Spycatcher (Spycatcher, #1)

Aug 18, 2011 Dan Schwent rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: firstreads, crime-and-mystery, 2011

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is plannign a terror attack against the West and it's up to MI6's top agent Will Cochrane to ferret out the terrorist mastermind, a fellow spy calling himself Meggido. But what is the connection between Cochrane and Meggido? And is Cochrane willing to use the woman he's falling for to bait a trap for Meggido?

I won this in a Firstreads giveway.
The good parts:
Spycatcher is a decent thriller. Since Matthew Dunn is a former MI6 agent, the action has a gritty authentic...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Seizure Romero rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: espionage-suspense-political-thrill, borrowed, shite

Even though I'm just getting started with this book, I can feel myself becoming more virile & manly within the first 100 pages of my introduction to Will ~~Cock~~ Cochrane. He is so badass that you might even be risking pregnancy just by reading this review-- and I'm including men in this warning. The only reason I'm not having twins is due to my years of practice in not getting pregnant. You have been warned.

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Update:29Feb12

I just can't do it anymore. I haven't picked this boo...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Candace Salima rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Ages 18 and Up

Recommended to Candace by: Matthew Dunn

There is nothing quite like a story about a spy to end all spies being written by … a former spy himself. Matthew Dunn, a former field intelligence officer for Britain’s famous MI6, left the intelligence and security worlds in order to jump, feet first, into the world of literature. And he’s conquered that world as thoroughly as he conquered his former career.

I had the opportunity to interview Matthew Dunn about his debut novel released 9 August 2011, SPYCATCHER. I picked up the book, the night...more There is nothing quite like a story about a spy to end all spies being written by … a former spy himself. Matthew Dunn, a former field intelligence officer for Britain’s famous MI6, left the intelligence and security worlds in order to jump, feet first, into the world of literature. And he’s conquered that world as thoroughly as he conquered his former career.

I had the opportunity to interview Matthew Dunn about his debut novel released 9 August 2011, SPYCATCHER. I picked up the book, the night before the interview, and thought I would read one or two chapters, and then cash it in for the night. I turned the last page at 2:00 a.m. I’m a busy woman, I don’t let anything get in the way of the few hours of sleep I get a night, but I could not put SPYCATCHER, now available in both hardcover and Kindle, down.

When asked about the character of intelligence officers, Matthew Dunn, who holds the highest security clearance in Britain, replied, “Intelligence officers are lone wolves. It’s vital that they don’t make themselves visible. One can’t get the best intelligence by using a sledgehammer approach. To that extent, there are no “superior forces or big guns” when you’re in the field. Your country’s army, navy, and air force are the inferior forces that are liable to get it wrong. And that means you can’t trust or use them. But if you mess up and get caught, you will die.” (Jeff Deever Interview with Dunn on Amazon.com)

And a lone wolf is exactly what Will Cochrane is … he also happens to be the Spartan, the only one to survive a brutal training. While the Spartan exists, no other can hold the title, which makes Cochrane a one of-a-kind, hard to control kind of spy. In spite of that, he is the CIA’s and MI6’s most prized possession, and the one they call when all is lost. Once given a mission, his focus is single to the goal of accomplishing that mission, and anything in his way is liable to be destroyed, quietly and efficiently.

Tasked with finding the Iranian mastermind behind multiple terrorist attacks, Cochrane races across Europe and the Middle East, and finally to America in his determination to stop a terrorist attack in America. Cochrane’s single weakness is the softness he has for the weaker people of the world. Women, children, innocents … even his assets, he’ll do anything to protect. This weakness, which is also his greatest strength, could cost him everything.

Dunn, takes us through the cagey twists and turns of the shadow world of international intelligence, the cultivating of assets, and the danger of working under the radar in nations besides one’s own. When Dunn revealed the bad guy, the one besides the evil Iranian mastermind, I literally dropped the book. I can usually guess the outcome of a book within the second or third chapter, but not so with Spycatcher. Matthew Dunn is a master at suspense with an engaging, intriguing writing style. I believe we have a potential New York Times Bestseller on our hands here.

