The Risk Agent

Risk Agent #1

by Ridley Pearson

 A Chinese National working for an American-owned construction company is grabbed off the streets of Shanghai in broad daylight.  His one-man security detail goes missing as well.  
Rutherford Risk is a firm specializing in extraction: the negotiation for, and the recovery of hostages. Private investigation is illegal in today's China. Operating within her borders will be difficult at best. The security company recruits two unique outsiders to do their bidding. Grace Chu is a forensic accountant hired to follow the money; John Knox is a civilian with unparalleled training in both combat and culture. Grace’s top-notch American education and Chinese military service make her an unassuming, but effective, operative, while Knox’s take-no-prisoners attitude brings them perilously close to harm. Following the money leads to more complex – and dangerous – consequences than either anticipated. Who is actually behind the kidnapping? And more important, can Knox and Grace locate the two hostages ahead of the deadline? Rich with the atmosphere of Shanghai and crackling with tension-filled suspense, Pearson's latest introduces two compelling new characters—and heralds in the start of a brilliant new series.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, China, Adventure

420 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Ridley Pearson is the author of more than fifty novels, including the New York Times bestseller Killer Weekend; the Lou Boldt crime series; and many books for young readers, including the award-winning children's novels Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, which he cowrote with Dave Barry. Pearson lives with his wife and two daughters, dividing their time between Missouri and Idaho.

Also writes Chris Klick mysteries as Wendell McCall.

Reviews

[Amy Lignor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in a stunning new international thriller series; suspense readers can get ready for a truly non-stop tale of intrigue.

The Rutherford Risk firm’s main objectives are finding and negotiating deals for the return of kidnapping victims that are being held as hostages. The latest job they’re hired for is to find a Chinese gentleman, Edward “Lu” Hao, along with his security man, who are working for an American multinational called, The Berthold Group.

This kidnapping happened in China, where private investigations are illegal, so this recovery will be more than difficult when compared to others the firm has accomplished. Rutherford Risk hires two people who work outside the company for help. They are John Knox, an importer, and Grace Chu, a forensic accountant - two professionals who are highly skilled that must rescue the kidnap victims.

With Hao, are his records of bribes that he has been paying out for the American Berthold Group operating in Shanghai. Grace, who had helped Lu get the job in the first place, delves into the world of forensic accounting and tries desperately to find the missing books. From working as an ‘insider’ to delivering the ransom and extracting the hostages, John and Grace follow the money trail, trying to solve the puzzle before the deadline runs out.

This is a truly great thriller that not only captivates and enthralls, but also brings people up to date on the inner-workings of the Chinese government. And the best part is, The Risk Agent is only the beginning of what appears to be a perfect prelude to an exciting series.

Until Next Time, Everybody!
Amy

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is the beginning of a new series for Ridley Pearson and I think it will be a hit! Because this story was set in China and had many characters, the reader must be totally focused on the book. It could be confusing in parts and I found myself doing some re-reading. The story opens with the kidnapping of a Chinese employee of a huge American corporation. Because Americans are forbidden from investigating any crimes in China, the company engages the services of a "private" firm. With much money at stake and the all-important saving face for the Chinese, the complicated plot takes the reader through the streets of Shanghai to solve the mystery. The author clearly spent time in China as the culture was very well informed and integrated into the story. The Chinese government and local/federal police organizations were a large part of the story. I think that is where my understanding in the story sometimes lapsed. The two main characters, Knox and Grace Chu, were well-developed and complimented each other throughout. The families/private lives of both characters were touched upon and very interesting. The surprise ending made it very clear that there will be more Knox/Chu novels coing from Mr. Pearson. I will look forward to reading them! This was an ARC that I won as a Goodreads giveaway.

[Isabelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

While I have enjoyed several of Ridley Pearsons books featuring Lou Boldt, I found this book difficult to get into. I never really cared about the main characters - John Knox an American mercenary type person and Grace Chu - a Chinese ex-military forensic accountant. I also had a lot of trouble keeping all the secondary characters straight and frequently got confused about who was who. I did really enjoy the Chinese setting for the story, but if there's another book featuring these characters, I wouldn't go out of my way to read it.

