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Lost Causes
IF YOU LIKE JAMES BOND, JASON BOURNE OR JACK BAUER, THEN YOU"RE GOING TO LOVE JOHN BUCHAN!John Buchan is a relic from a bygone age, a man constantly at odds with the modern world; a man who finds sanctuary in the only role that brings him peace of mind - as an assassin for a top-secret British government agency called the Mill. Specializing in what they call 'ungentlemanly warfare', its operatives are instructed to kill their targets wherever they find them, irrespective of boundaries, laws, jurisdictions or circumstances. Day-to-day, Buchan lives a simple, anonymous life in the Belgian countryside, restlessly roaming the battlefields of the Western Front in an attempt to kill time. All the while he waits patiently for the message that will signal the start of his next mission. It's a message that will arrive, the way it always does, hidden within the solutions of the Daily Telegraph's cryptic crossword puzzle. And when it does arrive, it's like he's been reborn, because in Buchan's world being on a mission is the only time when things really make sense; the only time he feels truly alive. He barely remembers the time before he was recruited by the Mill.His name wasn't John Buchan then. In those days he was known as Charlie Hook, a happy-go-lucky, rugby-playing, ex-Rhodesian Light Infantry trooper turned Gurkha officer with an eye for the girls. But Charlie Hook is long dead, and so too are his memories of the events that led to him becoming a professional killing machine. Buchan is getting older now. Retirement beckons, but the man he calls Control has one last mission for him. It involves a ruthless army of some of the world's worst terrorists, an equally ruthless drug lord, an enormous hurricane and seemingly unsurmountable odds. But it also offers Buchan a last, desperate chance to take revenge on those that took his young life - and love - away from him all those years ago, and he plans to go out with a bang.Set against a backdrop of unprecedented worldwide socio-political upheaval, Lost Causes is an old-style thriller that moves from the modern-day Ypres Salient and London to the badlands of Northern Ireland and the exotic but deadly jungles of southern Mexico. Mixing the kind of plot found in an Ian Fleming novel with the unashamed masculinity of an Alistair Maclean or Wilbur Smith hero and the tough, muscular prose of Mickey Spillane, Lost Causes is a startlingly intelligent and original work that interweaves dramatic action, sudden violence, stunning plot twists and subtle humour to entertain and inform in equal measure. It will especially appeal to anyone bored by the stale unambitious writing, and inane, politically-correct sensitivities of so many modern novels; as well as anyone looking to understand the sinister and dangerous forces that have plagued our lives for decades and which now threaten to destroy our civilization altogether.Richard Nichols studied philosophy and psychology at Edinburgh University. He was a businessman for several years before turning his hand to writing. He enjoys watching rugby and visiting battlefields. He hates crossword puzzles.
398 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 23, 2020
6 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 15, 2025
My only regret with regard to Richard Nichols’ Lost Causes is that I left it lingering on my To Be Read pile for so long. This action thriller does not lack in either action or thrills, and Nichols expertly weaves a fantastic narrative that blends a spy novel with a mystery with a character study all while making the plot both prescient and exciting. In doing so he introduces a protagonist that is a relentless machine in his aims (hence the Rocky quote), but human in his thoughts, loves, desires, and hates.
The man in question is John Buchan. But is he really? You see, John went by another name long ago, a name that went along with another life.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Lost Causes begins with another character, a British agent in a desperate situation somewhere in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, and he is desperate to complete his mission. He has discovered a secret of monumental importance, but has been discovered and is on the run, only moments ahead of pursuers who mean to silence him forever. In a last, harried attempt to communicate what he has discovered he makes a phone call.
That call sets off the story proper of Lost Causes and gives us our first introduction to John Buchan; spy, soldier, survivor, and the anvil against which this story will be shaped. In terms of plot, suffice it to say that Buchan is advised of the now-missing, presumed to be dead agent’s aborted mission, and is assigned to investigate what went wrong, and discover the bigger mystery of the nefarious villains that are believed to be involved. What results from this investigation is full-throttle action and adventure, with a healthy dose of apprehension for the protagonist’s well-being at some of the situations he finds himself in.