So if page-turning, breath-stealing action is your cup of tea, and it is mine, you’ll want this book in your home library to enjoy over and over.(less)

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Oct 09, 2012 Trekscribbler rated it 2 of 5 stars

Yeah, you can call me a lair (if you’re so inclined), but I’ve actually had the good fortune of knowing two gentlemen who worked (in completely different capacities) for the CIA. One of the fellows I went to high school with was recruited out of college very quickly; he was a languages scholar, and the CIA snatched him up right quick. His job? Well, it wasn’t all that glamorous, to be perfectly honest; he spent the bulk of his workday reading foreign magazines and newspapers, scouring them for a...more Yeah, you can call me a lair (if you’re so inclined), but I’ve actually had the good fortune of knowing two gentlemen who worked (in completely different capacities) for the CIA. One of the fellows I went to high school with was recruited out of college very quickly; he was a languages scholar, and the CIA snatched him up right quick. His job? Well, it wasn’t all that glamorous, to be perfectly honest; he spent the bulk of his workday reading foreign magazines and newspapers, scouring them for anything that he believed could have been cryptic information secretly being shared between foreign agents. The second fellow I worked with in the early nineties; he had been placed inside what was the Soviet Union for the expressed purposes of ‘monitoring’ industrial developments. Again, what stuck with me about the task was that it was far from thrilling, certainly far from the exploits of, say, James Bond, a man called Sloane, or any man from U.N.C.L.E. It was … well … routine, one might say.

What I take away from my experience in knowing these two men is that there’s an awful lot to the inside of the intelligence community that’s far from scintillating and more humdrum, and, to a certain extent, that’s the greatest strength I can find in Matthew Dunn’s SPYCATCHER. See, the book’s hero spends an awful lot of time ‘getting ready’ and/or ‘getting prepped’ for his various adventures and fisticuffs, and quite a bit of that feels legitimate. Like a Boy Scout, the hero prepares for his exploits. Still, on the cover of the book, SPYCATCHER was dubbed as “one of the year’s best thriller debuts” by Lee Child, no less. My suspicion is that Lee Child didn’t read the draft I did. That’s not to say that SPYCATCHER doesn’t have some measure of excitement – rather, it does in middling supply, but much of that is tucked into the latter half. The first half? Well, there’s an awful lot in there that’s more than a bit hard to swallow.

Will Cochrane is the ULTIMATE asset – the SPYCATCHER on the novel’s name: handpicked by rogue elements within MI6, Cochrane is the ‘Spartan’ (a codename I’m thinking was shamelessly borrowed from the Val Kilmer film of the same name, interestingly enough). Like any good ‘Highlander’ (for those of you who’ll get the inference), there can be only one: protocols require that, at all times, there is only one living ‘Spartan.’ Once he (or she) dies, another is recruited. What’s recruitment like? Well, the reader isn’t told specifically, but we’re led down the path to believing that it’s brutal. After all, a ‘Spartan’ – much like James Bond – actively uses his (or her) “license to kill” at every opportunity … so when the world’s greatest known terrorist (who also just happens to be the world’s deadliest hand-to-hand fighter AND the world’s quickest draw with a gun AND who can singlehandedly best anyone at anything) who answers to the codename of Megiddo drops onto Cochrane’s radar, you can bet these two opposing forces are about to butt heads, with the loser going down in flames.

Essentially, this is a spy story of an older variety – one told with some hard-boiled characters in only the kinds of circumstances and situations required of a hard-boiled world – when compared with some of the more erudite spy novels of late. Cochrane is a man’s man – trapped in a man’s world – but first-time author Matthew Dunn curiously supplies his MI6 assassin with a planeload of emotional baggage that would cause James Bond to see a therapist. There’s a huge backstory – all told with some reasonable flash and sizzle – that involves the man’s late father ALSO having been a super-spy (with ties to both MI6 and the CIA); and I can’t help but wonder if a more accomplished editor could’ve helped Dunn slim down some elements of the character’s history in order to get a finished product with better ‘flow.’ As it stands, much of SPYCATCHER works when the prose is light and quick and efficient; sadly, these parts are spaced out with dense passages that ultimately add little or nothing to the story but give the book respectable ‘girth.’

And then there’s the desperately, hopelessly, heart-tugging romantic subplot involving (what would you expect?) a ravishingly attractive Lana with ties to Mediggo’s past. Wouldn’t you know it but, on only Cochrane and Lana’s third meeting (the first two having absolutely zero sexual chemistry developed or seriously hinted at) they’re smitten with one another? He needs her in order to finally have something to care about other than killing baddies, and she needs him in order to heal the chasm left in her soul by her dearly departed lover (the terrorist!). Oh, say it isn’t so, but why MUST contemporary fiction continuous explore the feminized action hero? I thought Cochrane was a man’s man, Mr. Dunn. Please make up your mind!

