Official Review: High Spy by Ray Saunders
Posted: 17 Oct 2020, 15:21
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "High Spy" by Ray Saunders.]
Matt Sands gets lost while skiing on vacation in Zermatt, Switzerland. He is searching for fun and adventure but only finds the latter when he stumbles across a gang of kidnappers. Matt manages to escape, but he mistakenly murders a soldier while hijacking his car during his flight. Now running from the Polizei and planning revenge on the gang for the soldier's death, he finds John Wallace, the CIA agent he was mistaken for, injured. John's particulars lead Matt to CIA agent, Kim Summers.
Meanwhile, an East German scientist, Professor Linstead, has discovered a way to modify seeds to speed up growth. While the Americans set out to contact him to work with them, information leaks to the Russians, and he seeks asylum in Switzerland. But an Italian gang hired by the Russian KGB has kidnapped Linstead's daughter, Helen, as a hostage to persuade him to work with them. This will put the biggest bargaining chip imaginable in their hands: solving the underdeveloped world's food problems, thereby stripping the United States of its influence over these countries. Matt strikes a deal with Agent Summers to help rescue John Wallace in return for a clean record. However, after Wallace is found dead, Matt is sucked into the rescue attempt for the scientist's daughter.
I have read Ray Saunders' work before—his memoir, How Lucky Can You Get. I can say that I was impressed with it as I am with this one. High Spy by Ray Saunders is a thriller novel. The plot of this book was reminiscent of a blockbuster action movie. However, I think the author was a little lackluster in his description. Consequently, readers unfamiliar with the locations and organizations mentioned in the book would not have an easy time keeping up with the story. This was about the only thing I didn't like about this book.
What I loved most about High Spy was the suspense. The unpredictability of the novel had me in twists long into the story. At first, I was confused after Matt's capture, and I couldn't tell the novel's direction after his escape. I also couldn't piece together the abduction puzzle until he met with Kim. The author kept giving just enough crumbs of information to pique my interest and keep me reading to decipher the rest. It showed creativity and critical thinking. And just when I thought everything was over, Ray unveiled a very shocking discovery.
Overall, it was a good read. I had no dull moments with the book. I liked that Matt and Kim's attraction to each other didn't get in the way of the action. It was just enough to make the book enjoyable without seeming like a love story. Consequently, I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. The main reasons for my rating are its professional editing and the suspense in the story. Throughout the book, I could only spot one grammatical error. Also, regardless of the description deficit, I wouldn't give it a lesser rating because I eventually caught on and enjoyed the story, and I'm sure many readers would too. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy action-packed thrillers.
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High Spy
View: on Bookshelves
Matt Sands gets lost while skiing on vacation in Zermatt, Switzerland. He is searching for fun and adventure but only finds the latter when he stumbles across a gang of kidnappers. Matt manages to escape, but he mistakenly murders a soldier while hijacking his car during his flight. Now running from the Polizei and planning revenge on the gang for the soldier's death, he finds John Wallace, the CIA agent he was mistaken for, injured. John's particulars lead Matt to CIA agent, Kim Summers.
Meanwhile, an East German scientist, Professor Linstead, has discovered a way to modify seeds to speed up growth. While the Americans set out to contact him to work with them, information leaks to the Russians, and he seeks asylum in Switzerland. But an Italian gang hired by the Russian KGB has kidnapped Linstead's daughter, Helen, as a hostage to persuade him to work with them. This will put the biggest bargaining chip imaginable in their hands: solving the underdeveloped world's food problems, thereby stripping the United States of its influence over these countries. Matt strikes a deal with Agent Summers to help rescue John Wallace in return for a clean record. However, after Wallace is found dead, Matt is sucked into the rescue attempt for the scientist's daughter.
I have read Ray Saunders' work before—his memoir, How Lucky Can You Get. I can say that I was impressed with it as I am with this one. High Spy by Ray Saunders is a thriller novel. The plot of this book was reminiscent of a blockbuster action movie. However, I think the author was a little lackluster in his description. Consequently, readers unfamiliar with the locations and organizations mentioned in the book would not have an easy time keeping up with the story. This was about the only thing I didn't like about this book.
What I loved most about High Spy was the suspense. The unpredictability of the novel had me in twists long into the story. At first, I was confused after Matt's capture, and I couldn't tell the novel's direction after his escape. I also couldn't piece together the abduction puzzle until he met with Kim. The author kept giving just enough crumbs of information to pique my interest and keep me reading to decipher the rest. It showed creativity and critical thinking. And just when I thought everything was over, Ray unveiled a very shocking discovery.
Overall, it was a good read. I had no dull moments with the book. I liked that Matt and Kim's attraction to each other didn't get in the way of the action. It was just enough to make the book enjoyable without seeming like a love story. Consequently, I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. The main reasons for my rating are its professional editing and the suspense in the story. Throughout the book, I could only spot one grammatical error. Also, regardless of the description deficit, I wouldn't give it a lesser rating because I eventually caught on and enjoyed the story, and I'm sure many readers would too. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy action-packed thrillers.
******
High Spy
View: on Bookshelves
