Twitter and Facebook

Monday, 22 February 2016

Code Name Papa: My Extraordinary Life while Hiding in Plain Sight by John Murray,Sharon Murray and Abby Jones

(I received the Kindle version of this book, free of charge, from Netgalley in return for an honest independent review.)

Real life is more scary than fiction                 My rating:  5 out of 5
This memoir is written by a former undercover agent working for the US, Canada and various European Governments.  He calls himself "Papa".   His story starts in 1965 when Papa joins the Marines, and goes through to 2012 when he retires.  Imbetween these times Papa has carried out numerous operations - often eliminating people who present a security risk to a government, risking his life (and that of his team) to follow the instructions he has been given.   His operations take place all over the world, from Russia to Italy, from Austria to Rendlesham Forest in England. 

The book covers his recruitment, dealing with moles, gunfights and the planning and execution of many assignments that are shocking and frightening in nature.  It also shows the effect that this sort of work has on his home and family life.  Due to the covert and sensitive nature of his work, many of the details are sparse, but enough information is given to make the reader fully understand each operation he describes. 

I found this a fascinating, if very disturbing, book.  I would recommend it to everyone, to learn about a world out there that most of us have no idea about.  However the book is describing a team of highly committed and hard hitting people who carry out assignments without question.  Much of the action described is more scary than any fictional thriller, and may cause you to question that creak you hear downstairs in the dead of night!  
Posted by at

3 comments:

  1. Terry Tyler24 February 2016 at 10:27

    This is a great review and really made me want to read the book! Have you considered putting the Amazon links in reviews? It can be really helpful to readers :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. EmmabBooks24 February 2016 at 10:30

      Thanks Terry. Yes I am thinking about it, there are a few things I need to take into consideration before doing it - but maybe your comment will push me into taking the step.

      Delete
    2. EmmabBooks24 February 2016 at 11:57

      Ok, I've taken the plunge and added an Amazon.com link. Tomorrow I'll start work on the UK like also. Thanks Terry :)

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)