Status
Available
Genres
Description
Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. She is an ingenious assassin, with as many methods as identities, a master of disguise with an instinct for escape.... She is Witch, and she makes for alluring prey, teasing her pursuers as she eludes them, hunting her victims with breathtaking creativity, beguiling the most powerful men in the world with her dark beauty and cunning. Witch is wanted by the world's most elite police agencies, doggedly pursued by three very different detectives - one woman and two men. Two are at the beginning of their careers, one is staking a lifetime's experience on tracking Witch down, and all three display a professional determination that veers dangerously close to obsession. Working with and against one another, crossing paths and crossing swords, the detectives on her trail must stop her before she pulls off her most daring and ingenious assignment yet, a killing whose repercussions will reverberate throughout the world. The intricate deceits and confidences that lead Witch to her latest target inspire an elaborate chase, but no matter how fast her pursuers track her, no matter how expertly they anticipate her every move, Witch always remains one step ahead of the game. With time growing short, it seems she will elude authorities again - but an unexpected link to her own mysterious past may upset her streak of calculated terror. Edgar Award winner lan Rankin delivers a novel of espionage that rivals the classics of the genre, confirming his stature as one of the modern masters of suspense.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member neotradlibrarian
I was working my way through Ian Rankin’s acclaimed John Rebus police procedural series, when I happened upon this title. The Rebus series is excellent and this is less so, but in this case I don’t want to offer faint praise. This is a well written spy novel, with some good tradecraft,
This book also helped clarify something about my reading profile. It is what this book, Le Carre and Laurie King’s Mary Russell series have in common and what I like about them. As I was working through La Carre’s The Night Manager, he called his character a careful observer. I like careful observers. Sherlock Holmes is a careful observer, as are George Smiley and Mary Russell. Careful observers can walk into a room and understand the dynamics, see someone and understand them and their motives, see a situation and plan for the inevitable future.
Do I like careful observers because I am one? Please! Not a chance. I think there are two factors here. The first is that I am a very oblivious person, not observant at all. I don’t particularly like to read about people like me. I want to read about other types of people. I like the very cynical musicals Evita and Chess (British version please), not because I am cynical and manipulative, but because I am not.
The second is that a world with such observant people is much like science fiction. It does not correspond with any reality I know. It is elsewhere/elsewhere, just as much as Neil Gaiman’s Sandman or series by C. J. Cherryh, Le Guin, Tolkein or Donaldson. I know that elsewhere/elsewhen is an important part of my reading profile. It now seems that spy novels, if they focus on a different enough arena fit my profile. Mere action adventure does not.
Show More
interesting characters and a suspenseful plot. While it might not appeal to all Rebus fans, it is a very good read and I am glad I found it, since I might have passed it by as a non-Rebus, which would have been my loss.This book also helped clarify something about my reading profile. It is what this book, Le Carre and Laurie King’s Mary Russell series have in common and what I like about them. As I was working through La Carre’s The Night Manager, he called his character a careful observer. I like careful observers. Sherlock Holmes is a careful observer, as are George Smiley and Mary Russell. Careful observers can walk into a room and understand the dynamics, see someone and understand them and their motives, see a situation and plan for the inevitable future.
Do I like careful observers because I am one? Please! Not a chance. I think there are two factors here. The first is that I am a very oblivious person, not observant at all. I don’t particularly like to read about people like me. I want to read about other types of people. I like the very cynical musicals Evita and Chess (British version please), not because I am cynical and manipulative, but because I am not.
The second is that a world with such observant people is much like science fiction. It does not correspond with any reality I know. It is elsewhere/elsewhere, just as much as Neil Gaiman’s Sandman or series by C. J. Cherryh, Le Guin, Tolkein or Donaldson. I know that elsewhere/elsewhen is an important part of my reading profile. It now seems that spy novels, if they focus on a different enough arena fit my profile. Mere action adventure does not.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tripleblessings
Originally published in 1993 under the pseudonym Jack Harvey. Witch is a terrorist, with three detectives on her tail. Dominic Elder's hunch takes him from England to Europe and back in pursuit. A decent thriller, not as enjoyable as the Rebus series.
LibraryThing member Darrol
This is a satisfying read, albeit I would not rank it as great literature. Good stuff about taking professional risks. Good stuff about professional relationships among colleagues. Turns on a family drama with some overtones of Greek tragedy.
LibraryThing member smik
This venture by Ian Rankin (writing as Jack Harvey) was the first of 3 novels under that pseudonym. Rankin moves into the world of MI5, spies, and assassinations and WITCH HUNT feels as if it owes a lot to the style of John Le Carre. Certainly the gravelly voice of narrator Peter Capaldi
The novel begins with a set of seemingly disconnected events: the scuppering of a fishing trawler in the English channel, the murder of a banker in a love nest in Scotland; but to Dominic Elder who took early retirement because of a terrorist incident, they point to one thing: Witch is back!
The plotting in WITCH HUNT is intricate and the novel is part thriller and part police procedural.
It makes very enjoyable listening.
Show More
contributes to that feeling. This is very different to his Rebus novels.The novel begins with a set of seemingly disconnected events: the scuppering of a fishing trawler in the English channel, the murder of a banker in a love nest in Scotland; but to Dominic Elder who took early retirement because of a terrorist incident, they point to one thing: Witch is back!
The plotting in WITCH HUNT is intricate and the novel is part thriller and part police procedural.
It makes very enjoyable listening.
Show Less
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
As might be guessed from the fact Rankin wrote this book under a pseudonym it is a departure from his Inspector Rebus novels. Nevertheless it was as gripping and well-written as the Rebus books and I am glad I have the other two Jack Harvey books in store.
A terrorist has entered England just prior
Any fan of the Rebus books will like this book I think. I certainly did.
A terrorist has entered England just prior
Show More
to a summit of the nine most powerful heads of state. Naturally MI5 and other security agencies are turning up the heat trying to find her. Yes, her. They believe it is a woman assassin who has been called Witch since they don’t know her real name. A retired spy, Domenic Elder, who has followed Witch for years is consulted at his cottage in Wales by Michael Barclay, a young desk jockey in MI5. Elder takes a shine to Barclay and tells Joyce Parry, Barclay’s superior to send him out into the field. When a banker is killed in Scotland in a particularly grisly manner it is thought that Witch was the perpetrator. Elder knows that this is not the ultimate target because Witch finances her political work by taking on other jobs. Soon Elder is back in London following leads with two police officers from Special Branch, Doyle and Greenleaf, and Barclay is in France working with Dominique Herault from the French equivalent of MI5. This ad hoc team gets results and seems to be zeroing in on Witch. She still has a few tricks up her sleeve though.Any fan of the Rebus books will like this book I think. I certainly did.
Show Less
LibraryThing member judithrs
Witchhunt. Ian Rankin. 1993. I have read at least one of Rankin’s Inspector Rebus series and enjoyed it. This is a good international thriller. I think I would have enjoyed it more, if I had finished it sooner—too much stop and go reading...The Witch is a serial terrorist for lack of a better
Show More
term. A mysterious explosion aboard a commercial ship whose owner was in financial trouble is connected to “The Witch,” and British security is determined to find her and her target before she kills another government official. The plot switches back and forth between the British Intelligence personnel and The Witch. Interesting and mildly suspenseful. Show Less
LibraryThing member judithrs
Witchhunt. Ian Rankin. 1993. I have read at least one of Rankin’s Inspector Rebus series and enjoyed it. This is a good international thriller. I think I would have enjoyed it more, if I had finished it sooner—too much stop and go reading...The Witch is a serial terrorist for lack of a better
Show More
term. A mysterious explosion aboard a commercial ship whose owner was in financial trouble is connected to “The Witch,” and British security is determined to find her and her target before she kills another government official. The plot switches back and forth between the British Intelligence personnel and The Witch. Interesting and mildly suspenseful Show Less