As a debut novel, it’s seriously plagued by the usual ‘debut novel’ intellect – heroes and villains seeking a theatrical presence, bad guys who can’t help but tell you EVERYTHING they’re about to do to you – and even a few that shouldn’t be here (again, I harken the call for a better editor). Some think it trite of me to point out such obvious errors made by “accomplished” writers, but (on page 437) Dunn has Cochrane looking at Roger … when Roger was a character Cochrane and Laith dropped off at a hospital two pages back. Now that Cochrane and Laith are on the other side of town, I think Dunn CLEARLY intended to have Cochrane looking at Laith, not Roger. It’s moments like these – and SPYCATCHER has a solid handful – that pull me – the reader – out of the story, forcing me to stop, reread the passage, then flip back a few pages to make certain I haven’t made an error in understanding the tale … and that’s NEVER a good thing.

That, and wouldn’t you imagine that a spy trying to “fit in” on a routine train ride to New York City could get by on spending less than $1,500 for one day’s wardrobe? Cochrane needs nothing more than a change of clothes – I won’t divulge the circumstances so as to not spoil the plot – but $1,500 is a bit much? Plus, Dunn makes a point of telling the reader that Cochrane bought cologne, too! Wow. James Bond prefers his martinis shaken, not stirred, but methinks Cochrane won’t rush in to save the day without a few squirts of man-stink on his neck. How far we’ve fallen.

And that’s a shame because, as I’ve tried to make clear, there’s an awful lot of SPYCATCHER that is quite good. I understand a reader might have to employ a willing suspension of disbelief in this day and age, but, as spies go, give me Jason Bourne any day of the week over this sissified man-child.
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Cathy DuPont Trek: A fun reading review, friend. "...sissified man-child; I particularly liked that phrase!

Jim (GR friend) and I were talking about how protags in...more
Oct 09, 2012 04:16pm

Trekscribbler Yes, a lot of 'adventure novels' that have come out as of late seem to be focused on that "man's man with a heart of gold" that just doesn't work all...more
Oct 10, 2012 11:33am

Cathy DuPont Trek: I love, just love, Chandler and Spillane so understand the "sissified" comment. But when I think of their characters, the last person I think of...more
Oct 10, 2012 12:19pm

Aug 17, 2012 Adam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apparently Matthew Dunn was a real life MI6 agent, involved in dozens of successful missions and (despite a reminder that "Medals are never awarded to modern MI6 officers") Dunn was personally commended for his actions on one mission that was "so significant that it directly influenced the successful conclusion of a major international incident.*"

Does this lead to a more realistic spy thriller? Decidedly not.

I mean, on one hand, the various spy agencies actually do what they're supposed to do....more Apparently Matthew Dunn was a real life MI6 agent, involved in dozens of successful missions and (despite a reminder that "Medals are never awarded to modern MI6 officers") Dunn was personally commended for his actions on one mission that was "so significant that it directly influenced the successful conclusion of a major international incident.*"

Does this lead to a more realistic spy thriller? Decidedly not.

I mean, on one hand, the various spy agencies actually do what they're supposed to do. MI6 and CIA do human intelligence**. NSA does cryptography.*** On the other hand, Will, the intelligence officer in question, wantonly slaughters dozens of Iranian operatives (many of them in central park, no less) not to mention operatives from a bunch of other countries as well. Somehow, I think if this were an actual day in the life of an MI6 field agent we would be reading about them in the press somewhat more frequently.****

The writing is dreadful. Lots of paragraphs that are structured like, "Will did this thing. Will did this other thing. Will knew that this implausibly detailed thing would happen because of his time as a field agent in Prague in 1997." The dialogue is equally stilted and dull.

I know a hallmark of the spy novel is the globetrotting, but in this book it was downright excessive. Will zips back and forth between 3 or four countries keeping ducks in a row and checking in on people. Characters randomly demand meetings in various and sundry other European cities. Clearly in the universe of this book, you don't have to arrive at the airport 2 hours early, because if you did, Will would have spent the entire length of the plot sitting in a waiting room. Furthermore, none of the cities visited have any real personality--all the action could have happened in one country and the story would not have suffered one bit.

For all this, the book moves very swiftly. The tension kicks in on the first page and doesn't really let up until the end. It was enjoyable to read, even if, in retrospect, it wasn't very good.

* Source: his author bio on the back cover.
** And, to be fair, the mission is to recruit an operative, which I gather is fairly realistic.
*** None of this Halle Barry in a bright orange bikini bull$#^&.
**** "Our source was the New York Times."
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Sep 06, 2011 Kathleen (Kat) Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: supense-thriller-fiction

The latest novel from Matthew Dunn, Spycatcher, has so many details and expertise of scenarios that you automatically begin to see yourself as the main character. Will Cochrane is a super elite MI6 agent code named Spartan, who goes out to seek his father’s killer who has plotted to strike against the US or the UK. This plot sends him and his crew on a hunt for Meggido, a mastermind behind many of Iran’s terrorist plots to bring down the west.

