Puppet on a Chain

by Alistair MacLean

From the acclaimed master of action and suspense. The all time classic.

Paul Sherman of Interpol's Narcotics Bureau flies to Amsterdam on the trail of a dope king.

With enormous skill the atmosphere is built up: Amsterdam with its canals and high houses; stolid police; psychopaths; women in distress and above all - murder.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Crime, Action, Suspense

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Alistair Stuart MacLean (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair MacGill-Eain), the son of a Scots Minister, was brought up in the Scottish Highlands. In 1941, at the age of eighteen, he joined the Royal Navy; two and a half years spent aboard a cruiser were to give him the background for HMS Ulysses, his first novel, the outstanding documentary novel on the war at sea. After the war he gained an English Honours degree at Glasgow University, and became a schoolmaster. In 1983, he was awarded a D. Litt. from the same university.

Maclean is the author of twenty-nine world bestsellers and recognised as an outstanding writer in his own genre. Many of his titles have been adapted for film - The Guns of the Navarone, The Satan Bug, Force Ten from Navarone, Where Eagles Dare and Bear Island are among the most famous.

Reviews

[Metodi Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Това е една чудесно изпипана, но зловеща на моменти кримка и наистина ми е жал, че няма как да научим за други приключения на майор Шерман.

Препрочетох я с удоволствие за пореден път и я препоръчвам!

Корицата на българското издание е доста зловеща!

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 3 out of 5]

13/01/2017

I had read this book in the early eighties - I don't remember anything of the book other than the title. But the title suddenly flashed into my mind today. I wonder why?



17/07/2018

This book again came to mind today...

[Philip · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some people rank Puppet as the last of the "good" MacLean books; but I'm afraid I have to place it as the first of the "bad" ones — it reads like a bad Roger Moore-era Bond film (or a good Austin Powers one). Narrator/Interpol cop Paul Sherman makes numerous mistakes along the way, getting most of the women he cares about killed, and getting himself repeatedly snuck up on and/or captured, then put in bizarre death scenarios (e.g., death by loud clocks??) where the villian drones on endlessly about his plans before leaving our hero alone to die…only to have him escape time after time; (apparently just a minor inconvenience, because both we and the bad guy know he's just gonna get captured all over again). For God's sake, just shoot him!

The book is further handicapped by a terrible narration; Jonathan Oliver sounds way too upper-class British for the character, and his posh tone just makes MacLean's endless droll remarks all the more annoying. He also pauses weirdly and overly-long at the end of almost every sentence; and for some reason, repeatedly pronounces the word "chagrin" as "SHAG-ran," which may (?) be a legitimate French pronunciation, but in context just sounds wrong to my American ear.* (Oliver also makes all his Dutch characters sound like Mike Myers as “shmoke and a pancake" Goldmember.)

The plot involves smuggling drugs in clocks and dolls in Amsterdam, possibly cool at the time but endlessly copied since then. I'm sure I read this as a teen, as a few of the scenes seemed familiar (death by traditional Dutch farm women with pitchforks?); but I couldn't remember anything about the book until I actually read it. I only revisited now because I couldn't remember anything about it, and Libby had it (and a lot of other classic tough guy books from the '60s and '70s — see my other recent reading of Desmond Bagley) as audio.

Wikipedia says that "in 1963, MacLean decided to retire from writing, saying he never enjoyed it and only did it to make money;” and though he “unretired” three years later and went on to write an additional 18 (!!) books, that lack of enthusiasm frankly shows here. Still, early MacLean was pretty darn good, and for any long-time fan, there's an interesting and apparently ongoing book-by-book discussion called "The Alistair MacLean Thread" available here: https://www.ajb007.co.uk/discussion/5....

Like many of MacLean's later books, this was made into an equally bad 1970 movie for which he also wrote the script (wildly and inexplicably different from the book), and which for some reason can be seen for free on Tubi — but I couldn't get past the first 20 minutes, despite a nice bad guy turn from the always-enjoyable Vladek Shaybal, who you'd most likely recognize as the short-lived Spectre chessmaster "Kronsteen" in "From Russia With Love."

* See comments below from my Scottish friends proving (once again) that I am just a dumb American.

[John Freeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

My love of reading was shaped, in part, by the books that resided on my father’s paperback novel shelf—John D. MacDonald, Leon Uris, James A. Mitchner…and of course, Alistair MacLean. So it was with a strong sense of nostalgia that I picked up one of the few books by him I hadn’t read, Puppet on a Chain.

I was disappointed.

