The Bear's Tears

With his tenth book, titled The Bear's Tears for the UK release and Lion's Run in the US, it really pays off to be familiar with the world that Craig Thomas created. Craig pulled together most of his recurring characters for this outing, and concocted his most ingenious plot he would ever come up with. The story starts with a fake Russian defector being sent to the West, and with him a top-secret Soviet file codenamed "Teardrop", with evidence (again, fake) that head of SIS Kenneth Aubrey is a Russian double-agent, and has been so since just after the war when he had been briefly captured by the Russians in Berlin. Aubrey is arrested, but his right-hand man, Patrick Hyde, knows something's wrong and finds himself on the run in Vienna from his own side. Paul Massinger, an old friend of Aubrey, also can't belive the news when he reads about it in the papers. So Massinger, Hyde, and even Peter Shelley (Aubrey's assistant), try to figue the whole ugly business out, and will soon discover that there is in fact a Russian double-agent in SIS, but it sure isn't Aubrey. This is also the concluding chapter of the Hyde/Petrunin story arc that started with Sea Leopard and contiuned with Jade Tiger. After Petrunin's failure in Jade Tiger, he got banished to the Soviet embassy in Kabul. Ironically, Hyde will need his help this time around, because Petrunin knows a bit or two about this "Teardrop" business, and Petrunin may not be too reluctant to help because of his feelings of being sent to war-torn Afghanistan. Hyde also gets help from Tony Godwin and Wolfgang Zimmerman who both appeared in Jade Tiger, and we also see the introduction of Ros Woode, Hyde's girlfriend. All in all, it's a big sprawlling action-packed epic. It's one Craig's longer novels, if not the longest, though that's not a complaint. Definately one of his best.

It's big, it's mean, and (on some copies) it's got pictures of a huge Soviet gunship. It's "The Bear's Tears" - the novel released in the states as "Lion's Run". Craig Thomas returns us to the office of British Intel boss Kenneth Aubrey - the man who sent Clint Eastwood to Russia in the movie "Firefox". (Eastwood's Mitchell Gant is not one of Thomas's recurring characters to return here, though). The plot has Aubrey set-up by the Russians for treason. Set in present day (the 1980's, actually) as Aubrey is about to help a KGB colonel defect to the west, Aubrey's superiors learn that their spy chief was himself "turned" by the Russians in 1946. Disgraced and arrested, Aubrey is replaced by Babbington on the eve of an agency consolidation that will join various unconnected British intelligence agencies into a single service. Of course the charges are bogus - part of an elaborate Soviet plot to protect the real traitor and bring Aubrey over to the east. Aubrey's only hope is Patrick Hyde, a young former soldier (SAS, I think) who's the action hero of the story. To get the evidence that will clear Aubrey and unmask the real traitor, Hyde will have to plunge into the hottest war zone of (then) Soviet-occupied Afghanistan, and find the one man who is both responsible for the Aubrey conspiracy and more than anybody else on Earth, wants Hyde dead. Meanwhile, under guard, Aubrey concocts a plan of his own, as Thomas hints that his framed spymaster really does have something to hide. "Bear's Tears" is an excellent thriller built upon compelling characters and non-stop action. Rather than the cardboard cut-outs of other books, those in Thomas's novels grab you and never let go. Though "Tears" features characters and refers to situations that occur in other books, it's still self-contained - it could be the first Thomas novel you'll ever pick up, but it won't likely be your last.

Story involves a middle-aged spy who's on vacation in eastern Europe, when he's called forward for a dangerous assignment, dealing with a nefarious plot set up by the Russians (i.e. this is set during the Cold War).Some of the most intense emotional experiences for the spy as he realizes he can trust no one and is running out of time. His escape, in the beginning, from Austria was a roller coaster ride.

Lion's Run is, quite simply, the best work of spy fiction that I have ever read. I am a lifelong fan of the work of Craig Thomas, who puts the vast majority of suspense writers to shame, and I would venture that this is his best work. Lion's Run is global in scale and Shakespearean in drama. It is the archetypal Craig Thomas novel, where a small group of people, working against the odds and against time confront a powerful conspiracy. Within the first fifty pages of the novel, Sir Kenneth Aubrey, Britain's spymaster, is falsely accused of being a KGB mole. His friends and colleagues: Paul Massinger, Peter Shelley and Patrick Hyde race against time to exonerate Aubrey.The action in Lion's Run is global and breathless - some of the best sequences include chases in Afghanistan, Vienna, and Prague. Thomas' character are expertly crafted, and his writing is always gripping. Particularly well written are the characters of Massinger, Hyde, and the fiendishly clever Tamas Petrunin who makes an unforgettable appearance.In short, if you are seeking good spy fiction, look no further.

Here is the book you have been looking for, espionage enthusiasts. Imagine a Russian plot where film and tapes have been made and sent to the CIA, via a fake defector/double agent, that portray the head of the British Intelligence as a long time Russian mole. Now who is to be trusted? This premise quickly builds into the most engrossing novel I have read. You will lose lots of sleep tracking the desperate efforts of Sir Kenneth Aubrey and Patrick Hyde, his SIS bodyguard, as they try to clear the name of Aubrey and determine the identity of the REAL mole. The novel takes us around the world tracking down the few tenuous leads that may help them. Double-crosses, intrigue and excitement abound in this wonderful novel. I could not recommend this novel more enthusiastically. Better than any Ludlum, Forsythe, or Clancy novel, easily. Do what you have to to obtain this book. By the way, it was also published as "The Bear's Tears", for your info.