Little does Will know that this mission is perhaps th...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Jessica at Book Sake rated it 2 of 5 stars

Spycatcher is your typical spy thriller. Will Cochrane is an MI6 agent with seemingly superhuman powers, sent to take down the Iranian terrorist, Megiddo, who’s threatening an attack on either Britain or the United States. Will is basically a rugged James Bond (ironically, both are MI6 agents). At first I felt that the author was trying too hard to mimic Bond in his character, but later realized that Matthew Dunn was a real MI6 agent. After that, my interest shifted from the book to the author b...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Stephanie D. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn delivers all the lightning-quick action and suspense the genre and synopsis promise. Sometimes the plot was a bit dizzying, moving from European capital to European capital, from city streets, to snow-covered wilderness. If you want a thrilling ride which hardly gives you time to breathe – Spycatcher is your book. The fact that the author is a former M16 field officer with 70 successful missions to his credit lends the plot and the small details some serious cred and a...more
Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn delivers all the lightning-quick action and suspense the genre and synopsis promise. Sometimes the plot was a bit dizzying, moving from European capital to European capital, from city streets, to snow-covered wilderness. If you want a thrilling ride which hardly gives you time to breathe – Spycatcher is your book. The fact that the author is a former M16 field officer with 70 successful missions to his credit lends the plot and the small details some serious cred and authenticity (although the author stresses he has not revealed any secrets of his former employer as to do so would put lives in danger). Be prepared for a lot of confusing, official-sounding acronyms, though.

The centerpiece of the cloak-and-dagger tale and what anchors its hyperactive plot is the somber character of Will Cochrane. Will is Daniel Craig’s Bond to the 10th power – exceptional as a spy, able to withstand the most grueling and impossibly dangerous situations, and a loner haunted by demons. His heroic father sacrificed himself on the field in order to save his friends and his mother was murdered in front of his young eyes. His traumatic childhood, however, is what secretly drives him to become the best of the best as an M16 operative:

"No man of your generation had ever done the year-long program and lived. However, you not only survived but excelled in the program, and as a result you became our most deadly and effective operative. There is never allowed to be more than one of you, so while you live you are the only man who has our most distinguished code name: Spartan."

Unlike Bond, though, Will has an unerring sense of justice – that his job, his skills, and that he exist to punish evil-doers, right wrongs, and to protect the innocent. This obligation to do what is right clashes with his role as “Spartan” – to be a cool-headed and obedient tool for his superiors. It also puts him in even more danger, for like his father, Will doesn’t hesitate to risk his life and disregard protocol when innocent lives are in danger. Despite the treacherous life he leads, Will is not at all hardened. In fact, his emotions are vulnerable to manipulation. Just the possibility of being able to avenge his father, used by his superiors to make him do what he is reluctant to do, also leads him to willingly sacrifice himself if it came to that.

"'Do you understand the risks you are taking with such a man? You are telling Megiddo to kill you.'

"Will imagined the pain his father must have felt in the Evin Prison torture room. 'I want Megiddo to come after me. I want him to view me as tethered bait. I want him to realize too late that it is he who is the prey and I who am the predator.

"'And then like all true predators, I will rip my prey apart.'"

Even more enigmatic than Will is his opponent, Megiddo – a super-villain who seems to be one step ahead of Will at all times. The author very skillfully builds the reader’s anxiety and fascination with Megiddo as he is spoken of and felt but never seen for almost all of the book, his off-screen presence gradually building with dangerous anticipation until the climax.

The climax had some unexpected revelations but one twist was not a surprise and I could actually see coming from almost the beginning of the book, so it wasn’t as shocking as it was meant to be. In a world of shifty allegiances and double-dealings, Will ought to have seen this betrayal coming from the outset. Again and again, the author portrayed Will as keenly observant and able to read people instantly and accurately – yet for some reason common sense eludes him and he maintains a blind spot.

I also didn’t buy how quickly he cares for Lana, the bait he is forced to use to lure Megiddo out into the open, so much so that he’s willing to throw the whole operation for her.

