- Mass Market Paperback: 528 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Books; Reprint edition (April 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553581538
- ISBN-13: 978-0553581539
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 2.5 x 17.5 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,914,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
In her acclaimed debut, The Cutout, former CIA analyst Francine Mathews defined a world of intrigue where only the savvy survive. Now, in The Secret Agent, Mathews propels us deep into the baffling history of a maverick American’s glittering life and his sudden, cataclysmic disappearance…. Here is the masterful story of secret agents of many kinds--in a realm where truth is the most dangerous secret of all.
Who was Jack Roderick?
Trained by the OSS, Jack Roderick plummeted into Bangkok one rainy morning in 1945 and never left. Silk King, pirate, ruthless collector of beautiful objects--especially women--Roderick was feared and respected as a foreign spy, a business kingpin, and a trader in men’s souls. And then, at the height of the Vietnam War, caught in a killing web of treachery and revenge that would determine the fate of his only son, Rory, Jack Roderick walked into the jungle…and vanished from the face of the earth.
Four decades later, can the mystery be solved?
International fund manager Stefani Fogg is recruited by a man whose job it is to know the unknowable. Wealthy beyond corruption, impervious to romance, and equipped with a mind that can crack any enigma, Stefani signs up for the adventure of a lifetime: playing Secret Agent to Max Roderick, grandson of Bangkok’s long-vanished Legendary American. A world-class skier tangled in a sordid Thai murder investigation, Max is consumed with the riddle of Jack Roderick’s disappearance--and with his own father’s death in the jungles of Vietnam.
Seduced by Max’s charm and intrigued by his family history, Stefani ignores the warning signs and follows her heart. But when Max’s quarrel with the Thai police turns deadly and a killer strikes, she knows she must return to the place where it all began, to unravel the lies, penetrate a deadly conspiracy, and expose a killing truth. She flees Max’s France for Bangkok’s khlongs--into the ruins of the Silk King’s dark past and the mesmerizing shadow of the Roderick family curse. What she finds, in Jack Roderick’s story and in the fate of his fighter-pilot son, is an American dream that crashed and burned in the rice paddies of Vietnam and a chilling legacy that haunts our own to this day.
Propelling us masterfully through half a century, from Manhattan to the Alps to the colorful and treacherous heart of Bangkok, and based on the life of American expatriate Jim Thompson, The Secret Agent is at once a murder mystery, a touching love story, and a lavishly atmospheric journey through the exotic landscape of love and history--an historical thriller of the first rank.
From the Hardcover edition.
Who was Jack Roderick?
Trained by the OSS, Jack Roderick plummeted into Bangkok one rainy morning in 1945 and never left. Silk King, pirate, ruthless collector of beautiful objects--especially women--Roderick was feared and respected as a foreign spy, a business kingpin, and a trader in men’s souls. And then, at the height of the Vietnam War, caught in a killing web of treachery and revenge that would determine the fate of his only son, Rory, Jack Roderick walked into the jungle…and vanished from the face of the earth.
Four decades later, can the mystery be solved?
International fund manager Stefani Fogg is recruited by a man whose job it is to know the unknowable. Wealthy beyond corruption, impervious to romance, and equipped with a mind that can crack any enigma, Stefani signs up for the adventure of a lifetime: playing Secret Agent to Max Roderick, grandson of Bangkok’s long-vanished Legendary American. A world-class skier tangled in a sordid Thai murder investigation, Max is consumed with the riddle of Jack Roderick’s disappearance--and with his own father’s death in the jungles of Vietnam.
Seduced by Max’s charm and intrigued by his family history, Stefani ignores the warning signs and follows her heart. But when Max’s quarrel with the Thai police turns deadly and a killer strikes, she knows she must return to the place where it all began, to unravel the lies, penetrate a deadly conspiracy, and expose a killing truth. She flees Max’s France for Bangkok’s khlongs--into the ruins of the Silk King’s dark past and the mesmerizing shadow of the Roderick family curse. What she finds, in Jack Roderick’s story and in the fate of his fighter-pilot son, is an American dream that crashed and burned in the rice paddies of Vietnam and a chilling legacy that haunts our own to this day.
Propelling us masterfully through half a century, from Manhattan to the Alps to the colorful and treacherous heart of Bangkok, and based on the life of American expatriate Jim Thompson, The Secret Agent is at once a murder mystery, a touching love story, and a lavishly atmospheric journey through the exotic landscape of love and history--an historical thriller of the first rank.
From the Hardcover edition.
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11 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Testosterone to Estrogen
8 Jan 2005
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The whole world is divided into two types of people: those who divide things into two groups and those who do not..
..seriously, Ms. Matthews book oscillates wildly between "chick flick" material and the obligitory, leader-of-the-pack, head-of-the class, "high lift, low-drag" (thank you, Harry Coyle) heroine and characters that occupy the pages of this spy/CIA/former OSS agent genre. The flashbacks to post World War II Siam save the book, in my humble opinion, but she could come off a little better if she softened the hardened-bitch-longing-for-a-relationship-to-restore-a-loveless-past schtick engaged in by Ms. Fogg. (a relative of that other world-traveler, Phineas?) She could also redo the character of Oliver Kane and lose some of that too-cute dialog he is always spouting at the other end of the pay phone, ducky. Entertaining at times and *definitely* better than Finder's "Extraordinary Powers" -- but then, almost every work of fiction is (he said, gratiuitously). Still there is this indulgence in brand-name-dropping and labels. Why do we need to know *every* brand of caviar, liquor, skis, etc. Is this some kind of product placement deal?
*sigh*
..seriously, Ms. Matthews book oscillates wildly between "chick flick" material and the obligitory, leader-of-the-pack, head-of-the class, "high lift, low-drag" (thank you, Harry Coyle) heroine and characters that occupy the pages of this spy/CIA/former OSS agent genre. The flashbacks to post World War II Siam save the book, in my humble opinion, but she could come off a little better if she softened the hardened-bitch-longing-for-a-relationship-to-restore-a-loveless-past schtick engaged in by Ms. Fogg. (a relative of that other world-traveler, Phineas?) She could also redo the character of Oliver Kane and lose some of that too-cute dialog he is always spouting at the other end of the pay phone, ducky. Entertaining at times and *definitely* better than Finder's "Extraordinary Powers" -- but then, almost every work of fiction is (he said, gratiuitously). Still there is this indulgence in brand-name-dropping and labels. Why do we need to know *every* brand of caviar, liquor, skis, etc. Is this some kind of product placement deal?
*sigh*
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Bored to Tears
19 July 2003
Format:Mass Market Paperback
She may be a former CIA agent, but that does not make her an interesting writer of spy fiction. Bored-to-tears through page 50 at which point the book was tossed into the "give to the Red Cross" bag. Good spy books are supposed to be heavy on the plot and setting, not all that deep on character. Just enough to outline the players with out being overbearing. There is plenty of character development (too much) that leads to nothing. I'm a former military intel guy. Tradecraft isn't all that interesting to me but storyline is. If you enjoy Littell, Deighton or LeCarre, avoid this book. Maybe the "beach book" readers will find it interesting. That's the worst thing that I could say about any espionage book.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Maybe you can borow someones copy
25 Aug 2004
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have seen some of the reviews of this book, especially Newt's. It was his that made me buy it. Perhaps I am not enough of an "insider" to appreciate this story, but I found it compelling at times, boring at times and the flipping back and forth between the present and the past at the least, distracting.
So, I would say, for a paperback price it may be worth your reading.
So, I would say, for a paperback price it may be worth your reading.
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