Ring of Terror: Difference between revisions

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{{Image|Michael Gilbert Portrait - smaller.jpg|left|100px|Michael Gilbert on the back cover of [[Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens]], 1982}}
{{Image|Michael Gilbert Portrait - smaller.jpg|left|100px|Michael Gilbert on the back cover of [[Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens]], 1982}}


'''Ring of Terror''' is a mystery-suspense novel by the British crime writer [[Michael Gilbert]], first published in the United Kingdom in 1995 by [[Hodder and Stoughton]] and in the United States by [[Carroll & Graf]]. It was Gilbert's 28th novel and the first of three featuring his final set of recurring characters, [[Luke Pagan and Joe Narrabone]]. Set in the reign of Edward VII, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was also the first of Gilbert's historical mysteries. Along with its fictional characters and situations, there are references to actual events of the time, such as the [[Siege of Sidney Street]], and [[Winston Churchill]] plays a minor role as [[Home Secretary]].
'''Ring of Terror''' is a mystery-suspense novel by the British crime writer [[Michael Gilbert]], first published in the United Kingdom in 1995 by [[Hodder and Stoughton]] and in the United States by [[Carroll & Graf]]. It was Gilbert's 28th novel and the first of three featuring his final set of recurring characters, [[Luke Pagan and Joe Narrabone]]. Set in the reign of Edward VII, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was also the first of Gilbert's historical mysteries. Along with its fictional characters and situations, there are references to actual events of the time, such as the [[Siege of Sidney Street]], and [[Winston Churchill]] plays a minor role as [[Home Secretary]]. Gilbert, who was appointed [[CBE]] in 1980, was a founder-member of the [[Crime Writers' Association|British Crime Writers' Association]]. The [[Mystery Writers of America]] named him a Grand Master in 1988<ref name=Telgrph>{{cite news|title=Michael Gilbert (obituary)|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1510088/Michael-Gilbert.html|accessdate=13 November 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=10 February 2006}}</ref> and in 1990 he was presented [[Bouchercon]]'s Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bouchercon.info/history.html |title=History of Guests of Honor |website=Bouchercon World Mystery Convention |accessdate=5 July 2014|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070925053237/http://www.bouchercon.info/history.html|archive-date=25 September 2007}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
The book's events take place in Gilbert's usual locale of London and, to a lesser degree, the English countryside. Luke and Joe are both country boys, one the son of a gamekeeper of a landed gentleman, the other the son of a poacher. Both are therefore expert at tracking and hunting for prey. Close friends in spite of their very different natures and levels of education, they have become London policemen at an early age. Because Luke has learned Russian and French and has an ear for other languages, he is soon recruited by various authorities to help in their battle against an increasing number of émigré anarchists, criminals, and terrorists now causing considerable problems in the metropolitan London area. By the end of the book Luke has been asked to join the recently formed MO5 (later renamed [[MI5]]), a counter-intelligence agency, and Joe, in spite of losing part of a leg to a terrorist's bomb, has secured a good job as a security guard.
The book's events take place in Gilbert's usual locale of London and, to a lesser degree, the English countryside. Luke and Joe are both country boys, one the son of a gamekeeper of a landed gentleman, the other the son of a poacher. Both are therefore expert at tracking and hunting for prey. Close friends in spite of their very different natures and levels of education, they have become London policemen at an early age. Because Luke has learned Russian and French and has an ear for other languages, he is soon recruited by various authorities to help in their battle against an increasing number of émigré anarchists, criminals, and terrorists now causing considerable problems in the metropolitan London area. By the end of the book Luke has been asked to join the recently formed MO5 (later renamed [[MI5]]), a counter-intelligence agency, and Joe, in spite of losing part of a leg to a terrorist's bomb, has secured a good job as a security guard.
==Appraisal==
An appraisal some years after its publication comes from [[Jacques Barzun|Barzun]] and Taylor's encyclopedic ''[[A Catalogue of Crime|Catalogue of Crime]]'':<blockquote>A superb, though harrowing, story of murder in a prisoner-of-war camp in northern Italy towards the end of the last world war. The skill with which suspense is kept up during a series of trivial incidents related to oppression and plans of escape is equaled only by the management of a large number of characters, Italian and English.<ref>[[Jacques Barzun]] & Wendell Hertig Taylor, ''A Catalogue of Crime'',[[Harper & Row]], New York, "Second Impression Corrected", 1973, page 208</ref></blockquote>


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
<references/>
<references/>

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Michael Gilbert on the back cover of Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens, 1982

Ring of Terror is a mystery-suspense novel by the British crime writer Michael Gilbert, first published in the United Kingdom in 1995 by Hodder and Stoughton and in the United States by Carroll & Graf. It was Gilbert's 28th novel and the first of three featuring his final set of recurring characters, Luke Pagan and Joe Narrabone. Set in the reign of Edward VII, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was also the first of Gilbert's historical mysteries. Along with its fictional characters and situations, there are references to actual events of the time, such as the Siege of Sidney Street, and Winston Churchill plays a minor role as Home Secretary. Gilbert, who was appointed CBE in 1980, was a founder-member of the British Crime Writers' Association. The Mystery Writers of America named him a Grand Master in 1988[1] and in 1990 he was presented Bouchercon's Lifetime Achievement Award.[2]

Plot

The book's events take place in Gilbert's usual locale of London and, to a lesser degree, the English countryside. Luke and Joe are both country boys, one the son of a gamekeeper of a landed gentleman, the other the son of a poacher. Both are therefore expert at tracking and hunting for prey. Close friends in spite of their very different natures and levels of education, they have become London policemen at an early age. Because Luke has learned Russian and French and has an ear for other languages, he is soon recruited by various authorities to help in their battle against an increasing number of émigré anarchists, criminals, and terrorists now causing considerable problems in the metropolitan London area. By the end of the book Luke has been asked to join the recently formed MO5 (later renamed MI5), a counter-intelligence agency, and Joe, in spite of losing part of a leg to a terrorist's bomb, has secured a good job as a security guard.

Notes

  1. Michael Gilbert (obituary), 10 February 2006. Retrieved on 13 November 2012.
  2. History of Guests of Honor. Retrieved on 5 July 2014.