I have some dissatisfaction with minor stylistic details: The first chapter of Spycatcher had some info-dumping that made for a clumsy beginning. I decided to ignore it though and was rewarded. The author also has a writing tic that needs to be edited better in the coming books where entire paragraphs have a series of sentences that start the same way: I want, I want, I want; He remembered, He remembered, He remembered; He saw, He saw, He saw. This happened repeatedly and like the info-dumping distracted me from the story. I’m not sure if this is left over from the author’s report-writing days as a field officer, but it just results in a choppy narrative.
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May 31, 2011 Ronald Roseborough rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-adventure-thriller, mi6, spy

If you only read one spy novel all summer, this has to be the one. Will Cochrane, code name Spartan, of MI6 is British intelligence's secret weapon. He is known only to his handler and the British Prime Minister. When the stakes are too high, the mission seems impossible, and losing is not an option, they give the assignment to Spartan. Once given a mission, he will not stop, regardless of the body count, until it is accomplished or he is dead. It seems nothing can stop this juggernaut, until he...more

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May 31, 2011 Bree rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

breesabookworm.com

This book was gifted me by HarperCollins. The release date is August 1, 2011.

I have the opportunity to receive loads of books for reviews, but only pick a few to actually get, as I can't read them all. I surprised myself when I decided to get this one as I have never actually read a spy novel, or any novel in this sort of genre. What caught my eye, initially, was the fact that the author, Matthew Dunn, was an actual MI6 field officer, which I thought was really cool. (I have w...more breesabookworm.com

This book was gifted me by HarperCollins. The release date is August 1, 2011.

I have the opportunity to receive loads of books for reviews, but only pick a few to actually get, as I can't read them all. I surprised myself when I decided to get this one as I have never actually read a spy novel, or any novel in this sort of genre. What caught my eye, initially, was the fact that the author, Matthew Dunn, was an actual MI6 field officer, which I thought was really cool. (I have watched every single episode of MI6 (or Spooks rather), as well as Alias, so, yeah). I felt that his books would then be kind of realistic, since he conducted like seventy missions he should know what he is writing about. Aside from that I had no idea what the book was about or what to expect.

I picked up the book and read it in one day. Which is quite a feat, because it is rather large, over four-hundred pages, and a lot of description. I don't generally care for description, but for this kind of writing it was most definitely important for the feel of things. It felt like I was reading an awesome spy movie, which I thoroughly enjoy. Each step of the mystery was explained, but in a most interesting way. I can honestly say I did not get bored while reading any of this book.

That was one of my biggest worries, whether or not I would find the story interesting, if it would be compelling, realistic, keep me sucked in...lucky for me it delivered!

Will Cochran is the man, actually the one and only Spartan. He's like the best of the best as far as covert ops and killing people and such. He basically answers to no one, as long as he gets the job done, like saving thousands of people from terrorist attacks and stuff. He does what he has to do along the way to complete his mission, he can not fail, he will not! He's the freakin' Spartan!

Anyway, the story is seriously intricate with twists and turns. I was not expecting so many, and was genuinely surprised how everything came together so very nicely, I mean no questions left unanswered in the end. That's a congrats to the author on a story well woven.

I developed tears in certain parts, I developed a pounding heart more than once, I developed shock at a very shock worthy moment, amazement throughout, and shock again.

I'm actually really surprised I even liked this books so much and totally up for reading another like it (hopefully more about Spartan?!), because I generally read things with romance, even if it's just a secondary part of the story. This really didn't have much of that. Although, that is the one sticking point I had with this book. Not the lack of romance, but the minor part where there actually was some. It wasn't all that great, and I didn't like the girl from the beginning....it all just felt kind of weak, although I understood the point...for development of character and other things which will not be stated. But these parts of the books were so few, that it didn't really effect my overall take.

Seriously, this book was awesome. I'm going to go play Call of Duty: Black Ops and pretend I'm a spy now...for serious. (less)

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Dec 18, 2011 Seana rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm kind of on a mission to read more spy fiction right now, and this one crossed my path. Accordingn to the publisher's copy about this, Matthew Dunn was a spy himself, and I noticed another reviewer here saying that in person, Mr. Dunn is a very persuasive individual.

I'd say that it's an okay first effort. Dunn does have control of a rather complicated plot, and makes it all come out right. One of the elements that was meant to be a surprise was not that surprising, but in general it was a twi...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Julie Mendel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The prestigious MI6 organization allows one man, and only one man, to go through a highly specialized program. If he is not dead at the end of it, he holds the title of “Spartan.” No one else is allowed into the program while the current Spartan lives. Spartan is MI6’s most valuable, volatile and secret asset. Will Cochrane is Spartan.

This thriller introduces Will Cochrane, a vengeance seeking operative who in rare moments reveals pieces of his childhood that explain the hardened man he has beco...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Giovanni Gelati rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just finished reading this novel, and I have to say that I enjoyed the last part of it more than the beginning. Why you might ask? The reason is that halfway through my reading of the novel I had the good fortune of interviewing the author on my blogtalk radio show The G-ZONE. Matthew Dunn’s voice is smooth, silky, and yet vibrant. I had gotten a sense of why and how he was able to recruit so many spies; he was pretty captivating. I had his voice in my head as I read the rest of the novel, jus...more I just finished reading this novel, and I have to say that I enjoyed the last part of it more than the beginning. Why you might ask? The reason is that halfway through my reading of the novel I had the good fortune of interviewing the author on my blogtalk radio show The G-ZONE. Matthew Dunn’s voice is smooth, silky, and yet vibrant. I had gotten a sense of why and how he was able to recruit so many spies; he was pretty captivating. I had his voice in my head as I read the rest of the novel, just like he was narrating it for me. The other fun part was trying to figure out how much of his main character is fact and how much may be fiction. I love the main character he has created in Will, aka Spartan. My suggestion is that if you have read this fast paced novel to tune into the show; I have the link here in the post, or if you are planning on reading it, give it a listen and grab Matthew Dunn’s essence. It will make things that much better for you.
Here is the link to the show and then the synopsis:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gelatiss...
“Matthew Dunn spent years as an MI6 field operative working on some of the West’s most clandestine missions. He recruited and ran agents, planned and participated in special operations, and operated deep undercover throughout the world. In Spycatcher he draws on this fascinating experience to breathe urgent, dynamic new life into the contemporary spy novel.
Featuring deft and daring superspy Will Cochrane, Dunn paints a nerve-jangling, bracingly authentic picture of today’s secret world. It is a place where trust is precious and betrayal is cheap—and where violent death is the reward for being outplayed by your enemy.
Will Cochrane, the CIA’s and MI6’s most prized asset and deadliest weapon, has known little outside this world since childhood. And he’s never been outplayed. So far…
Will’s controllers task him with finding and neutralizing one of today’s most wanted terrorist masterminds, a man believed to be an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. Intending to use someone from the man’s past to flush him out of the shadows, Will believes he has the perfect plan, but he soon discovers, in a frantic chase from the capitals of Europe to New York City, that his adversary has more surprises in store and is much more treacherous than anyone he has ever faced—and survived—up to now. “
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Aug 01, 2011 Alla rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Spycatcher” by Matthew Dunn, a former MI6 spy himself, tells the story of MI6 spy Will Cochrane, a man sent on a mission to track down Meggido, a long-feared terrorist who is planning operations in the U.S. and Britain.

The story starts with a bang, as Cochrane is forced to kill his own informer, after the two-sided spy is injured by the terrorists and Cochrane fears that if this informer is captured, he will divulge all their secrets. Cochrane is then summoned back to his boss’s office who giv...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Dipanjan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From a real spy, I definitely expected much better. This is a very good action novel. The protagonist is a tough cookie. But though he has been stated as a formidable adversary, somewhere down the line he falls short of being "formidable".

So what did I expect from a real spy? I expected intelligence, counter-intelligence and then some more. What I expected was layers and layers and layers of deception and misinformation. I expected a the sowcasing of the various processes of the intelligence gam...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Mo rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller

From ReadingWithMo: http://www.readingwithmo.com/2011/08/...

I typically enjoy fast action, suspense thrillers. I am usually able to set realism aside, and enjoy a good shootem' up story. But the action in Spycatcher is so far removed from reality that it was just not an enjoyable read. The main character, Will Cochrane, was able to endure so many injuries and still function that there was no suspense. It was a given that he would walk away from whatever the bad guy could dish out.

The characters...more

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May 05, 2011 Randy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Will Cochrane is an agent for MI6, a very special agent designated with the code name Spartan, the name of the very difficult program for which he trained and passed. Only one agent at a time had that code name and it was his until he was killed.

After a failed assignment in the States, an Iranian he'd handled for information on terrorists activities for years had died at Will's hand, at the man's insistence, rather than let him fall back into Iranian hands, he returns to the States for a new mis...more

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Sep 16, 2011 Don Sparrow rated it 3 of 5 stars

Matthew Dunn's history as a veteran M16 field operative allows him to write this spy thriller from an insider's point of view. This debut novel introduces us to super spy "Will Cochrane" known as "Spartan". Move over James Bond & Jason Borne. There's a new kid on the spy block who is even more lethal and daring. This story reeks of stark realism, intrigue and action.The body count is high and this suspense filled story has tension packed with twists and turns throughout.The ending produced a...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Jerry Mcculley rated it 2 of 5 stars

I normally don't take the time to review a title as long as it fits my expectations. It has to be a notch above or less than average. This story was about average for a spy thriller, a super spy capable of all feats, master in all types of combat with all types of guns, a sad childhood and dysfunctional family so common in these types of reads. But, too many things kept this from being a good read. Too much self conscious detail from the protagonist and nothing from the antagonist made the chara...more

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Mar 08, 2012 Debra Lowman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Spy-thriller is not my typical genre read but this one caught my eye and I figured I should round out my reader's advisory.

Will Cochrane is an MI6 agent who, over the course of the years, has lost his family, any sense of personal identity, and survives only on the adrenaline surge of his work. Suddenly, though, Will comes face to face with not only his family history and the opportunity to avenge his father's death (also a former agent), but also the call to necessarily save the West from a ru...more

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Jul 13, 2011 William Bentrim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn

Will Cochrane is the Spartan. MI6’s answer fictional answer to the fictional 007. A one man killing machine, Cochrane is thrust into a situation that has Byzantine subtleties and world changing consequences.

Angst in spades may be a good description on Will. A veritable thrashing machine of violence and a heart throbbing with compassion describes this most secret of secret agents. I found the compassion part a bit difficult to accept based on the acts of violence commit...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Mark rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: flameout

The author’s real life resume in the spy game had me more than willing to give this a chance. A glowing recommendation by Lee Child didn’t hurt either. In spite of three attempts, I couldn’t get beyond a ludicrous chapter one.

Instead of a snarky review, I’ll just quote three sentences from the book.

Opening sentence:

“You’re sure that I won’t be killed today?”

Hmm. This reader sure hopes the obvious doesn’t occur and reads on.

Descriptive sentences:

The two men became silent. The rain hit their faces...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Justin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed, print-books

http://jerseyguyscanread.blogspot.com...

I wanted so badly to really enjoy this book. I'm not sure what my reasoning was, as I had this ARC sitting on my bookshelf for almost 2 years by the time I finally started it, but I recall really wanting to enjoy this. And I thought I would; it sounded so similar to all the other spy thriller books that are out there, and I thought I had found a new protagonist hero in Will Cochrane (there's only so much Alex Cross I can take before the stories become stag...more http://jerseyguyscanread.blogspot.com...

I wanted so badly to really enjoy this book. I'm not sure what my reasoning was, as I had this ARC sitting on my bookshelf for almost 2 years by the time I finally started it, but I recall really wanting to enjoy this. And I thought I would; it sounded so similar to all the other spy thriller books that are out there, and I thought I had found a new protagonist hero in Will Cochrane (there's only so much Alex Cross I can take before the stories become stagnant and redundant).

Unfortunately, I feel like Spycatcher fell short of my expectations. It was interesting to read this knowing that Matthew Dunn really did work for the MI6 in England, and so the story was based in facts regarding espionage in the governments of both America and England. The story itself, however, just felt flat. My biggest peeve about Lee Child's Jack Reacher series is that everything was so monotonous, and the characters seemed uninterested in their own lives. How can a reader become interested then? Spycatcher is a 2 out of 5 star book in my opinion, but because I know many other readers are much more interested in the Jack Reacher books than I am, I still recommend this to any Lee Child fans as they are very comparable.

Okay, Cochrane is basically the bad-ass hero that was missing from "The Expendables". Willis, Stallone, Statham, Cochrane; they're all big and brawny and up for kicking some bad guy butt. And I get that. I like explosions and fight sequences and all of that. I need some kind of realism in it though. These guys need to take a few hits as well, otherwise it's a bad mock-up of Star Wars and James Bond.. The villains outnumber the hero a million to one, but can't hit their mark if they were aiming at the Titanic. It's unrealistic and boring and people need to be hurt. And yes, Cochrane sustains a few severe injuries in this novel, but what's weird is that he gets up by the next day, every time. And he's supposed to be in his mid 30's, easy. You don't just bounce back from some injuries, no matter who you are. It's weird how much things like this bother me sometimes.

And speaking of Bond, (SPOILERS) Megiddo really bothered me as well. Didn't he watch any action movies before? As the villain, you don't sit and talk with your rival about your plans. You show up, shoot him, and be done with it. Megiddo is the predictable villain who thinks he's infallible, and so tells his entire plan to the man he intends to kill, without really knowing for sure that things will work out that way. I mean, come on! If you fail, then the hero knows what the plan is and can stop it anyway! (NO MORE SPOILERS)

Will Cochrane has suffered a lot in his early childhood and teenage years, and it helped to shape the man he grew up to be. I understand that. Especially from a psychological perspective, I'm not surprised he grew up to become a government agent, working to protect innocents from evil and harm. After what he witnessed and was involved in, it would have been surprising for him to do anything else like a normal person. And I can even understand the need to avoid relationships and social situations. I can't figure out why, even though this story was from his perspective, we the reader never really get true debates and inner discussions. He is very methodical and logical, and a lot of the novel reads as I would expect a calculator to read. There were a lot of moments where I had to manufacture the emotions that I felt I should be experiencing through Cochrane, because he repressed any emotions, and rarely even let them cross his mind. Is that really how spies function? Because if so, that's remarkable. And also psychopathic. I'm a psych major, I know these things.

The story itself was very interesting and well laid out- Cochrane must work with a small US special operations unit to take down a man responsible for most of the Middle East's terrorist attacks against the Western world, before he can launch a new attack against one of the western nations. I would have loved to see different interactions between Will and Lana, because I think it would have made reading this more enjoyable to see some emotions in Will's thoughts and actions, rather than his cold and calculating demeanor. Let's see some surprise, some true happiness, anything!

Sometimes I think I can be a bit harsh in my critiques of books. All I really want, though, is a captivating story, with characters that are fun to read about and potentially to relate to/identify with, told in a way that keeps my attention and takes me away from the real world for a while. That's not too much to ask for in a book, I hope. Anyway, Spycatcher was a bit unemotional for my tastes, but I think fans of Lee Child would enjoy this debut novel from a former MI6 field operative.(less)

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Aug 09, 2011 Bruce Silverstein rated it 4 of 5 stars

An action-packed spy novel for those who love thrillers with almost constant, non-stop action. The author is a former MI6 agent, so I'm sure he knows from whence he speaks and I imagine that a lot of the story must have been based on true life experience. The plot moves at a breakneck pace and involves a frantic chase throughout Europe and the United States to find an Iranian terror lord bent on carrying out a mega-terror attack. Our hero is an MI6 agent named Will Cochrane. Just think of him as...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Dale rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ridiculous but entertaining.

Usually I have a low tolerance for over the top nonsense in my thriller novels. I tend to not like the stories with the unstoppable good guy whose training takes over and causes him to wipe out legions of his opponents. But, this one hit the spot for some reason.

The premise is really quite simple: Will Cochrane is a member of MI6 - the British version of the CIA. He is their super-spy, code-named Spartan. He is nearly unstoppable and pretty much has carte blanche to d...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Maddy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reads, bottoms

PROTAGONIST: Will Cochrane, Intelligence agent
SERIES: Debut
RATING: 2.75
WHY: The author was an MI6 agent who conducted approximately 70 missions, all of them successful. Given that background, I was expecting great things for this spy thriller. Unfortunately, an expert background in the subject does not give one excellent writing skills. There is a lot of awkward prose. Dunn's way of setting the place is to reel off dozens of street names. There was a lack of clarity in explaining the various int...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Richard Starks rated it 2 of 5 stars

The author, Matthew Dunn, is a former MI6 field officer of great experience. He has, according to his biography, mastered the art of organizing secret missions - about 70 in total, all of them successful. But I don't think he's entirely mastered the art of writing. Characters don't emerge; instead, we're told what they are like ("I know why you have an absolute sense of right and wrong," one character tells another. "I know where all that unflinching sense of morality started.") Also, the book c...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Bert rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fun, popularcontemporary

I picked up this book because I wanted to try something new- it certainly isn't my usual kind of Sunday afternoon read!
From the very beginning I was absolutley gripped. Dunn manages to enthrall the reader, and move through the action at the speed of light, whilst simultaneously managing to explain the minutae of the situation down to the specific equipment the characters are using for their missions.
These precise details really add weight to the plot. Add to this the fact that the author used to...more

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May 11, 2011 Barb rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

This is the first book I won as a First-Reads giveaway. I do think Matthew Dunn will only get better and better, but, for me, something was missing from this first novel -- I love to wake up in the morning anxious to get back to the book I was reading the day before -- this didn't happen for me with "Spycatcher".

I'm going to add a PS to my above note because my husband is now reading the book and really liking it! I am going to wait a month or so and start all over again with it and see if I cha...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Gordon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Have noted this book has had Star ratings from 5 stars to an Embarrasing 1 Star, And after reading I can understand why (maybe not the 1 star ). Personally speaking while reading this Spy/Thriller it climbed between very good to mediocre. As others have pointed out Matthew Dunn needs a writing Mentor for his next Will Cochrane outing as the prose were poor, but the action was good. Had for me; CIA spy, tick, CIA paramilitary back-up team, tick, Terrorist adversary, tick.....but where was the In...more

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Spycatcher (Spycatcher #1)

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