In the adrenaline-laced new novel of suspense from Tom Savage–hailed by Michael Connelly as “a master of the high-speed thriller”–an American actress in Europe races to find the truth behind her husband’s mysterious accident. What she uncovers makes her the target of a shocking conspiracy.
Nora Baron’s life is perfect. She lives on Long Island Sound, teaches acting at a local university, and … local university, and has a loving family. Then one phone call changes everything. She’s informed that her husband, Jeff, has died in a car crash while on a business trip in England. Nora flies to London to identify the body, which the police have listed as a “John Doe.” When she leaves the morgue, a man tries to steal her purse containing Jeff’s personal effects. Clearly, all is not as it seems.
At her hotel, Nora receives a cryptic message that leaves her with more questions than answers. She follows the message’s instructions to France, where a fatal encounter transforms her into a fugitive. Wanted for murder, on the run in a shadowy landscape of lies, secrets, and sudden violence, Mrs. “John Doe” must play the role of a lifetime to stay one step ahead of a ruthless enemy with deadly plans for her–and for the world.
Advance praise for Mrs. John Doe
“This is a rare spy thriller, smart, beautifully written, and stay-up-all-night enjoyable!”–Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author of The Assassins
“It isn’t easy to blindside a fellow suspense author, but Tom Savage manages to fool me every time. A clever, compelling, and cinematic page-turner in which nothing is as it seems, Mrs. John Doe opens with a twist I didn’t see coming and closes with a satisfying bang. This longtime Savage fan ranks Mrs. John Doe right up there with Precipice.”–Wendy Corsi Staub, New York Times bestselling author of The Black Widow
“Tom Savage’s Mrs. John Doe races a fictional path somewhere between Alfred Hitchcock and Agatha Christie, a modern heroine-on-the-run spy thriller dealing with some of our time’s deadliest challenges.”–James Grady, New York Times bestselling author of Last Days of the Condor
Praise for Tom Savage
“Savage knows the mystery novel inside and out, and it shows on every page.”–James Patterson
“A master of the high-speed thriller.”–Michael Connelly
“A very gifted writer who creates living, breathing characters, wonderful dialogue, and mesmerizing tension.”–Nelson DeMille
“Savage writes with fierce energy, piercing holes in the shredding fabric of our society, where no one is safe, no one is free from harm.”–Lorenzo Carcaterra
more
What a very fun find this was! Spy books and I are old friends – I started reading them just after the end of the Cold War and was hooked… Back in the day, it was much easier (I imagine) to write one: the good guys (the US) and bad guys (the USSR) were clearly delineated, easy to find, and everyone’s motives were (relatively) straightforward. It was Us vs. Them, which makes for a lot of drama –
particularly when paired with recognizable and dramatically contrasting backdrops and major players. The fall of the Soviet Union threw a spanner into the works, and spy books in the modern era are a lot messier and harder for me to get into. Things are more convoluted and complicated now – or at least they seem so; perhaps they always were, who knows – and The Big Bad is a conglomeration of people and places with disparate interests and perspectives that seem to shift like sand…
Mrs. John Doe attempts to put an old school framework on a modern day spy thriller, and for the most part does it with aplomb. There were a few times when I felt that actions/outcomes strained the grounds of credibility, but they were generally resolved to satisfaction and things fell back into a comfortable and believable place rapidly. Nora Baron is a fantastic protagonist – sassy, smart, and savvy but none of those in such great measure that she stops feeling like a genuine woman you might actually come across one day (if you were lucky). The pacing is pretty steady; on a very rare occasion, I felt like the story got mired in a little too much detail, but generally speaking the level of show vs. tell was spot-on and things moved apace.
There were a few twists that surprised me a bit; some of them I saw coming, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment AT ALL. I read *A LOT* and read a lot of books within specific genres like this one, so it’s tough to truly surprise me time and again in the course of one story. That’s no slam on any author; it’s just how it is. The action and suspense are very well-managed and the writing style is engaging and easy and sucks you right in to the drama from the very beginning… This is a great find, and I already have book two downloaded to my kindle (and book three from NetGalley!)
How would you like to end up a spy through no fault of your own? That’s what happens in this book.
Nora Baron’s life is perfect. She lives on Long Island Sound, teaches acting at a local university, and has a loving family. Then one phone call changes everything. She’s informed that her husband, Jeff, has died in a car crash while on a business trip in England. Nora flies to London to identify the body, which the police have listed as a “John Doe.” When she leaves the morgue, a man tries to steal her purse containing Jeff’s personal effects. Clearly, all is not as it seems.
At her hotel, Nora receives a cryptic message that leaves her with more questions than answers. She follows the message’s instructions to France, where a fatal encounter transforms her into a fugitive. Wanted for murder, on the run in a shadowy landscape of lies, secrets, and sudden violence, Mrs. “John Doe” must play the role of a lifetime to stay one step ahead of a ruthless enemy with deadly plans for her—and for the world.
Great read
Lots of plot twists and excitement. I really enjoyed it.
Characters were flat and lacked depth. Plot was moderately interesting.
A little boring – long winded. Will try to get back to it but maybe not.
I liked this book because it was a definite page turner and very suspenseful.