[Michael Compton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engrossing thriller about a double kidnapping in Shanghai--one American and one Chinese--with dire repercussions for a billion dollar construction project and the competing corporations, officials, and random players who will go to any lengths to achieve their goals. The two years author Ridley Pearson spent in Shanghai pay off in a rich and fascinating rendering of the great city and its people, and he has a winning combination in his investigative leads--American Risk Agent John Knox and Chinese Forensic Accountant Grace Wu. They're predictably oil and water, but their alternate bouts of sparring and cooperation are believable and engaging. First in a series.

[E.R. Yatscoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Complex story with many characters set in Shanghai. An investigation begins with a US construction company working in China and Chinese competitors. Big bucks, corruption, and loyalties all come into play as RR a security company hires John Knox to figure it all out. Many others do not want the truth to come out. The author is a very good writer and never a let down. As an author myself I admire the complex plots which I find difficult to do as they are time consuming. This story was a library book.

[John Biddle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this one and it was so complicated, with so many characters I got lost more than once. Just didn't seem worth it. DNF

[Pepita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been a page turner only I was listening to it on CD; very Matthew Reilly-esq with non-stop action, unscrupulous Chinese, unstoppable Mongolian and corrupt American caught in their own 'sting' by an attractive Chinese accountant and hero American ex military 'good guy'. Phew!

[Cathy Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Line: Lu Hao, a slim, well-dressed man in his twenties stood on the roof of a subcompact car the size of a toaster, peering over a ten-foot-high concrete-block wall and into the parking lot outside an aging tannery.

When a Chinese National working for an American company and his security detail are kidnapped on the streets of Shanghai, Rutherford Risk is called in to handle the recovery of the hostages. Private investigation is illegal in China, so handling this matter will be a very delicate affair.

The security company brings in two outsiders to find out the identity of the kidnappers. Forensic accountant Grace Chu is hired to follow the money. Her American education and Chinese military service make her a very effective agent. John Knox is a civilian who has a lot of training in combat and knows the language, but his friendship with one of the hostages makes him unpredictable.

Following the money proves to be even more complicated than originally anticipated, and people begin to doubt whether Chu and Knox can find out who's behind the kidnapping before the deadline. The further Chu and Knox probe, the more they come to realize that there's a lot more at stake than anyone realizes.

Author Ridley Pearson lived in China for a period of time, and it certainly shows in this novel. His portrait of modern China was my favorite part of the book. How the people behave during a national holiday, how the government attempts to find ways to be self-sufficient in agriculture, how huge cities can be built-- seemingly overnight-- and millions of people expected to pack up and move in... all these details and dozens more brought the setting to life for me.

This is the first book in a proposed series featuring John Knox-- learned in languages and combat-- who runs an import-export business to pay for the help his developmentally disabled brother needs. His partner in this book, Grace Chu, is vital because she can go places and do things without causing suspicion. Character development in a book is very important to me, and I felt that was lacking here. Knox and Chu both have so much potential, but they took a backseat to the action. Since this is the beginning of a series featuring Knox, readers will have the opportunity to learn more about him in future books, and I'm hoping that Grace Chu will appear again, too. (I know, I know. Thrillers aren't supposed to have a lot of character development, but I know some that do!)

The plot has plenty of twists and turns. It's everyone for himself, what's in it for me, don't trust anyone else... all further complicated because the Chinese play by an entirely different set of rules. I have to admit that, the more I read, the more I felt as though the plot had too many twists and too many turns. I was exhausted by book's end, and although The Risk Agent has two strong main characters and a superb setting, in the end it was just an "okay" read for me. If a few twists (and fifty to one hundred pages) had been removed, and the characters emphasized more, I would have loved it. If you're one of the many readers who prefer action to character (and believe me, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that), you probably will love it.

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Risk Agent by Rid­ley Pear­son is a fic­tional mystery/thriller tak­ing place in China. The book is the first of a new series.

The Ruther­ford Risk firm has a prob­lem. They are try­ing to nego­ti­ate for a hostage which was taken in Shang­hai, but are not allowed, by law, to inves­ti­gate. The firm recruits two out­siders to bypass the Chi­nese laws, a dan­ger­ous game even when play­ing by the rules.

Amer­i­can Jon Knox, a civil­ian with mil­i­tary train­ing, and Grace Chu, an accoun­tant with mil­i­tary train­ing, are put on the job. There are many things which are dan­ger­ous in cor­po­rate China, but fol­low­ing the money is cer­tainly on top of the list.

The Risk Agent by Rid­ley Pear­son is a whirl­wind of a ride through the busi­ness world of China. While I don’t know enough about the busi­ness world in that part of the world, that part of the novel cer­tainly seemed authen­tic to me and made for a fas­ci­nat­ing read.

It seems that in China many com­pa­nies, espe­cially those who are not based in China, have a habit of giv­ing incen­tives to gov­ern­ment offi­cials in order to gain the upper hand in the bid­ding process, or sim­ply just flat out to get a job. Much like elec­tions “incen­tives” (cam­paign dona­tions), the act is frowned on offi­cially but it seems to be the stan­dard oper­at­ing pro­ce­dure (SOP) with a large amount of recip­i­ents but only selec­tive victims.

The Risk Agent is not a quick read by any means, the novel is plot­ted extremely well and takes time to digest and fol­low, but the reward of going on a great adven­ture is well worth the invest­ment in time.

The two main char­ac­ters, John Knox and Grace Chu, are fully devel­oped and we get to know them before the final page is done. It is amaz­ing at how much char­ac­ter devel­op­ment goes into this novel while run­ning around the back­streets of Shanghai.

I have said time and time again and one of the main rea­sons I like espi­onage nov­els is that they are mostly gray. The line dis­tin­guish­ing bad from good are often blurred and horse hair thin. The novel’s twists and turns had me guess­ing who is on whose side, what was most cer­tain is that every­one has their own agenda which made the story more compelling.

An invig­o­rat­ing aspect of the book is the char­ac­ter of Grace Chu, a level headed accoun­tant (and an ex-Chinese mil­i­tary). Con­trast­ing Grace’s cool head and world view with John Knox’s impa­tience and impul­sive­ness added another inter­est­ing angle, as well as bal­ance, to the story. While every part­ners story has some fric­tion between the char­ac­ters, I believe that this relationship

I believe that Mr. Pear­son has cre­ated two of the most com­plex and fas­ci­nat­ing char­ac­ters which had the dubi­ous plea­sure of becom­ing part­ners. I, for one, am look­ing for­ward to their next exploits.

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[Tad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Risk Agent, by Ridley Pearson is a very interesting thriller/espionage story. It pairs a male American ex-military (or as good as) with a female Chinese accountant (and ex-military officer) to track down two kidnap victims and important financial information belonging to an American company operating in China.

The chinese setting and cultural differences make for an interesting backdrop. The story is layered like an onion with each layer pulled back only to reveal another mystery. The protagonists are developed nicely and easy to root for. They function well as a team in spite of, or perhaps because of, their cultural differences. There are a number of less developed secondary characters whose motives are harder to fathom, but they keep the story spinning in unpredictable directions.

There are a number of good action sequences but this book is more espionage and suspense than high octane thriller. Pearson does a good job of keeping you engaged and thinking, trying to unravel the mystery as clues are uncovered. Motives are complicated and trust hard to earn. The story concludes nicely, wrapping up all the major storylines while still leaving an opening to continue following these characters in future novels.

This is a well-written and interesting book, but not a pulse-pounding one. The action moves forward steadily, but never really builds to a crescendo. If your taste in thrillers runs more to the espionage side than the action side, you will likely enjoy this book.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book.

[Kevin Kazokas · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only risk borne in "The Risk Agent" is that of the reader wasting his/her time.

This kidnapping/corporate espionage story plods along with two of the most unlikable protagonists thriller readers will encounter.

John Knox serves as the adventurous trader turned mercenary agent, a la Han Solo, with a similar streak of nicety he does his best to keep hidden. Grace Chu is an over-confident forensic accountant with a cold, remote personality that does nothing to endear her to the reader. They team up to solve a kidnapping crime with ties to each of their personal lives as well as to power brokers in the Chinese construction, the national police and the communist government.

The book promises tension-filled suspense but hardly delivers. The ultimate payoff for readers is finally eradicating these characters from their lives and moving on to the multitude of more worthy thriller series.

Save yourselves; don't take the risk.

[Randy Schultz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have long been a fan of Ridley Pearson. I have loved his consistent serious approach to crime fiction and I have until now been of the sort that buys his new books with nary a thought to what's inside. That ends with The Risk Agent. Pearson himself has become a Risk. This was pedestrian at best, far beneath his usual work and I suspect that old Ridley was just trying to use up all the wonderful material he'd accrued from his time in China. I'm glad that a small portion of the money I've given him enabled him to go to China for a few years but I wish he hadn't felt so compelled to write something exciting with it all. It comes off like a bad Baldacci, really a B effort at best.

[Richard G · Rating 2 out of 5]

i am battling with i liked it, which sounds too strong and it was ok which sounds weak so i am going to give it 2 stars for the goodreads rating 2.5 stars for those who read these lines. it was a fun story and i was able to turn the pages without too much difficulty but it was a book of this ilk without any holy moleys to be said for it. for me, i need the holy moleys from these suspense mystery action who's the guy behind the guy behind the twist behind the gal behind the guy behind the original guy and so on etc, etc, etc... ummm behind the guy!

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ridley Pearson is such a fine author, so I was excited to read the first book with new protagonists Grace Chu and John Knox. I feel like the base premise of this plot could have been good, unfortunately it turned out to have too many confusing and unnecessary characters, our "detectives" had a lot of conclusion-jumping going on to connect the plot points and you can't really go to that well too many times in a good suspense/mystery novel . I will be reading the next one in the series in June; I have faith in Mr Pearson's ability so expecting improvement ....

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going into this, I wasn’t sure if it was YA or adult fiction, because my only previous exposure to Ridley Pearson is the Kingdom Keepers series. It is not YA, but that’s a distinction of story content rather than writing. It’s too edgy for YA.

The story is slickly assembled, without wasted interactions. It has that pacing problem particular to thrillers: it takes half the book to properly establish our cast and scenario, but once the dominoes are all lined up, they fall in quick succession. The first half didn’t really hold my attention. While I was reading it, I would get through forty pages at a time, but whenever I set it down, I didn’t have any particular motivation to pick it up again. The second half is more interesting, and once I got there, I finished the book in a couple of days.

Pearson gets points for not being weird about describing women like so many thriller authors are. There’s a certain amount of casual in-character misogyny, as is standard for the genre, but male and female characters get similar sorts of introduction in the narration. The one time a woman is introduced in sexualized terms, it’s because the POV character has an ongoing friends-with-benefits arrangement with her. It surprised me, and it was refreshing.

A decent thriller. Interesting and engaging setting, with plenty of drive-by discussion of culture clashes and contrast between the ways Grace and John do things. Characters notable mostly for how many of them there are, which makes it quite impressive how easy it is to remember who’s who and why they’re significant. (Kozlowski, from the American consulate, was my favorite.) The story comes together nicely. If Pearson was a slightly better writer, this could have been one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read. As it is, the writing itself is definitely the weakest aspect of the novel, and it took me a while to get through it because I kept setting it down for a week at a time. This story would probably work better as a miniseries. Maybe an Amazon original.

[Jreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another used book purchased at a charity book sale in February for $1.50. It was published in 2012 by Putnam. This is a nicely appointed book. The spine is lightly lined with silver embossed lettering and a hash line with RP under it crossing have of the front cover. Inside the cover is a taped in map of Shanghai with a border of what looks to be partial photos of motorcycle parts. The pages ae a nice weight and minimally dappled. There is a referenced author's note citing the brief history of China's attempt to curb the corruption documented within the story which follows for 420 pages. The cover has enough attention grabbers to have potential readers select this from a book store or airport kiosk. I remove the covers when reading and was slightly dismayed to realize I'd left a trace of finger prints on the back cover after not waiting for hand lotion to dry. Part of a good book is appreciating all aspects. My daughter rolled her eyes and asked why I was continuing to read analogue. I hissed 'It's paper..'

Sometimes it's hard to catch all of the nuances in a story about another country. I haven't read many novels that take place in China. Ridley Pearson lived there and gained an enormous understanding of nuance with his characters and was able to share these perceptions in his story. Looking at the detail and how relevant it is now in 2020 is amazing. He put all of this out there, probably taken for granted at the time by many of us because we had no idea a lot of this was going on.

The story was the first of a series. There's mercenaries, corruption from numerous characters, you get a sense of your overwhelming (for me--American) privilege while reading this. It moved well, I had trouble putting it down. It wasn't like an action film, more subtle.

I really liked it. Wonderful job. Well done.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this 3 1/2 stars. This is a thriller. A construction company operating in Shanghai pays bribes to many subcontractors and officials. The Chinese man who delivers the bribes has been kidnapped. Along with him, an American security man is also kidnapped. Security company Rutherford Risk is asked to help recover the files and, hopefully, the kidnap victims. Because they are not allowed to investigate on Chinese soil they secretly hire two outsiders for the dangerous job. John Knox is an importer of art and objects and knows China well. He is also a highly trained ex-agent. He is motivated to take the job for two reasons: the American kidnap victim is his long time friend, and Knox has a brother who needs expensive medical treatment long term, so he needs the money. Grace Chu, former military with exceptional training is a forensic accountant. She joins Knox to find the files. She is motivated because the Chinese kidnap victim is the brother of her ex-boyfriend and she got him the job in the first place. Thus begins the fast paced rescue mission. Knox and Grace do not always see eye to eye. Both are strong willed. Both have skills necessary for the mission. Following them everywhere are the Chinese police, the Chinese construction company in competition with the American company, and some scary Mongolians. It seems they are always followed, always afraid of being caught. Danger can literally be around every corner. Throw in a typhoon at a critical juncture and the danger keeps increasing. Knox and Grace must use their wits, their strength, and some luck to navigate to the solution.

[Dlora · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Pearson's series about Sun Valley, Idaho, Sheriff Walt Fleming so I was looking forward to this series starring John Knox and Grace Chu. The Risk Agent is a fast moving adventure in China, with our main characters hired by Rutherford Risk to try to foil a hostage situation of a Chinese national and an American security PI. Not so easy to do when private investigation is illegal in China. However, I was very turned off by the Chinese social environment of graft and corruption. No one, from the top to the bottom layers of society, can be trusted not to betray you in exchange for money or other incentives. It just is the way of life. The author even included a note in the front material detailing how much embezzlement, bribery, dereliction of duty, and corruption cases were investigated in China between 2003 and 2009. I was also disheartened by the poverty and crowding of the country and the attempts to ameliorate the problem by resettlement. So despite the action and interesting main characters, I didn't much like the book. Not enough positive, uplifting--not any positive, uplifting elements in the story. I'm sure there were some but I can't remember them; the overall feel was dreary and dark.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed Ridley Pearson books - especially Boldt/Matthews and Walt Fleming books. This is the first Pearson novel I've read in close to 20 years. Honestly, I had a hard time getting into the book. Whether it was the number of characters to keep track of, or the Chinese culture to consider or the background to be laid down, I'm not sure sure - but it took WEEKS to get through the first 1/2 of the book.

However, at that point, the action starting coming fast and furious and it took but a day or two to get through the 2nd half of the book. As he usually does, Pearson weaves and intriguing story with several twists and turns - some may surprise you - as he leads you through the story. In this case, following John Knox and Grace Chu as they unravel the mystery of missing/kidnapped friends and colleagues and the background behind why they go missing.

The 2nd half of the book was good enough to encourage me to check out the next one in the "Risk Agent" series, "Choke Point".

[Dan Downing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authors ebb and flow through my life. I used to read Tony Hillerman and Dick Francis, for example, and they never disappointed. Then I stopped reading them. Don't know why.
Ridley Pearson is another. For at least a half-dozen novels I let him entertain me; then I bought a paperback of his which still rests on my shelf unread. I did permit "The Risk Agent" to lure me in, however, and I do not regret it at all.
This was a departure for him, a new series. There are now 4 or 5 Risk Agent titles clattering around, and if I did not have 300 titles looming unread over me, I would consider picking up another. Oddly, and by chance, this was the second book in a row which I read that was set on the Pacific Rim.
Pearson writes passably well; his plots tend toward the convoluted, and he avoids the salacious.
Recommended.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Dan Brown-/Steve Berry-esque-style mystery/chase offering from another good storyteller Ridley Pearson. This book is the first in what will apparently be a series. I liked it enough to want to read #2, and that may tell me if I want to read more of his books in this style rather than the "Kingdom Keepers" series he wrote several years ago.
Some twists and turns but I had the big "twist" figured out less than halfway through. It was still interesting to see how the protagonist and his sidekick got there as well.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needed an international intrigue fix and found this series by Ridley Pearson. A company by the name of Rutherford Risk is on a mission to locate and recover a couple hostages and they bring in a forensic accountant - to follow the money- and an import/export/combat-trained/street-smart guy that needs money - for the muscle and street-cred in Shanghai. It will be following these 2 characters, Grace and John, through this series...On to the Choke Point!

[Msgadget · Rating 5 out of 5]

My enjoyment of this book was diminished only by the Playaway device. That's not an issue with the publisher or even Playaway - it's a library borrow so any wonkiness is probably attributable to a multitude of patrons. Anyway, the story is extremely well thought out with twists turns and no human action unsubstantiated or unexamined. I am now completely bound to the series and will be starting #2 as soon as it finishes downloading.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the second book in this series (Choke Point) many moons ago and really did not care for it. Maybe the problem was not having the background that Ridley Pierson's The Risk Agent (yes that is book number one) provided? File this under international intrigue-the plot is pretty labyrinthine and deals with the political realities of Red China. I enjoyed getting the background I needed to flesh out the characters of Grace Chu and John Knox. This was a smart and smartly written action thriller.

[JasonReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It was a good thriller, but there were certain oddities that stuck out. For example, the main character, John Knox, apparently had a bottomless pocket full of baseball caps and sunglasses because at one point, he was switching to new ones every several blocks as he walked.

His idea of "questioning" dudes basically consisted of hitting them in the crotch until their nuts and tonsils traded places. 🤨

[KevinS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half. Mr Pearson left out all the boring parts - this book really moves. Think of it as reading a James Bond movie. Intrigue, lying, cheating, stealing, thugs, mayhem and skullduggery, and a very capable man and woman dealing with it all while establishing a relationship. I read Bone White (Risk Agent #4) and it drove me to try this book.

[Meemaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one at all. I am not sure if it was because I read this shortly after The Parsifal Mosaic, but I found the characters bland and some solutions kind of out of the blue. Like “oh hey we sure got lucky we randomly tripped over this clue we needed so badly”. I would not recommend.

[Joe O'Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good; Continuing characters; John Knox and Grace Chu (first in series); when two men, one Chinese and one American, are kidnapped in China, two people (each with their own motivations) join forces to free them and discover the underlying cause - while battling Chinese custom and numerous obstacles from members of both countries

[Jon Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great plot , really moves along with lots of twists and turns. He has a good understanding of modern day China and this makes an interesting twist in the narrative.
best read for some while will be looking for more.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A confusing and convoluted thriller. Greed. Violence. Corruption. Subterfuge. Cultural indirectness. Of course it’s China. Shanghai. I was in a perpetual state of WTF and just riding the wave to the ending. Not sure if I’ll continue on in the series.