One disappointment was the main character, Major Sherman, an INTERPOL agent investigating narcotics trafficking in Amsterdam. He’s a typical MacLean character in that he is cynical, confident, and competent. Unfortunately, he is not as compelling as MacLean’s other protagonists. I will stop short of saying there is nothing likable about him, but he is far from charismatic. As I reader, I just don’t care about Sherman or his mission.

The implausibility of the story is another thing I don’t like about the novel. Perhaps in 1969 the word heroin, alone, was inherently evil enough to not require elucidation. But if Sherman has spent two years trying to crack this operation, I want to see the scourge that heroin is, in detail, not have one strung out junkie paraded out of the character rolls and then have me believe that Sherman is risking his life for that.

Sherman identifies the antagonists in the book as “a brilliantly directed criminal organization,” yet, given three opportunities to kill him, these brilliant criminals fail to carry it out. And I’m supposed to believe that an entire village is not only cooperating with Reverend Goodbody in his smuggling operation, but will commit murder?

[Don Gerstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read many of MacLean’s books, and I expected much more than what I received with “Puppet on a Chain.”

Major Sherman works for Interpol, and is hot on the trail of a major drug smuggler. He has two female assistants accompanying him to Amsterdam, and together they must unravel the mystery and find out how the drugs are being transported and delivered.

Most of MacLean’s plots are more convoluted, and the reader is kept guessing right up to the very end. “Puppet” presents what are supposed to be twists, but since there is no rhyme or reason for them to occur, the author’s desired effect is muted and the plot falls flat on its face. MacLean’s storytelling skill attempts to shine through and does make it easier to accept the plot choices, but this is not one of his best efforts. Three stars.

[Michael Romeo Talks Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breathtaking Suspence

This novel starts with a bang then proceeds at breakneck speed to a dizzying climax. This book should come equipped with seatbelts. This was my introduction to this author's work. If his other books are this good he'll have a new fan.

[Anne Earney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another I read because it's set in Amsterdam. Suspense is not my preferred genre - I'm not sure why, but I've never loved the genres of suspense or mystery. So I find it difficult to get into under the best of circumstances, and with this book, I felt only a mild sense of curiosity. When the whole thing was explained at the end, that was interesting in an intellectual way, but not exactly satisfying. On another note, this is possibly one of the most sexist novels I've ever read (at least in the top 10). The main character has two young, attractive female assistants, whom he continuously talks down to, treats as inferiors and generally denigrates their intelligence. Except for the end when suddenly he's in love with one of them and wants to marry her. Sigh. The novel is in first person, so it could just be that this particular character was meant to feel that way, but it certainly didn't help me feel for him. On the other hand, the book has its funny moments - the main character is always letting others take his gun from him (mostly because he screws up) and he can be endearingly forward about his faults, which include sometimes not being very good at his job. I probably won't be reading any more Alistair MacLean novels, although HMS Ulysses has been sitting on my shelves since college, and I have to admit I'm slightly more interested now, if only to see if it's any better.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are other Maclean books I prefer but this is a little classic. A book is forever set in its time and setting these may change but fine writing endures. So here you do not have the gadgets of Bond or the ingenuity of Bourne but in Paul Sherman you have a determined investigator who remains credible in all his efforts, in an account that carries a threat and conveys a sense of danger still to a modern day reader. There is a menace in the pages that can disturb, a beautiful backdrop of Amsterdam and its environs set against a seedy and frightening world of corruption and greed. The pleasure some seem to take in destroying human life is a chilling sensation that remains with you long after you finish the book. Perhaps it is the violence within a tourist setting that unsettles still when we are now familiar with drug related incidents and its gun crime culture in our modern cities.

[Anita Radeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Много приятно криминално романче, което пак ни показва истината скрита зад големите нарко организации. Винаги зад кулисите стои родната милиция, която се е изкушила да прибере някоя сумичка, вместо да се бори за спазване на закони. Главният герой е много приятен, даже някак обаятелен мъж, чудесен агент, опитва се да навърже малките детайли и да списа цялата организация....все едно не знаем, че това е абсолютно невъзможно. Точно заради това загиват някои герои, които не ни се иска, но пък това внася много реалност и живот в историята, много реално се случва всичко и си склонен да си представиш, че в Амстердам може би има точно такива скрити схеми. Много приятна история като цяло, просто който е чел и други кримки ще забележи, че това не е най-блестящата творба от този жанр.

[Vatsala · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing.

Weak action, foolish protagonists, stupid police, even stupider plot with everyone turning into a villain in the climax.

Maybe it was some other Maclean who wrote gripping thrillers like the Satan Bug and the Golden Rendezvous.

[Eric Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Amsterdam and dealing with the drug trade, Paul Sherman of Interpol speaks in a voice similar to Agent 007. Too much description, telling and exaggerated action.

[VijayaRaghavan S N · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never took the saying 'Do not judge a book by it's cover' even for it's face value. But, after this book, I have come with peace with the very same saying. Never before have I ever read or even seen a book which was as shabby as this one. It's shabbiness was understandable because it was taken out of a public library. But I failed to account for the punch that very same book packed.

As said above, this book was taken from a public library. Not by me buy my dad on my request that I need a thriller. I saw its cover and was like 'this doesn't look so cool'. But I didn't have any other books in my hand after the Foundation series. So unwillingly I took up the book. I opened it and found that writing was crammed and concluded that this is gonna take some time even though it's just 220 odd pages.

The first couple of pages proved me right. But from then on it was one of the exhilaration rides. Mr MacLean has got a unique way of writing the thoughts going on through his character's mind. It is kind of realistic as if you are in the character's shoe and facing what he was facing. More than the story that was what took me by surprise. But then every book has its lows too. The author goes into too much of details for me that in particular intervals you find two or three pages without any dialogues. This gives a dry feeling to the book and the only reason why one star is missing from the ratings.

Overall, one of the best thrillers I read. Right till the end. Even though you can guess what might happen next, it's not going to dampen the thrill.

P. S. I did see a bit of myself in Sherman. Not that I am calling myself an ingenious detective with a future in the Narcotics Department of Interpol. But, with his character.

[Łukasz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well...

Right now I'm in the process of re-reading my small collection of MacLean's books. Last time I read them was probably 10 years ago... They are, unfortunately, badly translated (and I want to get my hands on originals), which I see now and which is kind of distracting. But it's not that bad. Anyway, to the book at hand...

I remembered "Puppet on a Chain" as a very disturbing story. I could vividly picture the three brutal deaths and it became the only MacLean's novel that I'd read only once. Not that I didn't like it, but one can deal with just as much of such stuff. This time it was similar, except the story, that I liked then, and that didn't seem so good now.

To be honest, by the end I felt that it would be a very short story if it wasn't for these cartoon villain-ish types of bad guys. Normally, a character like Paul Sherman would quickly find himself in a canal with a bullet hole in the back of the head and instead the bad guys play cat and mouse with him. They catch him, play with him a bit and leave him alive to deal with him later. And tell him everything in the process. Somehow his accomplishes are punished quickly and severely but he's always given time to escape. There is, of course a little twist at the very end, but still... For a high-ranked agent, Sherman is sometimes rather out of touch.

So, on one hand it's a gripping book, but on the other, the complete unlikeliness of the story gets unbearable by the end.

[Nigel Pinkus · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been written by someone who knows what they're doing and it's 300 pages of hold on for life because this ol' train aint gonna be stopping anytime soon. It's an action- thriller rather a character driven story (of course) which only lets up when the story needs to to be told. Predominantly, however, there's action action action with some unusual good humour as well. You'll find that the dutch police get involved, the girls who work for Sherman get involved and Sherman, himself, stays up late chasing loose ends. Actually, he doesn't give too much away, but you have the feeling that, he's a lot closer to the truth than he shows. You also get the impression that, if Sherman doesn't get killed lurking around the back-streets and canals of Amsterdam, he'll probably get the killer or killers. But, with all the twists and turns in the story, you aren't really sure. You hope the good guys win, but you don't really know.

The title, 'Puppet on a Chain', refers predominately to the poor drug addicts who are hooked on heroin, dancing to it's effects and are yanked along by the pushers and suppliers. The human body gets reduced to the highs and lows of the drug and they are always dancing to it's effects. Happily dancing when high and dancing madly for more when low. The drug addicted were like puppets on a chain "dancing to the tune of heroin", Alistair MacLean. p.270. They ended just dancing like puppets to the tune of their drugs. Four Stars for this thriller!

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

MacLean seems to venture out of his depth in Puppet on a Chain, which results in a presentation of a drug culture that fits more with paranoid anxiety like Reefer Madness than with real drug economy. This story is full of over-top crazies, and the main investigator with his two super beautiful assistants reads like a silly male fantasy. This is redeemed somewhat by the investigator's incompetence -- he makes mistake after mistake, stumbling around Amsterdam -- eventually resulting in the most lurid nightmarish death sequence I've found in MacLean's work so far. The writing is also rather sloppy here, and MacLean's reliance on his go-to sentence structure of "it was a very _____ indeed" is so frequent that it really calls attention to itself.

That withstanding, I still found it highly readable, and its very unreality leads to some very striking imagery indeed.

