View source for Puppet on a Chain

{{Infobox book 
| name          = Puppet on a Chain
| title_orig    = 
| translator    = 
| image         = Image:Alistair MacLean - Puppet on a Chain.jpg
| caption       = First edition cover (UK)
| author        = [[Alistair MacLean]]
| illustrator   = 
| cover_artist  = 
| country       = United Kingdom
| language      = English
| series        = 
| genre         = [[Thriller (genre)|Thriller]]
| publisher     = [[William Collins, Sons|Collins]] (UK)<br>[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] (US)
| release_date  = 1969
| media_type    = 
| pages         = 
| preceded_by   = [[Force 10 from Navarone (novel)|Force 10 from Navarone]]
| followed_by   = [[Caravan to Vaccarès]]
}}
'''''Puppet on a Chain''''' is a [[Novel in Scotland|novel by Scottish]] author [[Alistair MacLean]]. Originally published in [[1969 in literature|1969]] with a cover by [[Norman Weaver]], it is set in the late 1960s [[Illegal drug trade|narcotics underworld]] of [[Amsterdam]] and other locations in the Netherlands.

==Plot introduction==
Paul Sherman is a veteran [[Interpol]] Narcotics Bureau agent, used to independent action and blunt force tactics. He is assisted by two attractive female agents, one an experienced operative, the other a rookie. Sherman is in the Netherlands after receiving word about a vicious [[heroin]] smuggling ring from a friend. However, the narco-criminals will kill ruthlessly to protect its operation and even before Sherman can leave [[Schiphol Airport]] he has already witnessed the gunning down of his key contact, been knocked half-unconscious by an assassin, and tangled with local authorities. "Puppet on a Chain" has the standard twisting plot, local atmospherics, and sardonic dialogue that were Maclean's trademarks as a story-teller. Maclean allows his protagonist to have a bantering [[sarcasm|sarcastic relationship]] with his assistants that provides a streak of humor as the plot unfolds. Unfortunately, Sherman's relationship with his assistants is used against him. As his investigation is undermined by betrayal, leaving him constantly a half-step behind his adversaries, Sherman must resort to increasingly violent action to turn the tables. The story culminates in a violent struggle above the streets of Amsterdam to save the life of his surviving female operative, not knowing whether anyone they meet can really be trusted.

==Reception==
The ''New York Times'' called the book "one of the best in the Greene-Ambler-MacInnes tradition... the writing is as crisp as a sunny winter morning".<ref>End Papers
Lask, Thomas. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 04 Nov 1969: 43.</ref>

The book became a best seller.<ref>Best Seller List
New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 11 Jan 1970: 295.</ref>

==Film adaptation==
{{Main|Puppet on a Chain (film)}}
'''''Puppet on a Chain''''' later appeared in [[film]] as a 1972 movie directed by [[Geoffrey Reeve]].

The 1976 super hit [[Bollywood]] movie '''''[[Charas (1976 film)|Charas]]''''' (literally [[Narcotics]] in [[Hindi]]), starring [[Dharmendra]] and [[Hema Malini]] was also an adaptation of this story.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.alistairmaclean.com/Puppet-on-a-Chain.html Book review at AlistairMacLean.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066258/ Internet Movie Database]

{{Alistair MacLean}}

[[Category:1969 novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Alistair MacLean]]
[[Category:Novels set in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:1960s in fiction]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:William Collins, Sons books]]


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