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Noble Cause, A
Mark Noble plans a surprise proposal to his girlfriend during a romantic Caribbean vacation. But before he can pop the question, she disappears, and his father — a world-famous celebrity doctor who seems to have perfected mind-control — is killed in a mysterious fire back home. While searching for his girlfriend, Mark finds himself chased by two dangerous thugs, and the race is on to find out the truth of her disappearance before it’s too late.
Mark’s investigation into his girlfriend’s disappearance and his father’s death uncovers a sinister connection, a mystery he attempts to unravel with the help of his eccentric grandmother and the courageous crew — one a former Navy SEAL — of her luxury yacht. Putting all of their lives at risk, Mark comes up against a rich and powerful foe determined to pry from Mark a secret he doesn’t even know he possesses.
Not since Richard Condon’s The Manchurian Candidate and Dean Koontz’s False Memory have such keen intelligence, shocking twists, and explosive turns graced the thriller genre. Its intensity increasing from the very beginning, A Noble Cause pounds the senses with such uncompromising originality that there is little to do but rush toward its shattering climax.
Mark’s investigation into his girlfriend’s disappearance and his father’s death uncovers a sinister connection, a mystery he attempts to unravel with the help of his eccentric grandmother and the courageous crew — one a former Navy SEAL — of her luxury yacht. Putting all of their lives at risk, Mark comes up against a rich and powerful foe determined to pry from Mark a secret he doesn’t even know he possesses.
Not since Richard Condon’s The Manchurian Candidate and Dean Koontz’s False Memory have such keen intelligence, shocking twists, and explosive turns graced the thriller genre. Its intensity increasing from the very beginning, A Noble Cause pounds the senses with such uncompromising originality that there is little to do but rush toward its shattering climax.
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First published October 26, 2011
44 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
About the author
J. Gregory Smith
38 books9 followersPrior to writing fiction full time, Greg Smith worked in public relations in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. He has an MBA from the College of William & Mary and a BA in English from Skidmore College.
His first novel, Final Price, was selected as a Quarterfinalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Just released as a self-published work, it is now available on Amazon.com, Kindle and select bookstores.
He lives in Wilmington, DE with his wife and son."
His first novel, Final Price, was selected as a Quarterfinalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Just released as a self-published work, it is now available on Amazon.com, Kindle and select bookstores.
He lives in Wilmington, DE with his wife and son."
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 13, 2012
Mark Noble and his girlfriend, Vanessa are vacationing in the Caribbean. Mark is going to pop the question to Vanessa. He has everything ready. Now all he needs is the woman. Vanessa should have returned by now. Mark soon realizes that Vanessa has been taken. Vanessa's disapperance is connected to his father, Dr. Noble's recent death and experiments.
Now, Mark must find Vanessa before it is too late.
This book was good. It had action and kept a good, fast, moving pace. I liked Mark. It was someone that I could get behind and cheer for as he always tried to stay out of reach of the bad guys. While, I did enjoy reading this book. I did feel that it was lacking some in the character development and story line. You can not have really the main character, Mark, be the only one that is some what intriguing. Otherwise, you will fine yourself like I did skimming the book and not really soaking it in. The whole reason why Mark's girlfriend disappeared revealed little details. This is the type of book where if you want to read something not too heavy and does not require too much brain power, than you may enjoy this book.
Now, Mark must find Vanessa before it is too late.
This book was good. It had action and kept a good, fast, moving pace. I liked Mark. It was someone that I could get behind and cheer for as he always tried to stay out of reach of the bad guys. While, I did enjoy reading this book. I did feel that it was lacking some in the character development and story line. You can not have really the main character, Mark, be the only one that is some what intriguing. Otherwise, you will fine yourself like I did skimming the book and not really soaking it in. The whole reason why Mark's girlfriend disappeared revealed little details. This is the type of book where if you want to read something not too heavy and does not require too much brain power, than you may enjoy this book.
March 3, 2012
J. Gregory Smith has written an engaging, fast moving mystery story in A Noble Cause.
His characters vary from young to old, and there is a focus on family relationships. Mark and his soon to be fiance are young and a bit undefined in terms of life goals; Mark's friend and friend's father, Ray, are rough and tough and loyal, and Mark's Gran is a shadow of her former self, living as a recluse on the yacht she once shared with her successful shipping magnate husband.
I was drawn to this book by the description which alluded to the psychological component of the mystery. Mind control was the unknown factor, gradually discovered by Mark and his supportive friends. A former police officer-turned-private investigator made the physical connections, but Mark himself realized his father's role in the mind control experiments.
A key to the mystery is Mark's father's journal, mysteriously discovered by Mark himself, but immediately lost to the 'bad guys.' What could have been a fascinating description was barely addressed by the author, and the role of the journal was never quite clearly described for the reader. It's use in the hands of the sub-standard doctor was somehow enhanced by Mark's own unknown talent. This was the element I wanted to read about, and was disappointed in its short role.
Smith's settings are well described nautically, which added a layer of information for me. The theme of good versus bad was carried out; the minor role of medical training came in handy only toward the end of the book, and the ending seems to invite a sequel that would allow the happily ever after strand to bloom. I can say no more without giving away too much. It is worth your time to read this book. It will entertain you, and give pause for thought.
His characters vary from young to old, and there is a focus on family relationships. Mark and his soon to be fiance are young and a bit undefined in terms of life goals; Mark's friend and friend's father, Ray, are rough and tough and loyal, and Mark's Gran is a shadow of her former self, living as a recluse on the yacht she once shared with her successful shipping magnate husband.
I was drawn to this book by the description which alluded to the psychological component of the mystery. Mind control was the unknown factor, gradually discovered by Mark and his supportive friends. A former police officer-turned-private investigator made the physical connections, but Mark himself realized his father's role in the mind control experiments.
A key to the mystery is Mark's father's journal, mysteriously discovered by Mark himself, but immediately lost to the 'bad guys.' What could have been a fascinating description was barely addressed by the author, and the role of the journal was never quite clearly described for the reader. It's use in the hands of the sub-standard doctor was somehow enhanced by Mark's own unknown talent. This was the element I wanted to read about, and was disappointed in its short role.
Smith's settings are well described nautically, which added a layer of information for me. The theme of good versus bad was carried out; the minor role of medical training came in handy only toward the end of the book, and the ending seems to invite a sequel that would allow the happily ever after strand to bloom. I can say no more without giving away too much. It is worth your time to read this book. It will entertain you, and give pause for thought.
January 29, 2012
There's nothing particularly subtle or intricate about J. Gregory Smith's competent new novel, "A Noble Cause." It's a straightforward modern thriller, unburdened by complexity. With the exception of one secondary character, all of the principals and secondaries who toil in Smith's story are either plainly good, or plainly bad, and none of them are very deep. Smith's settings won't take readers anywhere they've not visited before courtesy of dozens of other novelists in scores of other novels. Still, Smith writes fairly snappy and realistic dialogue, his points of view are consistent, and he paces this novel well enough to keep the pages turning. It's a solid thriller, written with skill sufficient to hold readers' attention and keep them entertained.
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's Antiguan disappearance and the murders of his parents in Pennsylvania, Mark Noble battles to uncover the reasons and people behind the mysterious kidnapping and deaths. The plot rushes along a track centered around clandestine mind control experiments conducted on unwitting subjects via pharmaceutically-enhanced hypnosis. Accordingly, the back-cover copy of Smith's book likens "A Noble Cause" to Richard Condon's famous 1959 novel, "The Manchurian Candidate." In that the latter was as much socio-political Cold War commentary as thriller, while Smith's work has no such grand political or philosophical ambitions, the comparison is at best a stretch. Nonetheless, "A Noble cause" is a rewarding read, and a good way to while away a few hours.
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's Antiguan disappearance and the murders of his parents in Pennsylvania, Mark Noble battles to uncover the reasons and people behind the mysterious kidnapping and deaths. The plot rushes along a track centered around clandestine mind control experiments conducted on unwitting subjects via pharmaceutically-enhanced hypnosis. Accordingly, the back-cover copy of Smith's book likens "A Noble Cause" to Richard Condon's famous 1959 novel, "The Manchurian Candidate." In that the latter was as much socio-political Cold War commentary as thriller, while Smith's work has no such grand political or philosophical ambitions, the comparison is at best a stretch. Nonetheless, "A Noble cause" is a rewarding read, and a good way to while away a few hours.
December 14, 2011
A Noble Cause by J. Gregory Smith
Greg’s first book, Final Price was a quarter finalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest. After Greg self publishing the book, it was picked up by AmazonEncore and re-released. I mention this because I was lucky enough to read and review Greg’s first book and am proud to say I was able to read and review this advanced readers copy of A Noble Cause.