Aside from the main plot, however, the author intertwines a captivating interstitial story throughout the book that introduces us to Buchan before he was the British agent we see today, when he was a former soldier named Charlie Hook. How he transformed from Hook to Buchan is slowly, but quite brilliantly meted out as the main storyline unfolds, and the tragic, dramatic event that led the soldier to become the spy makes more and more of the main character’s motivations and personality come into focus.
A major underlying feature of that personality is that Buchan is a man at a crossroads, and you feel that in a way he is an embodiment of both his native England in particular, and the Western world in general. He senses and sees the world that his forefathers fought and died for disappearing, often being given away without a fight. He sees the modern world impinging on old traditions, sees depravity where he once saw wholesomeness, and he questions whether what he is fighting for, struggling to save, is worth that struggle. Nichols plays this theme out masterfully, in evolution from Hook to Buchan, and even beyond as you feel that the protagonist toward the end of the story is not quite the same man you were introduced to.
A final note would be about Nichols’ writing style, which is often simultaneously brutal and beautiful. His sentences at times feel like prose, fitting togethers multiple sentences and thoughts like jigsaw pieces to form glorious scenes. This is quite unusual given the amount of action and adventure that this novel is filled with, and it is truly a pleasure for reader throughout.
The man in question is John Buchan. But is he really? You see, John went by another name long ago, a name that went along with another life.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Lost Causes begins with another character, a British agent in a desperate situation somewhere in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, and he is desperate to complete his mission. He has discovered a secret of monumental importance, but has been discovered and is on the run, only moments ahead of pursuers who mean to silence him forever. In a last, harried attempt to communicate what he has discovered he makes a phone call.
That call sets off the story proper of Lost Causes and gives us our first introduction to John Buchan; spy, soldier, survivor, and the anvil against which this story will be shaped. In terms of plot, suffice it to say that Buchan is advised of the now-missing, presumed to be dead agent’s aborted mission, and is assigned to investigate what went wrong, and discover the bigger mystery of the nefarious villains that are believed to be involved. What results from this investigation is full-throttle action and adventure, with a healthy dose of apprehension for the protagonist’s well-being at some of the situations he finds himself in.
Aside from the main plot, however, the author intertwines a captivating interstitial story throughout the book that introduces us to Buchan before he was the British agent we see today, when he was a former soldier named Charlie Hook. How he transformed from Hook to Buchan is slowly, but quite brilliantly meted out as the main storyline unfolds, and the tragic, dramatic event that led the soldier to become the spy makes more and more of the main character’s motivations and personality come into focus.
A major underlying feature of that personality is that Buchan is a man at a crossroads, and you feel that in a way he is an embodiment of both his native England in particular, and the Western world in general. He senses and sees the world that his forefathers fought and died for disappearing, often being given away without a fight. He sees the modern world impinging on old traditions, sees depravity where he once saw wholesomeness, and he questions whether what he is fighting for, struggling to save, is worth that struggle. Nichols plays this theme out masterfully, in evolution from Hook to Buchan, and even beyond as you feel that the protagonist toward the end of the story is not quite the same man you were introduced to.
A final note would be about Nichols’ writing style, which is often simultaneously brutal and beautiful. His sentences at times feel like prose, fitting togethers multiple sentences and thoughts like jigsaw pieces to form glorious scenes. This is quite unusual given the amount of action and adventure that this novel is filled with, and it is truly a pleasure for reader throughout.
October 30, 2022
A career as a spy is an idea many men entertain at some point in their life. A stack of counterfeit passports. Guns. Hotel bars. Women. Being part of an elite secret unit with a licence to kill is even more appealing.
There is an obvious precursor to this idea in the form of James Bond. But now that 007 is a Girl Boss, it is high time for a new International Man of Mystery to stoke our boyhood fantasies.
Enter John Buchan. He is a drunk. A womaniser. A world traveller and thrill chaser. Buchan is a member of “a small, little known department of the government…founded during the last world war out of a recognition that there are some crimes that, for one reason or another, the law cannot touch.”
Recruited when he went by the name Charlie Hook, Buchan’s years as a Whitehall mandarin have left him disillusioned.
Indeed, Buchan feels his country may no longer be worth fighting for, so total is his cynicism. There is a paradoxical sense of both daring and hopelessness in his missions to battle Mexican drug dealers, Irish separatists and other examples of “the planet’s most notorious psychopaths.”
Nichols’ ably weaves flashbacks from Buchan’s youth, or more accurately, previous life, into his narrative to demonstrate how Buchan came to take such a dim view the state of the world, his country above all.
I greatly enjoyed Lost Causes as a spy thriller. I liked being taken to far-flung, exotic places and seeing the world through the eyes of a man living both outside the law and at the heart of his own government.
Buchan is a roving gun for hire. A modern-day pirate. The kind of spy boys dream of one day becoming.
One critique I would offer is the degree to which the hero’s cynicism—in reality the author’s—features in the story.
I fully subscribe to Nichols’ view that we need a new (in reality, the old) 007. But allow me to pose the question: which political party would the 007 of, say, the Sean Connery era have voted for? It is impossible to say, and in any case does not seem relevant to the character, who transcended such matters.
Today we might guess 007 is a card-carrying Labour supporter. I believe this is due to the wrong turn the inheritors of Fleming’s franchise has taken in recent years.
Nichols might be the man to wrest it back from them. In the pages of Lost Causes, he demonstrates his ability to tell a story which is equally fun, irreverent, intricate and absorbing.
Strictly as a thriller, Lost Causes would be equal in merit to Le Carré's The Perfect Spy. Like the hero of his novel, Nichols possesses the rare combination of talent and sense of adventure. He might be the creator of the hero we are all yearning for. I eagerly await his next novel.
There is an obvious precursor to this idea in the form of James Bond. But now that 007 is a Girl Boss, it is high time for a new International Man of Mystery to stoke our boyhood fantasies.
Enter John Buchan. He is a drunk. A womaniser. A world traveller and thrill chaser. Buchan is a member of “a small, little known department of the government…founded during the last world war out of a recognition that there are some crimes that, for one reason or another, the law cannot touch.”
Recruited when he went by the name Charlie Hook, Buchan’s years as a Whitehall mandarin have left him disillusioned.
Indeed, Buchan feels his country may no longer be worth fighting for, so total is his cynicism. There is a paradoxical sense of both daring and hopelessness in his missions to battle Mexican drug dealers, Irish separatists and other examples of “the planet’s most notorious psychopaths.”
Nichols’ ably weaves flashbacks from Buchan’s youth, or more accurately, previous life, into his narrative to demonstrate how Buchan came to take such a dim view the state of the world, his country above all.
I greatly enjoyed Lost Causes as a spy thriller. I liked being taken to far-flung, exotic places and seeing the world through the eyes of a man living both outside the law and at the heart of his own government.
Buchan is a roving gun for hire. A modern-day pirate. The kind of spy boys dream of one day becoming.
One critique I would offer is the degree to which the hero’s cynicism—in reality the author’s—features in the story.
I fully subscribe to Nichols’ view that we need a new (in reality, the old) 007. But allow me to pose the question: which political party would the 007 of, say, the Sean Connery era have voted for? It is impossible to say, and in any case does not seem relevant to the character, who transcended such matters.
Today we might guess 007 is a card-carrying Labour supporter. I believe this is due to the wrong turn the inheritors of Fleming’s franchise has taken in recent years.
Nichols might be the man to wrest it back from them. In the pages of Lost Causes, he demonstrates his ability to tell a story which is equally fun, irreverent, intricate and absorbing.
Strictly as a thriller, Lost Causes would be equal in merit to Le Carré's The Perfect Spy. Like the hero of his novel, Nichols possesses the rare combination of talent and sense of adventure. He might be the creator of the hero we are all yearning for. I eagerly await his next novel.
June 24, 2023
An absolutely rip-roaring and nail-biting action adventure. I haven't had so much fun reading a book for years. This was pure enjoyment.
Lost Causes is a full-fat, lengthy novel. But the pacing pulls you through. There no unnecessary scenes or details. Nichols' plotting is exceptional. Plot beats and details that seems incidental, almost always become unexpectedly relevant and drive some later twist or character motivation. Nichols has a smooth writing style that compliments this genre perfectly.
Nichols also has exceptional talent at suspending disbelief in his reader. He very gradually heightens the incredulity of events. He starts with the grittiest, most down to earth action scenes. By the third act, we are reaching a fantastically action packed crescendo that stretches the limits of reality. This is totally acceptable within the action-adventure/thriller genre. But Nichols takes the reader to this point so gently, that you will not be questioning the out-of-this-world action until long after you have closed the book.
Character wise, John Buchan is a classic tough guy. But is not drawn simplistically by Nichols. Nichols honours the genre's long list of action heroes without flirting with cliché. Buchan has a heavy past and a credible character arc. The support cast are equally engaging and believable.
The book also has a mildly politically reactionary tone to it. In my view Nichols hits the right notes here as well. He hints at his political views, they flavour the characters' outlooks of the events, but they never come close to smothering or spoiling the book. The only time they become particularly present is during the villain's victory speech (again, an acceptable and expected part of this genre) where it serves to highlight the villain's (and heroes) motivations.
In his own blurb for his book, Nichols compares the work to Bond, Bourne and Bauer. However, the book as a whole reminded me more of Top Gun: Maverick. An homage to a time when stories and heroes were different. Again, Lost Causes honours the genre's old expectations without tripping into the cliches.
A enjoyable read throughout.
Lost Causes is a full-fat, lengthy novel. But the pacing pulls you through. There no unnecessary scenes or details. Nichols' plotting is exceptional. Plot beats and details that seems incidental, almost always become unexpectedly relevant and drive some later twist or character motivation. Nichols has a smooth writing style that compliments this genre perfectly.
Nichols also has exceptional talent at suspending disbelief in his reader. He very gradually heightens the incredulity of events. He starts with the grittiest, most down to earth action scenes. By the third act, we are reaching a fantastically action packed crescendo that stretches the limits of reality. This is totally acceptable within the action-adventure/thriller genre. But Nichols takes the reader to this point so gently, that you will not be questioning the out-of-this-world action until long after you have closed the book.
Character wise, John Buchan is a classic tough guy. But is not drawn simplistically by Nichols. Nichols honours the genre's long list of action heroes without flirting with cliché. Buchan has a heavy past and a credible character arc. The support cast are equally engaging and believable.
The book also has a mildly politically reactionary tone to it. In my view Nichols hits the right notes here as well. He hints at his political views, they flavour the characters' outlooks of the events, but they never come close to smothering or spoiling the book. The only time they become particularly present is during the villain's victory speech (again, an acceptable and expected part of this genre) where it serves to highlight the villain's (and heroes) motivations.
In his own blurb for his book, Nichols compares the work to Bond, Bourne and Bauer. However, the book as a whole reminded me more of Top Gun: Maverick. An homage to a time when stories and heroes were different. Again, Lost Causes honours the genre's old expectations without tripping into the cliches.
A enjoyable read throughout.
August 13, 2025
This is an excellent spy thriller, fast paced and exciting, with one of the most interesting and compelling protagonists I’ve seen for a while.
John Buchan might have the same initials as a certain tuxedo-wearing super spy (and also like drinking, smoking, and flirting with his boss’s secretary), but that’s where the similarity ends.
Buchan is a blunt instrument, a single minded, ruthless killer who puts the mission first and foremost. He has an original and compelling backstory that is interspersed throughout the main narrative, giving the reader an insight into his character and motivation (it also explains the practical and poignant reason for his name).
The main story concerns the mystery surrounding the death of a fellow British agent and Buchan’s race against time to find out what the dead agent had discovered, mete out brutal justice to his killers, and foil the villain’s scheme.
The action scenes are pulse-pounding and cinematic, and the main villain is suitably evil. His motivations, plan, and the reasoning behind it are disturbingly relevant and prescient.
As well as great characters and action, there’s also a positive philosophy contained within the book, shown through Buchan’s values, principles and outlook.
If you enjoy the works of Jack Higgins, Clive Cussler, and Ian Fleming, and like your thrillers with a harder edge, this book is for you. Highly recommended.
John Buchan might have the same initials as a certain tuxedo-wearing super spy (and also like drinking, smoking, and flirting with his boss’s secretary), but that’s where the similarity ends.
Buchan is a blunt instrument, a single minded, ruthless killer who puts the mission first and foremost. He has an original and compelling backstory that is interspersed throughout the main narrative, giving the reader an insight into his character and motivation (it also explains the practical and poignant reason for his name).
The main story concerns the mystery surrounding the death of a fellow British agent and Buchan’s race against time to find out what the dead agent had discovered, mete out brutal justice to his killers, and foil the villain’s scheme.
The action scenes are pulse-pounding and cinematic, and the main villain is suitably evil. His motivations, plan, and the reasoning behind it are disturbingly relevant and prescient.
As well as great characters and action, there’s also a positive philosophy contained within the book, shown through Buchan’s values, principles and outlook.
If you enjoy the works of Jack Higgins, Clive Cussler, and Ian Fleming, and like your thrillers with a harder edge, this book is for you. Highly recommended.
February 11, 2025
Enjoyed the story about a British killing machine on a last mission in Mexico to save the day.
The backdrop is much like today's political climate: "At some point, the proverbial pendulum of yore would reach the apex of its decades-long swing. There it would hesitate for a moment or two. Then it would swing back like a wrecking-ball; swing back with a vengeance, almost Biblical in its ferocity; laying waste to every evil, unjust, unnatural, and needlessly ugly thing in its path. It was at this point the enemy’s true nature, long hidden, excused or ignored, would be revealed for all to see. That’s when the mask would finally come off, when all their ugly lies would finally be brought to light. They weren’t used to having their character, beliefs and capabilities tested by harsh reality..."
The backdrop is much like today's political climate: "At some point, the proverbial pendulum of yore would reach the apex of its decades-long swing. There it would hesitate for a moment or two. Then it would swing back like a wrecking-ball; swing back with a vengeance, almost Biblical in its ferocity; laying waste to every evil, unjust, unnatural, and needlessly ugly thing in its path. It was at this point the enemy’s true nature, long hidden, excused or ignored, would be revealed for all to see. That’s when the mask would finally come off, when all their ugly lies would finally be brought to light. They weren’t used to having their character, beliefs and capabilities tested by harsh reality..."
November 6, 2023
From the claustrophobic sea tunnel escape, to the cemetery shootout, (my fave scene) to the cataclysmic finale this is a truly thrilling read laced with immersive detail & cutting political commentary.
Our hero John Buchan is neither Bond nor Bourne,he’s more relatable (& would likely batter them both). His deadly world is filled with engaging and well realised characters who each leave their mark on the reader. I’m still reeling from the main villain’s disturbing speech. Yet the darker moments are balanced with fun pulse-racing action, dry humour and even some tender romance.
This is a spy thriller for the #IronAge
Highly recommended
Our hero John Buchan is neither Bond nor Bourne,he’s more relatable (& would likely batter them both). His deadly world is filled with engaging and well realised characters who each leave their mark on the reader. I’m still reeling from the main villain’s disturbing speech. Yet the darker moments are balanced with fun pulse-racing action, dry humour and even some tender romance.
This is a spy thriller for the #IronAge
Highly recommended
October 4, 2023
Intrigued
The plot is intriguing and moves quickly. Descriptions are vivid. I did begin to think the protagonist had more lives than a cat. Make no mistake the world view is compelling. Well worth the time and mulling over.
The plot is intriguing and moves quickly. Descriptions are vivid. I did begin to think the protagonist had more lives than a cat. Make no mistake the world view is compelling. Well worth the time and mulling over.
September 1, 2025
Quite a good action story…
…which theme and plot eerily reflects much of today’s events and news. So much going on around the world and the US that this book parallels & conceivably explains.
…which theme and plot eerily reflects much of today’s events and news. So much going on around the world and the US that this book parallels & conceivably explains.
June 21, 2021
Lost Causes fighting to the end
If you enjoy James Bond and Jason Borne you’ll enjoy lost causes.
Nichols skilfully gives you not one but two stories and hints at many others as he laces his narratives together in this action packed novel.
You’ll start off in the peaceful memorial fields of Belgium and end up on the edge of your seat in a pure storm of action off the coast of Mexico.
If you enjoy James Bond and Jason Borne you’ll enjoy lost causes.
Nichols skilfully gives you not one but two stories and hints at many others as he laces his narratives together in this action packed novel.
You’ll start off in the peaceful memorial fields of Belgium and end up on the edge of your seat in a pure storm of action off the coast of Mexico.
March 9, 2025
I love a good international thriller, having grown up devouring Ian Fleming and Frederick Forsyth, amongst others. Well, now I can add Richard Nichols to the top of that glorious list. I loved this debut novel. For me, it has it all to make it an awesome spy thriller.
Our main man, John Buchan (love the tip of the hat, there!), is an excellently crafted character, with his backstory and motivations established by interspersed flashbacks. We end up with a protagonist who is human, believable, and one we can get right behind. He’s an utterly no-nonsense action man, and the bad guys can lay awake at night in fear, at least until it’s time to die! In keeping with the very best of the spy thriller genre, Nichols lays out a superb plot with intrigue and twists, and there is action pumping relentlessly from start to finish. We have the international locations, we have the guns and the hardware, and we have the smouldering hot femme fatale – all boxes ticked. Nichols delivers the tough male hero, à la Fleming, and he demonstrates the careful research, à la Forsyth. What he gives us on top, and refreshingly so in amongst the mediocrity of much modern genre fiction, is a main character who openly and unapologetically both laments the loss of more honest and more satisfying times and lambasts the wimps and woke brigades who have become the scourge of our modern world. John Buchan’s clear nostalgia for the pre-woke age, those golden days, resonates for many of us. Bravo, Mr Nichols, and please, please, please give us more!
Our main man, John Buchan (love the tip of the hat, there!), is an excellently crafted character, with his backstory and motivations established by interspersed flashbacks. We end up with a protagonist who is human, believable, and one we can get right behind. He’s an utterly no-nonsense action man, and the bad guys can lay awake at night in fear, at least until it’s time to die! In keeping with the very best of the spy thriller genre, Nichols lays out a superb plot with intrigue and twists, and there is action pumping relentlessly from start to finish. We have the international locations, we have the guns and the hardware, and we have the smouldering hot femme fatale – all boxes ticked. Nichols delivers the tough male hero, à la Fleming, and he demonstrates the careful research, à la Forsyth. What he gives us on top, and refreshingly so in amongst the mediocrity of much modern genre fiction, is a main character who openly and unapologetically both laments the loss of more honest and more satisfying times and lambasts the wimps and woke brigades who have become the scourge of our modern world. John Buchan’s clear nostalgia for the pre-woke age, those golden days, resonates for many of us. Bravo, Mr Nichols, and please, please, please give us more!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews