Ballet!

by Tom Murphy, Warren Murphy

DEATH SETS THE STAGE

One by one they died. In Paris. In Switzerland. In Ireland. In California. The most gifted and famous Soviet defectors. Victims of an unknown assassin. Pawns in a monstrous game.

One prize target remains. Dima Lubov. The most celebrated new star of the ballet world. Leaping from triumph to triumph on stage. And plunging into a passionate love affair with Jennifer Hale, the exquisite American prima ballerina who is the perfect partner in his art and in his arms.

A gruesome global orchestration of evil is mounting towards its nightmare crescendo - as the pair of unsuspecting lovers dance ever closer to the abyss...

Genres: Thriller

371 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 5, 1978

Reviews

[P.D.R. Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is still, despite its age, a shining example of well written, excellent-to-read thriller. Real tension building to the wonderful ending and characters to care about make it a superb read. A depth of knowledge on the topic of ballet, not too much blood and guts or tedious spy stuff, add up to a novel anyone can enjoy, not just the spy or thriller aficionados.

I'm a ballet fan anyway, and if Tom Murphy is not, he deserves 10 out of 10 for his research. The story has two plot threads: nearly retired Sam of the CIA wondering why so many Russian defectors are dying, and Jenny and Dimitri and the ballet company. This is the USSR Russia of communist times so Dimitri is also a defector. We have the charming love story of Jenny and Dimitri, and the looming horror of the attempt that will be made on his life, along with Sam's efforts to stop it.

The list of characters is long but all of them are well drawn and feel 'real'. Tom Murphy's writing skills are exceptionally good. He's not a flashy writing. You just realise how good he is when you've finished the book and try reading another thriller.

Even if you are not a ballet fan you will enjoy the novel because it's about people. Tom Murphy's skill is such that he makes you care right from the opening page when Jenny is about to dance her first major role in front of a critical New York audience.

'Ballet' should be on every thriller writer's shelf, every would-be thriller writer ought to read it, and readers who love excitement and the 'will he - won't he' tension of a thriller will want to keep the book to reread once a year!

[Misfit]

By the same author who wrote Lily Cigar.

[Cat Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confession: I read this years ago and have been looking for it ever since to purchase a copy. My ballet background endeared it to me. Also the thinly veiled identities of the ballerina and her ballet lover. It's not great literature. But it's lovely and hit a resonant chord with me. And now...I'll buy it, if I can find it on Amazon...

[Jeffrey Powanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a ballet melodrama. It's a spy novel. It's both!

It's a fun, schmaltzy story set in the world of New York ballet, with spy thriller nonsense (someone is killing Russian defectors, and a Russian dancer is on the list) thrown in. Not great literature, but several hours of solid entertainment. An extra star for the ballet details and the wonderful evocation of Manhattan in the Seventies (the book was originally published in 1978).

If you don’t enjoy novels about ballet dancers or spies, this book will be a silly waste of time. Suggest trying it anyway. You may find that a silly waste of time can sometimes be more gratifying than serious-minded pursuits.

[Julie Plummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual, but lots of fun and well-written, especially if you like ballet.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Artistic and scientific Russia defectors are being targeted for death. David Laughlin, CIA, has noticed and gets permission from the deputy director, Sam Purcell, an old friend to investigate. Next on the list is Dmitry Lubov, currently dancing with the Civic Ballet Company, where he meets and falls in love with Jennifer Hale. There is ballet intrigue and jealousy, ups and downs, lessons learned, triumphs and loses; a book the every balletomane will enjoy with the backstage action and the descriptions of the ballets.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is in equal parts a love story and a spy novel, written with a poetic precision. What makes it really stand out is a first rate look at the backstage life of ballet dancers; I can't speak with equal authority as to the reality of the CIA backstage workings, but Tom Murphy certainly makes it seem believable. I've re-read this a number of times and am still interested enough to race along to the climactic Gala scene.

[Ilze · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I might've been too young to really understand this book (when I read it).

[munkchip]

This book ticks all the boxes for creating high drama: backstage politics of the elite ballet world AND Cold War intrigue. And yet, the wealth of characters and storylines dispersed the tension a bit, so that while it was certainly a thriller it didn’t have the same edge-of-the-seat, un-put-down-able, breathtaking quality that it could have. The characters were, perhaps partly due to their quantity, developed very little, though there were many tender relationships, both romantic and platonic. The descriptions of the ballets were expansive, evidencing both a knowledge and passion for the dance from at least the spectator angle. In short, an enjoyable if forgettable read.