Mark Noble’s estrangement from his parents takes a deadly turn when he finds himself caught up in the web of treachery wound about his father’s business.
This book is action adventure at it’s best. Greg Smith has portrayed believable characters facing unbelievable things. Mark, his main protagonist, is sympathetically shown as struggling to find his own identity. I particularly liked the courage and fortitude displayed by his friends. We should all be so lucky to have friends that stalwart.
There is some reflection of current events with the women missing in the Caribbean and the lack of success by local authorities in solving the mysteries.
This book has all the features of a good mystery, a black hearted villain, a loyal sidekick, a damsel in distress and a good hearted but occasionally clueless hero. It is a fun story to read and from my point of view, Greg has a home run with this book.
I highly recommend the book.
Greg’s first book, Final Price was a quarter finalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest. After Greg self publishing the book, it was picked up by AmazonEncore and re-released. I mention this because I was lucky enough to read and review Greg’s first book and am proud to say I was able to read and review this advanced readers copy of A Noble Cause.
Mark Noble’s estrangement from his parents takes a deadly turn when he finds himself caught up in the web of treachery wound about his father’s business.
This book is action adventure at it’s best. Greg Smith has portrayed believable characters facing unbelievable things. Mark, his main protagonist, is sympathetically shown as struggling to find his own identity. I particularly liked the courage and fortitude displayed by his friends. We should all be so lucky to have friends that stalwart.
There is some reflection of current events with the women missing in the Caribbean and the lack of success by local authorities in solving the mysteries.
This book has all the features of a good mystery, a black hearted villain, a loyal sidekick, a damsel in distress and a good hearted but occasionally clueless hero. It is a fun story to read and from my point of view, Greg has a home run with this book.
I highly recommend the book.
December 10, 2022
An OK read. Not amazing, but no too bad either. Plenty of action, and the pace is quite good though the book.
Classic plot with good guys (with a bit of a murky past) versus really bad guys. The portrayal of the villains is a bit over the top comical, but it gets the message across.
My biggest gripe with it was that sometimes it could be difficult to follow who was doing what (eg, who just picked that up, "He" refers to Mr X, but that doesn't make sense, it has to be Mr Y). I ended up having to back track and pick apart to try to clear things up - not the sort of thing you want to be doing in a fast paced action scene - the writing should flow effortlessly, and it just wasn't on point in that aspect.
Classic plot with good guys (with a bit of a murky past) versus really bad guys. The portrayal of the villains is a bit over the top comical, but it gets the message across.
My biggest gripe with it was that sometimes it could be difficult to follow who was doing what (eg, who just picked that up, "He" refers to Mr X, but that doesn't make sense, it has to be Mr Y). I ended up having to back track and pick apart to try to clear things up - not the sort of thing you want to be doing in a fast paced action scene - the writing should flow effortlessly, and it just wasn't on point in that aspect.
July 12, 2012
I got half way through this book and was intrigued by the disappearance of Vanessa and the mystery behind what Mark's father was up to but just couldn't finish it because of the other characters. There were too many characters and not enough character development to get me interested enough to finish this book. First book in a long time that I did not finish!
December 14, 2014
Marks girlfriend gets kidnapped, his parents house burns down with them in it. He has people out to find him to get his dad's research that he knows nothing about. All this happens in Miami and the Caribbean. It's an alright book, fast paced mystery but you really don't absorb what your reading, I didn't become a part of this book, like a character on standby.
February 5, 2012
28% into the kindle version and the story is building. What has Mark Noble's Dad done that has led to the kidnapping of Mark's girlfriend and the murder of his mother and father?
January 30, 2012
Maybe a 3.5! but it was free for Kindle....
March 5, 2012
A decent thriller with plenty of action.
June 4, 2012
Kindle edition.
September 10, 2012
A chase that starts in the carribean and ends in the minds of many.
October 15, 2013
Just a good book to read when you have nothing else.
November 8, 2013
This is a quick read thriller. Nothing deep, but it is fun when it gets going. Could have been a bit better if the characters had a bit more depth to them
December 26, 2013
Started of too slow but it ended better than I thought it would. Author took too long to get to the real story in the book. Story lines were too mixed but once the plot was revealed it got better.
March 30, 2012
Fast plot, mediocre writing.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews