrong.
If an author wants to spin Mormonism, depict them as backwoods hillbillies, or twist the doctrine and confuse the reader—it's fine, it's his book.
But the consequence is a story unanchored by reality and not worth finishing.
Not only is the reading experience ruined, but it calls into question the author's entire journalism career.
Granted I'm only 14% of the way into the book, but the depiction of Mormons is so appallingly wrong that it casts a shadow on the entire story as well as the author's credentials as a journalist.
My ability to suspend disbelief and immerse myself into the story is hampered by the flagrant inaccuracies as he depicts Mormons.
The author is a journalist. I would expect him to be able to do basic research to discover that:
1) Mormons don't talk or dress or act like stereotypical Deep South hillbillies. Mormons are not backwoods hicks. Not even the ones near Bear Lake.
2) Mormons don't worship Moroni not expect him to come to them in times of distress or danger.
3) All church discipline happens on a local level, not at headquarters.
Three very clear and concise facts the author decides to completely disregard in favor of some weird alternative universe.
Delving into the other subtle and crafty attacks on Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon (etc) is beyond the scope and purpose of this review. I'm not writing here to specifically defend the faith. Rather to simply to point out that if the author's depiction of Mormons is indicative of the supposed accuracy of the other people and situations depicted throughout the book, the reader can safely assume this the story either: a work virtually devoid of fact, held together only by the barest of threads based in reality; written by a man with an ax to grind against Mormons; written by a man who has no journalistic integrity and no desire to anchor his work in any sort of reality.
Or all three.
I recognize this is a work of fiction. I get it. Am author can take some liberties, sure. He can depict a group of people however he chooses.
But when he draws from real life and fictionalizing it, the reader expects some degree of accuracy. Readers wants to think the author is drawing on his experience and molding a fictional story around real life. Readers want to suspend their disbelief for a few hours and think, "this could really happen."
We as readers don't want to be jarred into reality by gross inaccuracies or question depictions in every other situation and scene because the author got one aspect so wrong.
If an author wants to spin Mormonism, depict them as backwoods hillbillies, or twist the doctrine and confuse the reader—it's fine, it's his book.
But the consequence is a story unanchored by reality and not worth finishing.
Not only is the reading experience ruined, but it calls into question the author's entire journalism career.
July 18, 2016
Ugh. There were so many characters and plotlines that, for a majority of the book, I was intrigued by how the author would pull it all together.
Here's a spoiler: He didn't.
I wish I had the hours I spent reading this back. The bones of an interesting book are here. Why are killers after a dog? That's different! Who is the sadistic torturer? OK, that's not so different, but it could have been. A retired Russian military general investigating his daughter's death? That's intriguing. But by the end, I just didn't care. Payoffs were tepid and uninteresting. And don't get me started on the "romance."
OK, the romance. Sweet heavens ... I'm not sure I can wrap my head around the unreality here. A woman is introduced as someone helping torture the "hero" and ends up with an undying love for the "hero." I kept waiting for the plot twist where her true evil intentions are revealed. Nope. For no reason, she falls in love with this man. Of course, her mindset bounces between fiercely determined to live and totally hopeless, resigned to the fact she will die. A separate romance between a doctor and the retired Russian general is equally as improbable.
Evidently, this is the first in a series of books. Usually, I'm pretty good at sniffing out bad books and ending my suffering before it gets too prolonged. I failed on this one. I won't fail on the next in the series.
Here's a spoiler: He didn't.
I wish I had the hours I spent reading this back. The bones of an interesting book are here. Why are killers after a dog? That's different! Who is the sadistic torturer? OK, that's not so different, but it could have been. A retired Russian military general investigating his daughter's death? That's intriguing. But by the end, I just didn't care. Payoffs were tepid and uninteresting. And don't get me started on the "romance."
OK, the romance. Sweet heavens ... I'm not sure I can wrap my head around the unreality here. A woman is introduced as someone helping torture the "hero" and ends up with an undying love for the "hero." I kept waiting for the plot twist where her true evil intentions are revealed. Nope. For no reason, she falls in love with this man. Of course, her mindset bounces between fiercely determined to live and totally hopeless, resigned to the fact she will die. A separate romance between a doctor and the retired Russian general is equally as improbable.
Evidently, this is the first in a series of books. Usually, I'm pretty good at sniffing out bad books and ending my suffering before it gets too prolonged. I failed on this one. I won't fail on the next in the series.
June 24, 2016
I just finished this book and I really don't know what it was about. A lot of people in so many places, including a cruise ship, I could not keep track. It took me a long time to get through this and I don't know why I continued to read it. If Joe Tiplady wasn't part of the title, I wouldn't even know who the main character was supposed to be.
February 18, 2025
This book was awful. So bad. I should have quit when it started and after reading a few of the reviews, but I can't not finish a book, so I kept going. There's so much packed into this that just didn't even need to be there. The plot is confusing. There are way too many points of view. The ending is horrendous, as is everything that leads up to it. Everyone dies, mostly. Only a few survive. And no I am not marking the spoiler box on this because everyone should know how bad this book sucks. The author is a British journalist who claims in his author's note to have first-hand research knowledge of several things in this book that are fictionalized (which he makes sure to point out that no one in this book is a real person), BUT being LDS (the "Mormons" he refers to with such derision) and from Utah with Bear Lake being one of my most favorites places in the world, it is so OBVIOUS to anyone familiar with the LDS faith/religion and with Bear Lake how little he knows about either (and, yes, I have been to Bear Lake during the wintertime). Just, please, do yourself a favor and STAY FAR AWAY from this book. And SHAME on Amazon for picking this as a free First Reads book for Prime members (which is the only reason I downloaded it). Just don't read this book. The end.
Content/Triggers: Bad language, sex (for no reason, there is literally no romance leading up to it, it just happens out of the blue), pedophilia, murder, torture. There's probably more I missed.
Content/Triggers: Bad language, sex (for no reason, there is literally no romance leading up to it, it just happens out of the blue), pedophilia, murder, torture. There's probably more I missed.
November 14, 2016
Review to come.
September 2, 2017
Genre - Political Thriller/Suspense
Pages - 398
Very rarely am I at a loss for words, but unfortunately “Cold (A Joe Tiplady Thriller, Book One)” by John Sweeney has backed me into a corner. I almost broke a personal rule and did not finish this book, but I refuse to allow that to happen. I had no idea, and I wish I did so I could tell you about it, what this book was about. Half way through I thought for a brief moment that there was going to be redemption and the story started to make some sense, but alas it returned to the land of what the hell is this book about. In one chapter toward the end (about 3 pages long) the whole chapter was one sentence...which I don’t have a problem with (William S. Burroughs did it and he made it work), but this was just rambling and the words made absolutely no sense and had virtually no connection to the what story there was. There were some who reviewed this book and found it masterful and well worth their time, and then there were some like myself who could not finish it, or if they did, could not make heads or tails out of it. It was not to my liking, but it may be to yours...to each their own as they say. (A disclaimer, I won a copy of this book from Goodreads.com).
Synopsis (from back cover): In the feeble light of a London winter, Joe Tiplady walks his dog in the snow. He is not alone. Two men are tracking him, as is a woman with wolf eyes. Soon Joe will find himself caught in a storm of violence and retribution that he does not yet understand.
Around the world, a chain of events is in motion that will make Joe a priceless target. A retired Soviet general hunts for his missing daughter after a series of brutal murders. A ruthless assassin loses something so precious he will do anything to get it back. And in the mountains of Utah, a brilliant ex-CIA chief wrestles with his religion.
In the shadow of them all lies Zoba, strongman ruler of Russia and puppet-master of the world’s darkest operatives. Can Joe save himself from this dangerous web of power and revenge? Where can he run when there’s nowhere left to hide?
Pages - 398
Very rarely am I at a loss for words, but unfortunately “Cold (A Joe Tiplady Thriller, Book One)” by John Sweeney has backed me into a corner. I almost broke a personal rule and did not finish this book, but I refuse to allow that to happen. I had no idea, and I wish I did so I could tell you about it, what this book was about. Half way through I thought for a brief moment that there was going to be redemption and the story started to make some sense, but alas it returned to the land of what the hell is this book about. In one chapter toward the end (about 3 pages long) the whole chapter was one sentence...which I don’t have a problem with (William S. Burroughs did it and he made it work), but this was just rambling and the words made absolutely no sense and had virtually no connection to the what story there was. There were some who reviewed this book and found it masterful and well worth their time, and then there were some like myself who could not finish it, or if they did, could not make heads or tails out of it. It was not to my liking, but it may be to yours...to each their own as they say. (A disclaimer, I won a copy of this book from Goodreads.com).
Synopsis (from back cover): In the feeble light of a London winter, Joe Tiplady walks his dog in the snow. He is not alone. Two men are tracking him, as is a woman with wolf eyes. Soon Joe will find himself caught in a storm of violence and retribution that he does not yet understand.
Around the world, a chain of events is in motion that will make Joe a priceless target. A retired Soviet general hunts for his missing daughter after a series of brutal murders. A ruthless assassin loses something so precious he will do anything to get it back. And in the mountains of Utah, a brilliant ex-CIA chief wrestles with his religion.
In the shadow of them all lies Zoba, strongman ruler of Russia and puppet-master of the world’s darkest operatives. Can Joe save himself from this dangerous web of power and revenge? Where can he run when there’s nowhere left to hide?
July 21, 2016
The description of this book sounded just like the right book for me - international setting, suspense, mystery, chases across and between continents, spies, corruption, Russian bad guys, Russian good guys... you name it!
Well, the book did indeed have all that and a lot more. In fact, it had too much going on, and the multitude of names and places really made me struggle with hanging on to the story line at times making my reading progress slow and somewhat painful. But at other times, I was genuinely hooked and the pages just flew by.
John Sweeney's characters are not described in a very thorough way, but they are believable - both the good ones and the bad ones. I would have loved to have a story dedicated to the retired Soviet general who is the main character in the Russian-based chapters of the book, but I guess that is somewhat unlikely to happen...
It seems like Sweeney just wants too much with his story - like he is showing off his vast knowledge about international affairs in order to weave his plot together and wrap it up in an ingenious way. Well, he seriously risks losing his reader on the way. I managed to hold on to the very end, but I can see from other reviews that many others didn't make it that far. Therefore, I suggest that Sweeney cuts back on the number of subplots and characters in the future books about Joe Tiplady, and I think he will do just fine. I know that I will be ready to give him a second chance...
[An ARC of this book was generously provided by the publisher through NetGalley]
Well, the book did indeed have all that and a lot more. In fact, it had too much going on, and the multitude of names and places really made me struggle with hanging on to the story line at times making my reading progress slow and somewhat painful. But at other times, I was genuinely hooked and the pages just flew by.
John Sweeney's characters are not described in a very thorough way, but they are believable - both the good ones and the bad ones. I would have loved to have a story dedicated to the retired Soviet general who is the main character in the Russian-based chapters of the book, but I guess that is somewhat unlikely to happen...
It seems like Sweeney just wants too much with his story - like he is showing off his vast knowledge about international affairs in order to weave his plot together and wrap it up in an ingenious way. Well, he seriously risks losing his reader on the way. I managed to hold on to the very end, but I can see from other reviews that many others didn't make it that far. Therefore, I suggest that Sweeney cuts back on the number of subplots and characters in the future books about Joe Tiplady, and I think he will do just fine. I know that I will be ready to give him a second chance...
[An ARC of this book was generously provided by the publisher through NetGalley]
July 1, 2016
I have to say this isn't the type of book I usually enjoy, but Cold was a pleasant surprise.
Very descriptive, Joe Tiplady is an interesting character. This is a novel filled with twists and turn and a fab ending. It is horrifically violent, with graphic torture and all that is relevant to war, but the intensity it weaves makes this quite a page-turner.
I did however, struggle a little to keep up. It is very character driven and while the writing style is not brilliant, with spies, espionage and a smidgen of power and money it is more than a James Bond style conspiracy read.
My last point is that Cold will not be for every reader. I was slow to get 'into' it, but in my opinion it was well worth the time. John Sweeney has written a convincing tale and I for one can see this made as a great movie.
Very descriptive, Joe Tiplady is an interesting character. This is a novel filled with twists and turn and a fab ending. It is horrifically violent, with graphic torture and all that is relevant to war, but the intensity it weaves makes this quite a page-turner.
I did however, struggle a little to keep up. It is very character driven and while the writing style is not brilliant, with spies, espionage and a smidgen of power and money it is more than a James Bond style conspiracy read.
My last point is that Cold will not be for every reader. I was slow to get 'into' it, but in my opinion it was well worth the time. John Sweeney has written a convincing tale and I for one can see this made as a great movie.
July 4, 2016
Welcome aboard to a striking new thriller from intrepid journalist John Sweeney, who neatly uses some of the less savoury characters he’s encountered in his professional career to populate his cast of baddies. That Zoba, for example really reminded me of…er…whatshisname…you know the short Russian guy. But joking aside, I really rather enjoyed this tangential and breathless caper…
Split into three main storylines, and globe trotting from America to Europe, Sweeney weaves a tale of greed, deception and violence, that affords ample opportunity on the part of the author to expose and explore some well known conflicts and acts of dissension by weaving them into the back stories of his main protagonists. This also builds a rapport with us as readers, as we recognise both the more obvious, and sometimes more secretive allusions, to familiar events in history, and the less well documented incidents of corruption within governments or security services, that Sweeney has obviously witnessed. Sweeney consistently puts his characters into the hands of shady forces operating outside of their jurisdiction, causing them, and us as readers, a great deal of chagrin. There is a good use of circumnavigation throughout, and Sweeney places his characters, and thereby drives the plot forward, in his judicious use of a number of locations.
To be fair, I’m not sure that all threads of the story worked completely in symmetry with one another, as some characters seemed forgotten about for prolonged stretches of the book, or there was a certain amount of unexplained serendipity that transported other characters from A to B in the plotline so seamlessly. However, the plot did, for the most part, trot along quite nicely, and I liked Sweeney’s control of pace, ramping up the tension at the optimum moments. Overall, I found the story of Gennady, the retired Soviet general, seeking the truth about his daughter’s death, the most absorbing of the strands, and was genuinely moved and fearful for the resolution of his story as his actions became more desperate. His story also afforded us an opportunity to see inside the socio-political life of Russia a little more which added further interest to his narrative. I was also quite taken with the quiet stoicism of ex- CIA operative Ezekial ‘Zeke’ Chandler, questioning his Mormonism, and revealing himself as an astute and wily operator when his razor sharp intelligence is called upon to help other characters out of a jam. I was less convinced by the pseudo James Bond pairing of Joe Tiplady, a former terrorist, and the sultry Russian femme fatale Katya Koremedova on the run from one of her particularly nasty compatriots- cue cut-out Russian baddies- and found their story arc slightly less credible overall, with some elastic plotting to push their story onward, and a smattering of slightly clunky dialogue when they are forced into more intimate scenarios. There’s also a couple of thankfully brief, excruciating sex scenes, with a couple of lines of which made me laugh out loud, (howling like a wolf anyone?) which was probably not the intention, and again the Bond motif loomed large, as 007 always manages to squeeze in a bit of saucy business too. But on the subject of humour there are also some perfectly placed moments of levity and acerbic wit which were genuinely funny, and I also liked the slightly cheesy poetry recitation in the midst of peril. All will become clear.
As I said at the beginning of my review, I did rather enjoy this, and anyone looking for a new thriller with interweaving strands, locations and incisive socio-political comment can not go far wrong with this one. I really quite liked the intermittent naivety of plotting and characterisation, as there were some real edge of the seat moments packing a proper punch, yet tempered by some interludes of clear sighted consideration of social ills, and other weighty issues. All in all, an enjoyable thriller.
Split into three main storylines, and globe trotting from America to Europe, Sweeney weaves a tale of greed, deception and violence, that affords ample opportunity on the part of the author to expose and explore some well known conflicts and acts of dissension by weaving them into the back stories of his main protagonists. This also builds a rapport with us as readers, as we recognise both the more obvious, and sometimes more secretive allusions, to familiar events in history, and the less well documented incidents of corruption within governments or security services, that Sweeney has obviously witnessed. Sweeney consistently puts his characters into the hands of shady forces operating outside of their jurisdiction, causing them, and us as readers, a great deal of chagrin. There is a good use of circumnavigation throughout, and Sweeney places his characters, and thereby drives the plot forward, in his judicious use of a number of locations.
To be fair, I’m not sure that all threads of the story worked completely in symmetry with one another, as some characters seemed forgotten about for prolonged stretches of the book, or there was a certain amount of unexplained serendipity that transported other characters from A to B in the plotline so seamlessly. However, the plot did, for the most part, trot along quite nicely, and I liked Sweeney’s control of pace, ramping up the tension at the optimum moments. Overall, I found the story of Gennady, the retired Soviet general, seeking the truth about his daughter’s death, the most absorbing of the strands, and was genuinely moved and fearful for the resolution of his story as his actions became more desperate. His story also afforded us an opportunity to see inside the socio-political life of Russia a little more which added further interest to his narrative. I was also quite taken with the quiet stoicism of ex- CIA operative Ezekial ‘Zeke’ Chandler, questioning his Mormonism, and revealing himself as an astute and wily operator when his razor sharp intelligence is called upon to help other characters out of a jam. I was less convinced by the pseudo James Bond pairing of Joe Tiplady, a former terrorist, and the sultry Russian femme fatale Katya Koremedova on the run from one of her particularly nasty compatriots- cue cut-out Russian baddies- and found their story arc slightly less credible overall, with some elastic plotting to push their story onward, and a smattering of slightly clunky dialogue when they are forced into more intimate scenarios. There’s also a couple of thankfully brief, excruciating sex scenes, with a couple of lines of which made me laugh out loud, (howling like a wolf anyone?) which was probably not the intention, and again the Bond motif loomed large, as 007 always manages to squeeze in a bit of saucy business too. But on the subject of humour there are also some perfectly placed moments of levity and acerbic wit which were genuinely funny, and I also liked the slightly cheesy poetry recitation in the midst of peril. All will become clear.
As I said at the beginning of my review, I did rather enjoy this, and anyone looking for a new thriller with interweaving strands, locations and incisive socio-political comment can not go far wrong with this one. I really quite liked the intermittent naivety of plotting and characterisation, as there were some real edge of the seat moments packing a proper punch, yet tempered by some interludes of clear sighted consideration of social ills, and other weighty issues. All in all, an enjoyable thriller.
September 24, 2016
I will usually read a sample in its entirety but for this book the use of non standard English made me give up half way through. I understand language evolves through usage but there was so much weird construction in this book it made me think the author didn't respect the reader or was trying to be overly cute. Leaving out a noun or ignoring subject verb agreement may be okay in colloquial conversation but in straight exposition it's irritating and stops the flow of the story.
June 13, 2016
Review of the Cold
Very interesting and hard to put down, only short coming is confusion of all the different characters in beginning of story.
Very interesting and hard to put down, only short coming is confusion of all the different characters in beginning of story.
May 22, 2019
Various disparate storylines to keep track of, none of which I cared overly much about - and the one following supposed protagonist Joe Tiplady was the one that interested me least and annoyed me most, partially but definitely not entirely due to the cringe-worthy romance he has going on with a woman he meets when she stalks him, steals his dog, and then participates in kidnapping and torturing him, because that's a recipe for romance if ever I saw one. (The fact that I found neither of them the least bit likable didn't help.) By far the most interesting character was Zeke, who got entirely too little page time.
June 26, 2016
I liked this book. You will too if you ignore author John Sweeney’s plaintive assertion that this is just a story that he “made up.” Sweeney is an award-winning British journalist and author who has stepped on toes, pursued controversy, and, on occasion, lost his cool during interviews. His pungency suggests he doesn’t make things up.
His story is intriguing. There are interesting characters, convoluted plots, exotic locations, international contrivances, and inventive torture techniques. There’s a Mormon CIA agent who lives in the mountains and is smarter than he looks. There’s his wife, a mean and lethal mate who is at least as effacious. There’s a retired Russian general, searching for his missing daughter. A brutal assassin who smells like flowers makes triple nasty with those who oppose him. And yes, there’s a Russian president who has all the mannerisms and characteristics of Vladimir Putin, but is not he, according to the author. He says Vladimir Putin is not in his book. I say, “Horse hockey.”
Finally there’s Joe Tiplady, Sweeney’s hero, who gets involved in this entire mélange of intrigue and, with his love interest, solves nearly every problem thrown at him. He is so effective he will return in many more books.
The book is long, but keeps the interest up with the author’s background as a an undercover reporter who has traveled to more than eighty countries and has personally saved women accused of killing their own babies, revealed the mass killings in Zimbabwe, run afoul of the powerful Church of Scientology, and rummaged around unsafe North Korea as an undercover economic academic. His philosophy, as espoused on his website, is “I poke crocodiles, if crocodiles they be, in the eye with a stick.”
The book, much like the author, is well informed, pugnacious, and opinionated. It’s well written, different and controversial; definitely worth the reading effort.
October 26, 2016
Did not enjoy this book at all
About 20% into this book I almost gave up and stopped reading it, but since I don't like to give up on books I struggled on. By the time I got to the end of the book I wish I had stopped reading it.
Here's what I didn't like:
* I'm not squeamish, but there were a number of very graphic scenes very early in the book that really turned me off
* There was only one character in the book that I cared anything about. This character was featured in the middle of the book and was really the only reason I kept reading. All the other characters meant nothing to me.
* In my opinion, the ending was a dud and very abrupt. I don't need a hero rides off into the sunset or a they lived happily ever after ending,but it was like all of a sudden the book just ended.
Not every book is for everyone, but if you're reading this book, struggling like me and hoping it will get better, it won't.
About 20% into this book I almost gave up and stopped reading it, but since I don't like to give up on books I struggled on. By the time I got to the end of the book I wish I had stopped reading it.
Here's what I didn't like:
* I'm not squeamish, but there were a number of very graphic scenes very early in the book that really turned me off
* There was only one character in the book that I cared anything about. This character was featured in the middle of the book and was really the only reason I kept reading. All the other characters meant nothing to me.
* In my opinion, the ending was a dud and very abrupt. I don't need a hero rides off into the sunset or a they lived happily ever after ending,but it was like all of a sudden the book just ended.
Not every book is for everyone, but if you're reading this book, struggling like me and hoping it will get better, it won't.
June 10, 2016
I couldn't put this down. I thought it was totally awesome that the author was able to work in an ex-Mormon former CIA agent, a former IRA terrorist, a former Soviet general, and some really truly really bad scary bad guys. The characters were really great; I like Joe Triplady, but I like Zeke even more. The story was full of twists and turns and traveled all over the globe. This book is very reminiscent of old spymaster novels. There are a few story holes, but they're minor; for me, the rest of the story and the characters overcame them.
Warning: The violence isn't for the fainthearted. Anyone who is offended by it probably shouldn't read this book.
Got this from the Prime Kindle First program and I'm glad I did.
Warning: The violence isn't for the fainthearted. Anyone who is offended by it probably shouldn't read this book.
Got this from the Prime Kindle First program and I'm glad I did.
July 4, 2016
I read this book as part of the Kindle First program. The book has an interesting plot and great characters but the story is very violent and dark. Torture, murder, and corruption are the main themes.
June 18, 2016
A mess
Total mishmash describes this attempt at drama as author plays with time and place so you. rarely know where you are..
Total mishmash describes this attempt at drama as author plays with time and place so you. rarely know where you are..
April 3, 2022
I'm not quite done, but almost.
This book really wants to be good, but just can't quite make it. It has a well-structured plot that it tends to just use to hang it's coat on and hid that somewhere under it all, there might be a really good story, too. But it has too many issues to be good, let alone great.
First off, it's obvious that the author loves the Russian people, and I applaud him for that. He pulls no punches about Russia herself, but Russians are complicated, varied, and as often noble as ignoble. Presciently, it even delves into the war in Ukraine circa 2016, the one no one wanted to talk about as a war, allowing Putin's propaganda machine to dictate how we talked about the bloodshed in Ukraine's east. Bravo to him for this.
Second, it's obvious the author seems unable to apply this same nuance to his Mormon character, who is instead an ill-informed caricature, a litany of stereotypes and misconceptions and bizarre overidentification; everyone calls the main Mormon character 'the Mormon' though he's a spymaster and brilliant analyst of sorts. The author's view of Mormonism reads like it came from a Wikipedia entry that was skimmed but never digested, never understood. Worst, it makes me question all his other depictions.
Finally, the main character may as well be a MacGuffin, though his dog is clearly the real one. Still, he does nothing, literally nothing to move the plot. It could go on without him and would probably be the better for it. This is terrible because he's actually an interesting character with a background that could be mined for dozens of books. What he does is get beat, kidnapped, tortured, shot at, threatened, and used...and then he has lots of sex that makes no sense and isn't believable in the least. He has the personality of a cardboard box and I can't see why the woman is in the least bit attracted to him. It all reads like an idiotic Penthouse letter.
I am really having hard time finishing this book. The whole thing is like running a cheese grater over my brain.
This book really wants to be good, but just can't quite make it. It has a well-structured plot that it tends to just use to hang it's coat on and hid that somewhere under it all, there might be a really good story, too. But it has too many issues to be good, let alone great.
First off, it's obvious that the author loves the Russian people, and I applaud him for that. He pulls no punches about Russia herself, but Russians are complicated, varied, and as often noble as ignoble. Presciently, it even delves into the war in Ukraine circa 2016, the one no one wanted to talk about as a war, allowing Putin's propaganda machine to dictate how we talked about the bloodshed in Ukraine's east. Bravo to him for this.
Second, it's obvious the author seems unable to apply this same nuance to his Mormon character, who is instead an ill-informed caricature, a litany of stereotypes and misconceptions and bizarre overidentification; everyone calls the main Mormon character 'the Mormon' though he's a spymaster and brilliant analyst of sorts. The author's view of Mormonism reads like it came from a Wikipedia entry that was skimmed but never digested, never understood. Worst, it makes me question all his other depictions.
Finally, the main character may as well be a MacGuffin, though his dog is clearly the real one. Still, he does nothing, literally nothing to move the plot. It could go on without him and would probably be the better for it. This is terrible because he's actually an interesting character with a background that could be mined for dozens of books. What he does is get beat, kidnapped, tortured, shot at, threatened, and used...and then he has lots of sex that makes no sense and isn't believable in the least. He has the personality of a cardboard box and I can't see why the woman is in the least bit attracted to him. It all reads like an idiotic Penthouse letter.
I am really having hard time finishing this book. The whole thing is like running a cheese grater over my brain.
April 11, 2018
The book has 3.5 stars and that's about right. It's an easy book to read, the plot keeps moving, and the story is compelling enough to keep you interested. There are some major issues with the book that keep it from being great, though. There are a lot of characters, scattered over the world, and many of these characters have backstories/flashbacks that require even more locations. In the end, it's very hard to keep everyone and everything straight in your head until you're well into the book. The story glosses over "down time" when characters are on the run or moving. I can understand not wanting to spend time just covering land, but it gives the book a disjointed feel. Towards the end I had no concept of time, and it seemed like some characters (who were slowly moving through other geographies) were now covering huge expanses of land in no time. Lastly, and this is important, the ending isn't great. It's always hard to write a satisfying ending to an adventure, however this one particularly missed the mark. After all the buildup, it felt rushed and sloppy. I won't spoil anything, but I'll also add that a big problem is that this is the Joe Tiplady series, and he's maybe the fifth most interesting character. I would have much preferred to read about Zeke Chandler throughout, rather than as an ancillary character.
September 25, 2020
As with other reviewers, I found myself almost quitting this book. While there were several subplots I was able to follow; however, I found the intertwining of these disjointed. I enjoyed the characters but found that the main character, Joe, was not that endearing. In fact, I found the former Russian General, Gennady, far more interesting. I also found the storyline surrounding the General is what kept me reading this book and the only redeeming quality of the book. It is because of the story surrounding the General that this book received a 3/5 stars rather than 2/5 stars. I feel that the author could have built the story around the General and his quest and left the other subplots for another book. Will I read another, that would be a hard No.
March 18, 2018
Don't waste your time
I always read every book to the end, if for no other reason than to give the author a chance to redeem themselves. I just couldn't finish this one. The genre and content didn't bother me. The beginning of the book was rocky with no character development, no rhyme or reason as to why people were being tortured, and was just outright confusing. The bouncing-around with no previous insight as to what was going on lost my interest. I should've read the reviews before downloading this one, but I only read them when I lost interest. Previous reviews were enough to tell me the book doesn't get any better, so I gave up on reading it.
I always read every book to the end, if for no other reason than to give the author a chance to redeem themselves. I just couldn't finish this one. The genre and content didn't bother me. The beginning of the book was rocky with no character development, no rhyme or reason as to why people were being tortured, and was just outright confusing. The bouncing-around with no previous insight as to what was going on lost my interest. I should've read the reviews before downloading this one, but I only read them when I lost interest. Previous reviews were enough to tell me the book doesn't get any better, so I gave up on reading it.
April 12, 2018
At the end of this book the author cites his first hand experiences in Russia and Chechnya and yet I find the book lacking credibility, in matters both small and large. I'm sure the author's experiences would support an argument that the failing is mine but if your aim is to sell books of this nature, then your readers credulity must be a consideration, even if it means rowing back on incidents which you have witnessed.
I had little sympathy for any of the monochrome characters, barely a smidgeon of grey to be seen.
Would I read another? No.
I had little sympathy for any of the monochrome characters, barely a smidgeon of grey to be seen.
Would I read another? No.
June 13, 2018
Cold was a free monthly book for Amazon Prime members.
First of all, there are lots of characters and stories in this spy novel. Many of the threads do not yet align, but this is the first book in a projected series. Set mostly in contemporary Russia and the United States, there are flashbacks to the Russian war in Afghanistan and IRA/British skirmishes in Ireland. At times, the lack of connection between characters made it difficult but the characters were so well drawn and interesting that I kept reading. But, why did the Queen intercede on Joe's behalf? Maybe in Book 2.
First of all, there are lots of characters and stories in this spy novel. Many of the threads do not yet align, but this is the first book in a projected series. Set mostly in contemporary Russia and the United States, there are flashbacks to the Russian war in Afghanistan and IRA/British skirmishes in Ireland. At times, the lack of connection between characters made it difficult but the characters were so well drawn and interesting that I kept reading. But, why did the Queen intercede on Joe's behalf? Maybe in Book 2.
July 12, 2017
I just couldn't make it through this book. There were some interesting characters here, but after getting more than halfway the plot just didn't develop enough to hold my interest. It was still building for too long.
I also did not care for the main character Joe Tiplady. On the one hand he came across as too much of an "average joe" while at the same time showing some real material fighting skills. It clashed with his character and I never got to the point to resolve it.
I also did not care for the main character Joe Tiplady. On the one hand he came across as too much of an "average joe" while at the same time showing some real material fighting skills. It clashed with his character and I never got to the point to resolve it.
October 9, 2017
Too confusing
If I finish a book, I give it a 3 because there must be something dragging me along. I thought there were too many characters and too much location jumping. I didn't find Joe to be the central character. He was introduced too late for my tastes. Same was more compelling as a central character. And I did find the author's boo fascinating and did help understand the story.
If I finish a book, I give it a 3 because there must be something dragging me along. I thought there were too many characters and too much location jumping. I didn't find Joe to be the central character. He was introduced too late for my tastes. Same was more compelling as a central character. And I did find the author's boo fascinating and did help understand the story.
August 30, 2019
A Russian thriller.
This book has a few narratives running through it but the driver of all of them takes place in Russia. A retired Russian general searches for his daughter’s killer, Joe Tiplady has Russian agents chasing him for reasons he doesn’t understand, and a newly retired CIA man is wondering what’s going on. It was a fun read. The parts were always moving and there was danger on a lot of doorsteps. In especially liked the Russian general character.
This book has a few narratives running through it but the driver of all of them takes place in Russia. A retired Russian general searches for his daughter’s killer, Joe Tiplady has Russian agents chasing him for reasons he doesn’t understand, and a newly retired CIA man is wondering what’s going on. It was a fun read. The parts were always moving and there was danger on a lot of doorsteps. In especially liked the Russian general character.
October 18, 2024
This is a good book - steady and a bit complicated plot at times for an escape book but therefore interesting.
It is the first of a series - somehow I got it for free so it was in my Kindle - and one could see by one part of the ending that the main character was left poised for future endeavors - but I won't provide a spoiler but I thought that this thing had to happen for the series to continue.
Easy - no rush - was reading it in the midst of other endeavors.
It is the first of a series - somehow I got it for free so it was in my Kindle - and one could see by one part of the ending that the main character was left poised for future endeavors - but I won't provide a spoiler but I thought that this thing had to happen for the series to continue.
Easy - no rush - was reading it in the midst of other endeavors.
February 6, 2017
This was an odd book to read. I started off being lost and not knowing what was going on, where, and who was involved. Towards the middle, I got into it and had everything sorted in my mind; however, I ended up not being sure how the book wrapped up. I still don't know who was who and how things were intertwined. It was a difficult read
May 30, 2017
Grim at times but always interesting
I enjoy my fiction when it has at least one foot in fact. This does it beautifully. Nicely written with the edge of a reporter who deals in grim facts. I enjoyed the way the various strands of the story come together only at the end maintaining the tension throughout.
I enjoy my fiction when it has at least one foot in fact. This does it beautifully. Nicely written with the edge of a reporter who deals in grim facts. I enjoyed the way the various strands of the story come together only at the end maintaining the tension throughout.
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