Puppet on a Chain
First edition cover (UK) | |
Author | Alistair MacLean |
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Language | English |
Genre | Thriller |
Publisher | Collins (UK) Doubleday (US) |
Publication date | 1969 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Preceded by | Force 10 from Navarone |
Followed by | Caravan to Vaccarès |
Puppet on a Chain is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. Originally published in 1969 with a cover by Norman Weaver, it is set in the late 1960s narcotics underworld of Amsterdam and other locations in the Netherlands.
Plot introduction
Paul Sherman is a veteran Interpol Narcotics Bureau agent, used to independent action and blunt force tactics. He is assisted by two attractive female agents, one an experienced operative, the other a rookie. Sherman is in the Netherlands after receiving word about a vicious heroin smuggling ring from a friend. However, the narco-criminals will kill ruthlessly to protect its operation and even before Sherman can leave Schiphol Airport he has already witnessed the gunning down of his key contact, been knocked half-unconscious by an assassin, and tangled with local authorities. "Puppet on a Chain" has the standard twisting plot, local atmospherics, and sardonic dialogue that were Maclean's trademarks as a story-teller. Maclean allows his protagonist to have a bantering sarcastic relationship with his assistants that provides a streak of humor as the plot unfolds. Unfortunately, Sherman's relationship with his assistants is used against him. As his investigation is undermined by betrayal, leaving him constantly a half-step behind his adversaries, Sherman must resort to increasingly violent action to turn the tables. The story culminates in a violent struggle above the streets of Amsterdam to save the life of his surviving female operative, not knowing whether anyone they meet can really be trusted.
Reception
The New York Times called the book "one of the best in the Greene-Ambler-MacInnes tradition... the writing is as crisp as a sunny winter morning".[1]
The book became a best seller.[2]
Background
MacLean got the idea for the book from visiting Amsterdam with then business partner Geoffrey Reeve who later directed the film version.[3]
Film adaptation
Puppet on a Chain later appeared in film as a 1970 movie directed by Geoffrey Reeve.
References
External links
- Book review at AlistairMacLean.com
- Internet Movie Database
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- The Last Frontier (1959)
- Night Without End (1959)
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- The Dark Crusader (1961)
- The Golden Rendezvous (1962)
- The Satan Bug (1962)
- Ice Station Zebra (1963)
- When Eight Bells Toll (1966)
- Where Eagles Dare (1967)
- Force 10 from Navarone (1968)
- Puppet on a Chain (1969)
- Caravan to Vaccarès (1970)
- Bear Island (1971)
- The Way to Dusty Death (1973)
- Breakheart Pass (1974)
- Circus (1975)
- The Golden Gate (1976)
- Seawitch (1977)
- Goodbye California (1978)
- Athabasca (1980)
- River of Death (1981)
- Partisans (1982)
- Floodgate (1983)
- San Andreas (1984)
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- All About Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- Captain Cook (1972)
- Where Eagles Dare (1968)
- Puppet on a Chain (1971)
- When Eight Bells Toll (1971)
- Breakheart Pass (1976)
- The Guns of Navarone (1961)
- The Secret Ways (1961)
- The Satan Bug (1965)
- Ice Station Zebra (1968)
- Fear Is the Key (1972)
- Caravan to Vaccarès (1974)
- Golden Rendezvous (1977)
- Force 10 from Navarone (1978)
- Bear Island (1979)
- The Hostage Tower (1980) (TV)
- River of Death (1989)
- Death Train (1993) (TV)
- Night Watch (1995) (TV)
- The Way to Dusty Death (1995) (TV)
- Air Force One Is Down (2013) (TV)
- The Hostage Tower (1980) (with John Denis)
- Air Force One Is Down (1981) (with John Denis)
- Death Train (1989) (with Alastair MacNeill)
- Night Watch (1990)(with Alastair MacNeill)
- Red Alert (1990) (with Alastair MacNeill)
- Time of the Assassins (1991) (with Alastair MacNeill)
- Dead Halt (1992) (with Alastair MacNeill)
- Code Breaker (1993) (with Alastair MacNeill)
- Rendezvous (1995) (with Alastair MacNeill}
- Prime Target (1997) (with Hugh Miller)
- Borrowed Time (1998) (with Hugh Miller)
- Golden Girl (1992) (with Simon Gandolfi)
- Golden Web (1993) (with Simon Gandolfi)
- Golden Vengeance (1994) (with Simon Gandolfi)
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