Playing with Cobras

by Craig Thomas

Book Overview

Patrick Hyde owes his life to British secret agent Philip Cass, and now Hyde must return the favour. Cass is being held by Indian authorities for the murder of his mistress, who also happens to be a film star and the wife of the Prime Minister. Thomas is the author of Firefox and A Hooded Crow.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060179554
• ISBN13: 9780060179557
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 319 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Great Read

This was the 1st "novel" that I ever read. I was in middle school when I read this the 1st time about 12 yrs. ago and I remember loving how the book ended back then. I had to reread again and I found it just as enjoyable the 2nd time around, probably more enjoyable, since I could follow the whole plot this time. Like someone else said, it isn't "classic literature" but it will entertain and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Especially once the escape through the himilayan mountains with Cass and Hyde 1 step ahead of the Indian army begins

Patrick Hyde and the Indian Incident

With the close of the cold war, Craig Thomas often used multi-million dollar companies as the villians in his novels published in the '90's as opposed to opposite sides of government. But he's able to use his old formula once more, this time with drug-dealing Indian politicians. In Delhi, British agent Philip Cass uncovers the drug-dealing plot of VK Sharmar who could be in a position to become the next Prime Minister of India. Nervous of being found out, Sharmar frames Cass of the murder of an Inidan film star Cass is having an affair with, who happens to be Sharmar's wife. After Cass is arrested for the murder, Peter Shelley, now head of SIS after Kenneth Aubrey retied at the end of A Hooded Crow, re-inlistes Patrick Hyde back into the service, who also retired along with Aubrey. Hyde is reluctant to come back, but because Cass helped him out in the events of The Bear's Tears and The Last Raven, he feels he owes his friend the returned favor. Hyde arrives in India to look into the matter and decides Cass is innocent. But then Sharmar becomes the new Prime Minister. Now untouchable, Shelley has no choice but to tell Hyde to leave the Cass case alone, but Hyde won't have that and desperately tries to clear Cass before it's too late. To make things complicated, Ros, Hyde's girlfriend, gets caught in the middle. Her and Hyde were going to head for Australia after finishing his business in India, but when things get complicated Hyde ends up having to use Ros's help, putting her in great danger in the process. This is a really great Craig book. And although it's pretty much a by-the-numbers typical thriller, it's very entertaining. Patrick Hyde is one of my favorite of Craig's characters, and this one is the most Hyde-dominated book of the ones he appears in. Really great stuff.

A wild romp through India

This a great tape for driving. The action is fast paced, the images exotic and the characters are interesting. The plot revolved around the escape of an Australian who is being framed for the murder of the Indian Prime Minister's wife. Fans of the Paul Scott's The Raj Quartet will enjoy the houseboat scenes in Kashmir.The author narrates the book very well, which is sometimes not the case when authors are recorded. He's English -- an accent which I love...

Gripping, what do you expect from a novel

This is not a chef d'oeuvre of litterature, but one will get glued to it very rapidly. The plot and action will thrill any reader with a sense for adventure and foreign and unknown countries. A book to take in the suburb or train or other noisy places, no problems of concentration, the difficulty is to extract oneself from it...