Book Review: Red Rabbit

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Red Rabbit     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Tom Clancy
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Fiction   Thriller
Series: Jack Ryan Thrillers # 11
Putnam, Aug 2002, $28.95, 618 pp.

In 1981 Pope John Paul II threatens Moscow and Warsaw that if the repressive government does not ease off the people he will resign his current position and return to his native Poland, causing an international incident. Hard line Soviet KGB leader Yuri Andropov refuses to sit idly by and accept the Pope’s intimidation.

Historian Jack Ryan conducts research in England when the CIA and the British SIS recruit him as an analyst. Jack learns from a defector that Andropov plans to assassinate the Pope. Even for the Russian Bear that seems farfetched, but then again sending a confrontational message involving world affairs appears out of the ordinary for the Papacy. Still Jack needs to find confirmation that Andropov has decreed that Pope John Paul II must die. If he finds his evidence, the tyro spy knows he enters a realm that his entire life has not prepared him for in the slightest, as he must find a way to keep the Pope safe from the Soviets.

RED RABBIT is a clever prequel that places Jack at the beginning of his espionage career. By doing this, Tom Clancy enlivens his hero, yet keeps his core values consistent with the other novels. The story line is exciting as the rookie Jack seeks proof while engaging in a battle of wits though readers will wonder why the novice has such responsibilities with something of this magnitude. Still Jack is back doing what he does best, leading to the audience enjoyment of an old fashioned Cold War thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner

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