[Aravind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though not in the league of MacLean's more famous action/adventure novels, Puppet on a Chain is a thrilling, fast paced read. The hero, Sherman, is James Bond-esque, complete with a couple of gorgeous assistants, but is more prone to failure. The villains are cruel, ruthless and violent, but a bit lacking in shrewdness to kill Sherman when they have the chance. All this makes for a very entertaining, high-speed ride through the streets and canals of Amsterdam that is best enjoyed without putting too much of thought into it. I liked it very much!

[Jeff Crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another MacLean I have elected to re-read after forty years. My primary memories are the puppet images and the rather gristly murder of one character who is pitchforked to death. Being largely a police procedural and themed on drugs, I was curious to see if this story would hold up or seem dated. While it does not equal MacLean's spy thrillers of the late 1960s, the story still works. In many ways it is very typical MacLean. It is also worth reading.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Puppet On A Chain is an example of one of MacLean's later efforts. It's not a great entry. Too much sarcasm (which for me is a lot). Many of the scenes where the protagonist is in danger, just don't come across as such. It was later made into a movie. Can't comment on that.

Reviewed by, David Feeney, author; Terror on the high seas

[B.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If it wasn't for the fact that the story takes a rather long time to get to the point and there seems to be a lot of extraneous information between here and there, this would probably be five stars. I almost gave up on it several times. Obviously not my favorite MacLean novel, but it's good if you can hang in there and read it all. And when you get closer to the end, some of the extraneous stuff begins to make sense and weave into the plot. Not a book for those with a lack of patience.

[Shannon Blake · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a load of shit.
This book definitely makes the bottom five. The plot was minimal, the 'action scenes' sucked. It seemed as though the protagonist would be in the middle of something, maybe a chase scene then suddenly he'll be eating breakfast. He was also an ass to his friends and just a terrible person.

[Huw Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Macleans best stories which is remorseless in its plot line. He was prolific but few of his stories are as good as this. The characters are not wholly beleivable but the plotline is. A great relief read, which will pass the time on a plane or beach trip.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was creepier than most of his books that I've read, but it was still really good. Very dark, scary characters. The ending was a bit weird, but not completely unexpected.

[Стоянка · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classics in mystery and murder. I've read it like 10 years ago, re-read it again now and it still gave me the chills.

[Lynn Wyvill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say I didn't enjoy this book. From a well acclaimed writer I expected more. The monologue of sarcastic comments distracted from the story and I didn't connect with any of the characters.

[Marcia Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, read for the second time. Still as good as ever.

[Laura Karbownik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved the suspense and the ending of this book was amazing.

[Vikram · Rating 4 out of 5]

In these days of Internet and high technology, it’s a pleasant change to read a spy thriller, without all these complexities – thankfully no use of super-computers or cell phones, but what is referred to as ‘old school’ tactics, where the hero had no organisation or back-up (other than a pair of dumb assistants, who needed everything to be spelled-out).

Rather surprising, when the book starts off with a description of one of them (Belinda) as being intelligent and loaned by the French secret service !

For a high-ranking Interpol boss, Paul Sherman is either dumb or a bit out of touch. Normally, a character who keeps making mistakes (throughout the book), would quickly find himself in the nearest canal, with a bullet in the back of his head.

Instead, these drug-traffickers tend to play cat and mouse with him. Although they catch him fairly easy, they then leave him alive (?)– to deal with later (rather unbelievable).

Although his assistant Maggie is quickly, though rather viciously, disposed off, but they don’t seem to give him the same treatment. As a result, he's always given time to escape.

If this were to actually happen in real life, these villains would be as incompetent as the good guys :)

In fact, not only do they leave him alive, but they very naively tell him all their plans.

As usual, there is the final chase in the end, to get the baddies out of action.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The European spy thriller without computers or cell phones. Phone booths, sending coded messages, attention to detail and working by your wits are tools from the past. MacLean allows Major Paul Sherman to use these tools to combat the narcotics trade and it's associated murders in the streets of Amsterdam.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book overall. It contains one of Alistair Maclean's iconic scenes (the pitchfork scene, not to spoil it too much), but some of the techniques MacLean uses to maintain suspense are annoying. In this particular book, the overt withholding of critical information from the reader is used overmuch. Still fun, though.

[R.E. Conary · Rating 2 out of 5]

British Interpol agent Major Paul Sherman bulldozes through Amsterdam in his quest to uncover major drug dealers. That he manages to survive his headlong rushes into danger is more luck than pluck. The body count is high and the villain predictable. Not among MacLean’s best, but the description of the ravages of heroin use provide gritty realism to an otherwise mediocre bit of action-escapism.