Book Review: A GENTLEMAN'S GAME by Greg Rucka

A GENTLEMAN’S GAME by Greg Rucka  (Bantam Books, 2004)  Hardcover, 335 pages.  ISBN #0553802763. Queen & Country series #1.

 

from the summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

 

Tara Chace may be the most dangerous woman alive. She can seduce you into believing she's the woman of your dreams—or kill you with the icy efficiency of an executioner. As the new head of Special Operations for British Intelligence, she no longer has to court death in the field—she wants to.

 

Throw away the old rules, the old school, the old-boy network. The world of international espionage is about to learn the hard way that spying is no longer merely...

 

A GENTLEMAN'S GAME

 

Greg Rucka's electrifying thrillers have pushed the boundaries of suspense fiction to where few have dared to go. Now, in A Gentleman's Game, one of the genre's most fearless writers brings readers of international espionage his most fearless heroine yet: a no-holds-barred woman who's as lethal as an assassin's bullet...

 

When an unthinkable act of terror devastates London, nothing will stop Tara Chace from hunting down those responsible. Her job is simple: Stop the terrorists before they strike a second time. To succeed, she'll do anything and everything it takes. She'll have to kill again.

 

Only this time the personal stakes will be higher than ever before. For the terrorist counterstrike will require that Tara allow herself to be used as bait by the government she serves. This time she's turning her very life into a weapon that can be used only once. But as she and her former mentor race toward destiny at a remote terrorist training camp in Saudi Arabia, Tara begins to question just who's pulling the trigger—and who's the real enemy. In this new kind of war, betrayal can take any form...including one's duty to queen and country.

 

 

 

Based on the graphic novel series that won the coveted Eisner Award, A Gentleman's Game is an electrifyingly realistic, headline-stealing thriller with an unforgettable protagonist—one who redefines every rule she doesn't shatter.  

 

 

My review from the Goodreads website . . . . .

 

     Based on Rucka's award-winning comic book series Queen & Country (Oni Press), this novel provides an intriguing peek at the British Special Operations Directorate of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service and it's head agent, Minder One Tara Chace. She's the most dangerous, lethal, and calculating agent in charge of covert operations, and eager to be the first one to stride forward into the path of danger.

 

     This novel, first in a series featuring Tara Chace, while written in 2004 couldn't be more pertinent to current times. The news is awash in details of the assassination of a journalist that seems to implicate the Saudi government. 

 

     At the core of A Gentleman's Game is the existence of a terrorist training camp within the Tabuk Province of Saudi Arabia.  Following a series of deadly fires within London's underground rail system, Chace is dispatched to find and kill the suspected terrorist leader behind the attacks. 

 

     Soon after, Chace finds herself as a bargaining chip between the British and Saudi governments, and has to go into hiding. What she needs to do to clear her name and regain her position seems nearly impossible. The excitement is in reading how she manages to pull it all together.

 

     The novel starts a little slow, bogged down by operational details and office politics, but it later becomes clear why Rucka devoted so much of the book to covering that. It's all about the procedures and politics. 

It's necessary to the story and well worth your time to wade through this, absorbing all the details. The last third of the book moves quickly, emptying out at a quick clip like an assault weapon. You won't be disappointed, and left thinking about this long after reading the final page.