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Scratch One
“Set in the ultra-glamorous French Riviera of the late sixties ... pure, high-octane entertainment� from the blockbuster author of Jurassic Park (Pop Mythology).
An arms dealer in Copenhagen dies after sipping a poisoned martini. An American diplomat in Lisbon is shot in the back of the head. A Frenchman survives being pushed in front of a train, only to be murdered in his hospital bed. Though seemingly unconnected, these events are part of an international conspiracy that could spell death for Roger Carr.
Carr is a lawyer, but he has no love for Lady Justice. A dilettante playboy sent to France on a cushy assignment, he lands himself right in the middle of an international arms deal. Both sides of the conflict have mistaken him for an agent, and the secret service interventions of a dozen countries will do anything to secure him—dead or alive.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Michael Crichton including rare images from the author’s estate.
Carr is a lawyer, but he has no love for Lady Justice. A dilettante playboy sent to France on a cushy assignment, he lands himself right in the middle of an international arms deal. Both sides of the conflict have mistaken him for an agent, and the secret service interventions of a dozen countries will do anything to secure him—dead or alive.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Michael Crichton including rare images from the author’s estate.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1967
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About the author
John Lange
25books245followersJohn Lange� is a pseudonym of author Michael Crichton. His pen name was selected as reference to his above-average height of 6' 9"(2.06 meters). Lange means "tall one" in German, Danish and Dutch.
Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the ŷ database with this name.
Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the ŷ database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
August 30, 2017
Scratch One is a classic 'wrong man' tale where mistaken identity can lead to murder. For lawyer, Richard Carr, a trip to the Riviera at the request of a prominent US Governor was meant to be equal parts leisure and work as he plays personal house shopper searching for a villa abroad. Unlucky for Carr, he happens to resemble a well known (in the criminal underworld) US Agent and becomes absorbed in a world better suited to James Bond than a clueless lawyer - though he does hold his own against the bad guys.
Scratch One started off like a Bond film with exotic locations, quick kills, and breakneck action sequences. There was a lot of build-up for a setting which didn't really play out. The book primarily focuses on Carr, which is fine as his clueless character is well written and his own story evolves into a kind of hero much like what was promised in the early stages of the book, however, this is more pulpy than action with Carr more the accidental hero type.
I enjoyed Scratch One, once the book gets into its grove the pacing is spot on and Carr is a likable character, the down side is the terror subplot really didn't come through and all that action in the initial build faded too quickly.
My rating: 3.5/5.
Scratch One started off like a Bond film with exotic locations, quick kills, and breakneck action sequences. There was a lot of build-up for a setting which didn't really play out. The book primarily focuses on Carr, which is fine as his clueless character is well written and his own story evolves into a kind of hero much like what was promised in the early stages of the book, however, this is more pulpy than action with Carr more the accidental hero type.
I enjoyed Scratch One, once the book gets into its grove the pacing is spot on and Carr is a likable character, the down side is the terror subplot really didn't come through and all that action in the initial build faded too quickly.
My rating: 3.5/5.
December 24, 2021
This was a good pulpy read. It really picks up the speed and settles in about halfway through. I absolutely chewed through the end of the book as the story had me wanting to know the next step. Not wildly deep, but fun.
March 12, 2015
Slow to develop and to many characters early on, but it roars to a finish in the final 60 pages.
Read
May 4, 2020«I began writing as a medical student, and felt that I would continue as a doctor and ought to protect my patients from the fear that they might pop up in the pages of a thriller. The best protection would not be to disguise them, but to disguise me. Once I decided not to practice medicine, I dropped the pseudonyms expect for convenience. I wrote too much, so I decided to publish some books under false names, and in that way, could publish more books.»
And that's how Michael Crichton began his writing career. One of my favourite and most read authors. The creator of Jurassic Park, Westworld and ER, among many others.
From the summer of 2011 until November 2018, I read 19 of the 32 books he published. November 2018 was the 10th anniversary of his death. That's when I decided to do a project dedicated to Crichton. One book per month for the next 32 months.
The thrillers he wrote as a medical student between 1966 and 1972 under the pseudonym John Lange were eight, and with the exception of the last one he wrote in 1972 (the year he decided to publish under his own name something that lasted until his death,) were a large part of his bibliography that I had not read. So I ordered them all in one go.
Every time I need to review one of these I'll repeat this general introduction about his early writings rather than extensive reviews on each individual book.
Because beyond the interest of reading early works of your favourite author, reading what he wrote and seeing his writing slowly evolving, they are not masterpieces and you cannot dedicate more than five lines for their sake. It's like Schwarzenegger movies. You are having a good time and that's it. And I also didn't want to confuse you every second day with a new book by Crichton.
They were written quickly and, as he said, he wrote them to gain money to pay for utilities and groceries while he was a student.
They are not masterpieces as I mentioned above, but their writing was something like writing exercises, a writing with which in the medical thriller (that he wrote in 1968 under another pseudonym (Jeffery Hudson)) gained the Edgar Award in 1969.
A year in which he published for the first time under his own name one of his best novels, the science fiction thriller , which was made into a film in 1971.
In 1970 he and his brother Douglas Crichton co-wrote another hippie thriller under a common pseudonym Michael Douglas (). This would be his third and final nickname.
In 1972, with under his own name, he realised that his career was now a writer, not a doctor, so he put the pseudonym in the bottom drawer.
The eight books he wrote as John Lange remained out of stock since the late 1970s until the publishing house Hard Case Crime began publishing out of stock and hard-to-find books in the noir, thriller, detective, and generally pulp fiction categories.
Among them are books published for the first time such as and by Stephen King.
While Crichton was still alive, two of his books, and , were edited by him.
In November 2008, unfortunately, Crichton passed away, so in 2013 the remaining 6 books were released.
Because I don't want to tire you out anymore and give you acute Crichtoniasis, I'll talk briefly about this one.
Scratch One 1967: read it May 2019
Lawyer Roger Carr, who is on holiday in the French Riviera, is mistaken for an American terrorist-hunter /agent, and thus a race against time begins. He has to prove his identity and escape from his persecutors and certain death.
More in Greek at
And that's how Michael Crichton began his writing career. One of my favourite and most read authors. The creator of Jurassic Park, Westworld and ER, among many others.
From the summer of 2011 until November 2018, I read 19 of the 32 books he published. November 2018 was the 10th anniversary of his death. That's when I decided to do a project dedicated to Crichton. One book per month for the next 32 months.
The thrillers he wrote as a medical student between 1966 and 1972 under the pseudonym John Lange were eight, and with the exception of the last one he wrote in 1972 (the year he decided to publish under his own name something that lasted until his death,) were a large part of his bibliography that I had not read. So I ordered them all in one go.
Every time I need to review one of these I'll repeat this general introduction about his early writings rather than extensive reviews on each individual book.
Because beyond the interest of reading early works of your favourite author, reading what he wrote and seeing his writing slowly evolving, they are not masterpieces and you cannot dedicate more than five lines for their sake. It's like Schwarzenegger movies. You are having a good time and that's it. And I also didn't want to confuse you every second day with a new book by Crichton.
They were written quickly and, as he said, he wrote them to gain money to pay for utilities and groceries while he was a student.
They are not masterpieces as I mentioned above, but their writing was something like writing exercises, a writing with which in the medical thriller (that he wrote in 1968 under another pseudonym (Jeffery Hudson)) gained the Edgar Award in 1969.
A year in which he published for the first time under his own name one of his best novels, the science fiction thriller , which was made into a film in 1971.
In 1970 he and his brother Douglas Crichton co-wrote another hippie thriller under a common pseudonym Michael Douglas (). This would be his third and final nickname.
In 1972, with under his own name, he realised that his career was now a writer, not a doctor, so he put the pseudonym in the bottom drawer.
The eight books he wrote as John Lange remained out of stock since the late 1970s until the publishing house Hard Case Crime began publishing out of stock and hard-to-find books in the noir, thriller, detective, and generally pulp fiction categories.
Among them are books published for the first time such as and by Stephen King.
While Crichton was still alive, two of his books, and , were edited by him.
In November 2008, unfortunately, Crichton passed away, so in 2013 the remaining 6 books were released.
Because I don't want to tire you out anymore and give you acute Crichtoniasis, I'll talk briefly about this one.
Scratch One 1967: read it May 2019
Lawyer Roger Carr, who is on holiday in the French Riviera, is mistaken for an American terrorist-hunter /agent, and thus a race against time begins. He has to prove his identity and escape from his persecutors and certain death.
More in Greek at
June 28, 2022
Very much a product of its time. Was very much like one of the weaker "wrong man" Hitchcock films. It's a quick read, but the main character was very slow in realizing the mistaken identity at the center of the book.
July 1, 2018
I liked the location for this story. Also, it did have a bit of the "spy" vibe to it. The main character, Roger is likable. Although, maybe not the brightest bulb in the pack. It was amazing that he did not get killed. In regards to a spy thriller, this book did have the old fashion feel to a spy movie back in the late sixties to early seventies. Not a lot of sex or violence. The story did move along fairly fast.
There were a bunch of characters that like another one of Mr. Lange's books, I had trouble keeping all of the characters straight. Again, due to Roger's lack of intelligence; at times the story did seem implausible. Yet, it was nice to see how Mr. Lange got his start as a writer.
There were a bunch of characters that like another one of Mr. Lange's books, I had trouble keeping all of the characters straight. Again, due to Roger's lack of intelligence; at times the story did seem implausible. Yet, it was nice to see how Mr. Lange got his start as a writer.
February 9, 2019
When I found this “Michael Crichton� book I was so excited having missed him since his death. This book fit the times when he wrote it and it was an easy read which still included much of his medical knowledge that he was so known for. I will keep picking up these pre-Crichton books as a way to keep him present.
February 13, 2024
It begins with an assassination attempt on Victor Jennings. And then three others. All carried out by a group known as the Associates! Another of their victims shared the same name as my 3 year old bonus son - Revel!
As for the overall plot, it was a bit confusing for me. There is a case of mistaken identity, but the lawyer who is mistaken for someone else seems to have all the abilities of an undercover agent, which made no sense to me. And then there was the plot of the Associates, which I didn't understand at all. I almost flipped back to see what I missed, but found I didn't really care enough to do that. It reads quickly, and there's lots of action on these pages, I'm just not sure why!
As for the overall plot, it was a bit confusing for me. There is a case of mistaken identity, but the lawyer who is mistaken for someone else seems to have all the abilities of an undercover agent, which made no sense to me. And then there was the plot of the Associates, which I didn't understand at all. I almost flipped back to see what I missed, but found I didn't really care enough to do that. It reads quickly, and there's lots of action on these pages, I'm just not sure why!
June 13, 2024
I found it confusing and somewhat boring.
April 10, 2020
This book has some interesting action and worth reading because of its simplicity and lucid style. I like the setting of the story and the climax is too good to read. Highly recommended for those who like Hard Case Crime books.
June 19, 2024
Elle est surprenante, la patte de Michael Crichton dans le style les seventies.
January 9, 2024
The best part might have been the not so subtle James Bond reference. This was just okay, but now I have officially read all of Michael Crichton’s fiction which makes me a little sad.
June 10, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 220 (of 250)
Crime 1 � Victor Jenning suffers an assassination attempt via an Explosion in his Lamborghini.
Crime 2 � A group of Arabs throttle a French Man and dump him into the Nile.
Crime 3- Etc.,
BOOK 180 - Mid-20th Century North American Crime Readathon - Round 8
HOOK � 2 stars:>>>Monday:Principaute de Monaco. Victor Jenning, tanned and very fit, walked down the steps of the Casino into the cool night air. They were already bringing his blood-red Lamborghini around from the lot�.People were gathering to admire the car…It had costs him $14,000…he answered their questions with smiles…got behind the wheel…At that moment his windshield shattered in front of him.<<PACE � 2: Lots of booze, cigarettes, seductions, blonde beauties on the beach. Reads like a slo-mo Mickey Spillane, or slo-mo Hammett, or slo-mo most any author.
PLOT � 1: Can’t say. I don’t know. There is a mention of a munitions shipment worth $30 million. A Roger Carr goes to Nice to buy a villa for a governor in the USA, but he is mistaken for an assassin, over and over and over. This could be a bad French farce or maybe just a bad version of “Bourne Identity.� There is a group of bad guys called The Associates. And they might be trying to stop it. Or get it. Or send it to some place it’s not intended to go. And we never find out. A key character who must sign some documents can’t, but his wife does, so something happens at the end of the book, but I don’t know where the shipment goes�95% of this book is cigarettes being lit and drinks being mixed. “when traveling with seedy characters, mix one’s own drinks from unopened bottles,� I always say. And even these international assassination experts don’t know their own tricks. Oh, and the term “Cortex� is used twice but never explained.
CAST � 3: Roger Carr, the son of a senator, graduated last in law school. But Roger and the governor get along, so Carr gets a paycheck every 2 weeks and is sent on a 4-8 week mission to buy the governor a villa in Nice. Nice job if you can get it! And so he shops and buys, but no one believes him, and he is repeatedly tortured in various bodily locations. But he’s a trained international Bond, obviously has triathalon experience, and survives it all, hilariously. And he takes Scotch with water. Such a wimp. And he’s hotter than the sand in summer at Cannes. And there is Bauer, the very muscular German assassin. Lisseau is a surgeon up to no good. Various beauties pop up mysteriously in Roger’s bed. Vesaurd may or may not be a French policeman.
ATMOSPHERE-3: Very good description of the route of the Monaco auto race (100 laps, many tight turns, bales of hay strategically place, divers ready for cars diving into the ocean.) 180 deaths “since the war�. It’s 1965, France, so the referenced war must be WW2, that’s 9 deaths per year, seems very high so maybe Crichton is referencing WW1. Why not say, as the author took the time to tell us the exploding windshield was in front of the seated driver. Great description of the villa Roger Carr ultimately buys (sounds truly ugly, Carr and that day’s beautiful girl, Anne, agree) but it has a massive library and the owner tells Carr that all guests are required to leave any books they’ve brought to the house in the library before they leave. I like that idea! Here, as opposed to another early Crichton (‘Easy Go�, partially set in Cairo…or was it “Odds On�) it feels like Crichton has visited his locales and knows them well. Nightclubs, casinos, curves (the ladies AND the mountain roads) and a good or bad or double agent around every corner make for an interesting ‘villa buying trip.�
SUMMARY –My overall rating is 2.2. And that’s better ratings than the other 2 early Lange/Crichton novels I read so here at least one can see a good author on the horizon. If you like Ludlum, the French Riviera, booze and you want to read all of Michael Chrichton, I recommend this novel. Otherwise, pack up your bags; take Ludlum’s very good “Bourne Identity� and head to the next Cannes film festival. The auto race seems too dangerous to be around.
BOOK 220 (of 250)
Crime 1 � Victor Jenning suffers an assassination attempt via an Explosion in his Lamborghini.
Crime 2 � A group of Arabs throttle a French Man and dump him into the Nile.
Crime 3- Etc.,
BOOK 180 - Mid-20th Century North American Crime Readathon - Round 8
HOOK � 2 stars:>>>Monday:Principaute de Monaco. Victor Jenning, tanned and very fit, walked down the steps of the Casino into the cool night air. They were already bringing his blood-red Lamborghini around from the lot�.People were gathering to admire the car…It had costs him $14,000…he answered their questions with smiles…got behind the wheel…At that moment his windshield shattered in front of him.<<PACE � 2: Lots of booze, cigarettes, seductions, blonde beauties on the beach. Reads like a slo-mo Mickey Spillane, or slo-mo Hammett, or slo-mo most any author.
PLOT � 1: Can’t say. I don’t know. There is a mention of a munitions shipment worth $30 million. A Roger Carr goes to Nice to buy a villa for a governor in the USA, but he is mistaken for an assassin, over and over and over. This could be a bad French farce or maybe just a bad version of “Bourne Identity.� There is a group of bad guys called The Associates. And they might be trying to stop it. Or get it. Or send it to some place it’s not intended to go. And we never find out. A key character who must sign some documents can’t, but his wife does, so something happens at the end of the book, but I don’t know where the shipment goes�95% of this book is cigarettes being lit and drinks being mixed. “when traveling with seedy characters, mix one’s own drinks from unopened bottles,� I always say. And even these international assassination experts don’t know their own tricks. Oh, and the term “Cortex� is used twice but never explained.
CAST � 3: Roger Carr, the son of a senator, graduated last in law school. But Roger and the governor get along, so Carr gets a paycheck every 2 weeks and is sent on a 4-8 week mission to buy the governor a villa in Nice. Nice job if you can get it! And so he shops and buys, but no one believes him, and he is repeatedly tortured in various bodily locations. But he’s a trained international Bond, obviously has triathalon experience, and survives it all, hilariously. And he takes Scotch with water. Such a wimp. And he’s hotter than the sand in summer at Cannes. And there is Bauer, the very muscular German assassin. Lisseau is a surgeon up to no good. Various beauties pop up mysteriously in Roger’s bed. Vesaurd may or may not be a French policeman.
ATMOSPHERE-3: Very good description of the route of the Monaco auto race (100 laps, many tight turns, bales of hay strategically place, divers ready for cars diving into the ocean.) 180 deaths “since the war�. It’s 1965, France, so the referenced war must be WW2, that’s 9 deaths per year, seems very high so maybe Crichton is referencing WW1. Why not say, as the author took the time to tell us the exploding windshield was in front of the seated driver. Great description of the villa Roger Carr ultimately buys (sounds truly ugly, Carr and that day’s beautiful girl, Anne, agree) but it has a massive library and the owner tells Carr that all guests are required to leave any books they’ve brought to the house in the library before they leave. I like that idea! Here, as opposed to another early Crichton (‘Easy Go�, partially set in Cairo…or was it “Odds On�) it feels like Crichton has visited his locales and knows them well. Nightclubs, casinos, curves (the ladies AND the mountain roads) and a good or bad or double agent around every corner make for an interesting ‘villa buying trip.�
SUMMARY –My overall rating is 2.2. And that’s better ratings than the other 2 early Lange/Crichton novels I read so here at least one can see a good author on the horizon. If you like Ludlum, the French Riviera, booze and you want to read all of Michael Chrichton, I recommend this novel. Otherwise, pack up your bags; take Ludlum’s very good “Bourne Identity� and head to the next Cannes film festival. The auto race seems too dangerous to be around.
November 6, 2018
In the opening chapter of Scratch One, several people tangentially connected to an under-the-table arms deal between Norway, Israel, and the US are murdered on the same day in different cities around the world. A few days later an unlucky American lawyer who bears an unlikely resemblance to an internationally renown assassin is spotted exiting an airport terminal in France only minutes after a plane bomb detonates. This case of mistaken identity is about to throw the intelligence agencies of two nations and a cell of Arabic terrorists into chaos�
Michael Crichton once said in an interview the John Lange books were written to be sold at airports and to compete with in-flight movies for the reader’s attention for a couple of hours.
In this book, one of his characters “stopped at the [airport] gift shop to buy a paperbook book. He wanted something light and amusing, of no consequence.� The author was perfectly summing up his own book.
Scratch One is not one of the better John Lange novels. While it features a few exotic locales, it lacks the suspense of Binary. It does not feature any emerging motifs that would define Crichton’s latest bestsellers, as did Odds On. Even the more farcical scenes are missing the campiness that made Zero Cool and Drug of Choice memorable. The one fun highlight of this novel was the climax at the Gran Prix de Monaco; Princess Grace Kelly even makes a cameo.
This is a spy novel with absurd movie logic, not book logic. Too many coincidences and conspiracies that do not make sense (Example: If the Arab terrorists kill all the arms dealers and transporters involved in an illegal shipment of guns from Norway to Israel, then the guns won’t be shipped. As if those two countries� governments cannot find another way to get the deal done!)
November 25, 2013
Scratch One is one of Michael Crichton’s early novels, written under the name of John Lange. Crichton was a medical student at the time who chose a wise plan B: write hacky novels. We all know how that turned out for him. Scratch One is the work of a journeyman storyteller: a terse, formulaic spy novel done well. The story revolves around Roger Carr, an American lawyer mistaken for an American assassin. It’s the late sixties and Israel is looking to buy arms on the European black market. Some agents working for “Arab nations� (Syria? Iraq? there are a few of them) need to stop this from happening, as well as to stop the Americans and French from stopping them from stopping the arms purchase. Everyone involved thinks Carr is a CIA assassin who is there to kill the agents looking to kill the arms dealers. There’s a car chase, a girl, sulfuric acid, the Monaco Grand Prix, Cannes, car rides, lunches, drinks, tailored suits, cars.
Crichton’s deftness as a storyteller is on display here...
Read the full review at
Crichton’s deftness as a storyteller is on display here...
Read the full review at
December 10, 2016
My quest to read every book Michael Crichton penned...continues! Crichton wrote eight books under the pseudonym of John Lange while he attended Harvard Medical School. (Probably a better way of paying for higher education than most.) Scratch One is the second of these novels I have caught up to, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. The action takes place in and around France and Monaco circa 1964. No one has a cell phone and everyone smokes. A case of mistaken identity plunges an innocent lawyer (is that an oxymoron?) into a world of spies and double dealing, that climaxes at the Gran Prix. Lots of fun from a different time. I imagine these books proved to be a good training ground for a budding writer-turns out Crichton wrote so well because he had practice.
January 1, 2014
This is a brisk period espionage novel, riffing on common tropes of mistaken identity, nefarious assassins, and playboy lifestyles. A somewhat opaque plot gets lost in the shuffle of casinos, smoking, fast cars, and buxom women, but it's a fun romp. You'll smile when you come to a blatant Bond reference... And how the author dispatches him.
September 4, 2019
Originally published online at BORG.com.
If you’re like this reader, you probably thought you read the last of the catalog of Michael Crichton novels when you finished his last novel, Micro, reviewed here at borg.com last year. But what if there were eight Crichton novels that suddenly appeared, as if by magic, that you had never heard of? The “lost� Crichton novels? For fans of Crichton (who died in 2008) and his bestsellers like Jurassic Park, Sphere, Disclosure, and Rising Sun, it’s practically a dream come true. Diehards may have heard of these eight novels published in the late 1960s, written while Crichton was in medical school, all under the pen name John Lange and all long out of print and nearly impossible to find.
Titan Books� Hard Case Crime imprint worked with Crichton in his last years to re-edit, re-write a few chapters, and then finalize a new printing of all eight novels, with interesting and catchy titles Odds On, Scratch One, Easy Go, Zero Cool, The Venom Business, Drug of Choice, Grave Descend, and Binary, and all with great new pulp art covers by Glen Orbik. We plan to review them all here, and today we begin with Crichton’s second published novel, Scratch One, originally published in 1967, but available next week in bookstores. It’s not yet known if re-releases of two other early works by Crichton, A Case of Need, written as Jeffery Hudson, and Dealing, written as Michael Douglas, will be forthcoming.
Scratch One follows Roger Carr, an American lawyer who has been assigned the posh job of acquiring a half-billion dollar villa in France for a wealthy client. It’s the type of job Carr is used to as the son of a senator without any other particular value to his firm. It allows him to maintain a playboy’s lifestyle on the French Riviera and other lavish European locations and use his charisma to land a new lady friend at every stop along the way. But where Carr sounds like he could be James Bond, he also has no particular skill as a spy or assassin. That’s relevant because Carr stumbles into a scenario that could be found in an Ian Fleming novel.
Carr in every way is “the Man who Knew Too Little.� Unfortunately he just happens to look like a real spy being sought by a league of murderers trying to prevent an arms deal with a faction in the Middle East. Their method of stopping the deal is plucking off one by one key players in Egypt, Portugal, Denmark, and France, and murdering a popular race car driver at the famous annual Grand Prix–a driver who is a wealthy man in his own right who, as part of his side activities, mixes with arms dealers.
But Carr doesn’t look exactly like the actual spy that is the target of the bad guys, which lends to confusion. When approached to meet with both sides, he is understandably confused and ignores the strange things happening around him, and his own self-centered lifestyle causes him to miss queues and opportunities, as he plunges himself even further into the plots of spies and French police. But not without hooking up with a new intriguing gal in the process.
It’s not the stuff of later Crichton novels–there’s no team of experts of different skill sets that band together to solve some scientific-based problem–but the writing is tight and the story exciting. Much of the setting and scenes will recall Casino Royale, and Scratch One could be what is happening on the other side of town when the circumstances of that novel are taking place. Unlike many of Crichton’s novels that had clunky endings (Congo and Sphere come to mind), Scratch One wraps up its story nicely with a well-choreographed climax. The story has serious elements that appeared in comedic form in the original James Bond parody film Casino Royale and the later espionage Tom Hanks comedy The Man with One Red Shoe. It may be familiar territory to some readers, but it’s good spy reading.
Crichton’s villain is a classic Bond type. A French doctor named Liseau–his medical knowledge affords him the very best ways to torture his victims–and it’s almost hard to keep track of all the collateral victims that get eliminated in Liseau’s efforts to catch his spy.
One excellent character is a police inspector named Vascard, a put-upon detective who Carr finds himself up against throughout the story. Vascard is the type of guy you’d see Clancy Brown playing in the film adaptation of the novel.
Scratch One is a great starting point for this “new-old� series, and should have alerted the world in 1967 that an excellent, up-and-coming novelist was in our midst.
If you’re like this reader, you probably thought you read the last of the catalog of Michael Crichton novels when you finished his last novel, Micro, reviewed here at borg.com last year. But what if there were eight Crichton novels that suddenly appeared, as if by magic, that you had never heard of? The “lost� Crichton novels? For fans of Crichton (who died in 2008) and his bestsellers like Jurassic Park, Sphere, Disclosure, and Rising Sun, it’s practically a dream come true. Diehards may have heard of these eight novels published in the late 1960s, written while Crichton was in medical school, all under the pen name John Lange and all long out of print and nearly impossible to find.
Titan Books� Hard Case Crime imprint worked with Crichton in his last years to re-edit, re-write a few chapters, and then finalize a new printing of all eight novels, with interesting and catchy titles Odds On, Scratch One, Easy Go, Zero Cool, The Venom Business, Drug of Choice, Grave Descend, and Binary, and all with great new pulp art covers by Glen Orbik. We plan to review them all here, and today we begin with Crichton’s second published novel, Scratch One, originally published in 1967, but available next week in bookstores. It’s not yet known if re-releases of two other early works by Crichton, A Case of Need, written as Jeffery Hudson, and Dealing, written as Michael Douglas, will be forthcoming.
Scratch One follows Roger Carr, an American lawyer who has been assigned the posh job of acquiring a half-billion dollar villa in France for a wealthy client. It’s the type of job Carr is used to as the son of a senator without any other particular value to his firm. It allows him to maintain a playboy’s lifestyle on the French Riviera and other lavish European locations and use his charisma to land a new lady friend at every stop along the way. But where Carr sounds like he could be James Bond, he also has no particular skill as a spy or assassin. That’s relevant because Carr stumbles into a scenario that could be found in an Ian Fleming novel.
Carr in every way is “the Man who Knew Too Little.� Unfortunately he just happens to look like a real spy being sought by a league of murderers trying to prevent an arms deal with a faction in the Middle East. Their method of stopping the deal is plucking off one by one key players in Egypt, Portugal, Denmark, and France, and murdering a popular race car driver at the famous annual Grand Prix–a driver who is a wealthy man in his own right who, as part of his side activities, mixes with arms dealers.
But Carr doesn’t look exactly like the actual spy that is the target of the bad guys, which lends to confusion. When approached to meet with both sides, he is understandably confused and ignores the strange things happening around him, and his own self-centered lifestyle causes him to miss queues and opportunities, as he plunges himself even further into the plots of spies and French police. But not without hooking up with a new intriguing gal in the process.
It’s not the stuff of later Crichton novels–there’s no team of experts of different skill sets that band together to solve some scientific-based problem–but the writing is tight and the story exciting. Much of the setting and scenes will recall Casino Royale, and Scratch One could be what is happening on the other side of town when the circumstances of that novel are taking place. Unlike many of Crichton’s novels that had clunky endings (Congo and Sphere come to mind), Scratch One wraps up its story nicely with a well-choreographed climax. The story has serious elements that appeared in comedic form in the original James Bond parody film Casino Royale and the later espionage Tom Hanks comedy The Man with One Red Shoe. It may be familiar territory to some readers, but it’s good spy reading.
Crichton’s villain is a classic Bond type. A French doctor named Liseau–his medical knowledge affords him the very best ways to torture his victims–and it’s almost hard to keep track of all the collateral victims that get eliminated in Liseau’s efforts to catch his spy.
One excellent character is a police inspector named Vascard, a put-upon detective who Carr finds himself up against throughout the story. Vascard is the type of guy you’d see Clancy Brown playing in the film adaptation of the novel.
Scratch One is a great starting point for this “new-old� series, and should have alerted the world in 1967 that an excellent, up-and-coming novelist was in our midst.
December 28, 2017
"Scratch One" (despite the lackluster title) is, so far, the best of the unearthed "John Lange" (a.k.a. Michael Crichton) novels from Hard Case Crime that I've read. Why is this one my favorite? Well, I'd say Crichton took a serious amount of inspiration from the great "Our Man in Havana" by Graham Greene. In other words, it's a spy novel satire that manages to be both thrilling and fun.
Roger Carr is just a happy-go-lucky lawyer drifting through life while drinking, womanizing, carousing, and occasionally practicing law. He's the son of a privileged family, sent on a busywork job to the French Riviera to buy a villa for a client--an American governor. Where the fun begins is that he bears a strong resemblance to an assassin who works for American intelligence.
A big arms deal is about to go down, and a shadowy (Arabic) group called The Associates--led by the sinister, aristocratic Dr. Liseau--wants to get the guns to arm their own sympathizers. Yet the arms shipment was supposed to go to Israel, with American support. To shut down The Associates, the Americans call in an assassin. But due to a significant leak in the American intelligence apparatus, The Associates know every move the Americans intend. And when they spot Carr, they think he is the assassin sent to stop them.
The Associates and Dr. Liseau go after Carr, trying to neutralize the threat to their plans of getting the arms shipment. But Carr is not an easy man to kidnap or assassinate, as it turns out. He keeps evading them with examples of dumb luck and random chance. But the coincidences in Carr's favor convince The Associates that Carr truly is the assassin sent to stop them. While The Associates keep trying to kill or detain him, Carr meets an amazing Australian dancer--Anne Crittenden. They have immediate chemistry. The romance helps keeps the tale grounded and doesn't let the satire overwhelm the events of the novel.
While "Scratch One" is ultimately a spy novel, the satirical aspects, the well-written romance, and a lot of snappy dialogue/narration make it all seem more fresh than the material actually is. Overall, "Scratch One" is a very entertaining novel. Check it out!
Roger Carr is just a happy-go-lucky lawyer drifting through life while drinking, womanizing, carousing, and occasionally practicing law. He's the son of a privileged family, sent on a busywork job to the French Riviera to buy a villa for a client--an American governor. Where the fun begins is that he bears a strong resemblance to an assassin who works for American intelligence.
A big arms deal is about to go down, and a shadowy (Arabic) group called The Associates--led by the sinister, aristocratic Dr. Liseau--wants to get the guns to arm their own sympathizers. Yet the arms shipment was supposed to go to Israel, with American support. To shut down The Associates, the Americans call in an assassin. But due to a significant leak in the American intelligence apparatus, The Associates know every move the Americans intend. And when they spot Carr, they think he is the assassin sent to stop them.
The Associates and Dr. Liseau go after Carr, trying to neutralize the threat to their plans of getting the arms shipment. But Carr is not an easy man to kidnap or assassinate, as it turns out. He keeps evading them with examples of dumb luck and random chance. But the coincidences in Carr's favor convince The Associates that Carr truly is the assassin sent to stop them. While The Associates keep trying to kill or detain him, Carr meets an amazing Australian dancer--Anne Crittenden. They have immediate chemistry. The romance helps keeps the tale grounded and doesn't let the satire overwhelm the events of the novel.
While "Scratch One" is ultimately a spy novel, the satirical aspects, the well-written romance, and a lot of snappy dialogue/narration make it all seem more fresh than the material actually is. Overall, "Scratch One" is a very entertaining novel. Check it out!
June 19, 2019
My fondness for Michael Crichton's writing came to me around my freshman year of high school when I read "Jurassic Park." Now, up until then I've seen the movie more times than I could possibly count, but the book birthed my appreciation for Crichton novels.
So, of course, after reading many of his more prestigious works over the last 13 or so years since high school, I jumped at the chance to read one of Crichton's earlier attempts. All I gotta say is thank God Crichton developed a better since of writing after graduating from medical school because this book is exactly what you'd expect it to be from a young, white, straight, good looking, having-it-all, Harvard medical student. The plot, if you could really see it as one, was flimsy and unclear. The main character of Roger Carr (or Michael Crichton if you will,) is the typical intelligent, handsome, sex-crazed, stealthy man who is oddly boyish and calm for the first half of the book despite all the alarming things that are happening to him, only to actually give any type of damn when he starts to lose "the woman he loves." This book also carries many moments of homophobia, sexism, and worse of all awkward dialogue and transitions. It definitely leaves less to be desired if you're a fan of Crichton's more well known books. The only reason why I gave this book 2 stars is because despite everything, even from the beginning, Crichton knew how to write action and suspense, which, let's face it, it was sells his books to this day.
So, of course, after reading many of his more prestigious works over the last 13 or so years since high school, I jumped at the chance to read one of Crichton's earlier attempts. All I gotta say is thank God Crichton developed a better since of writing after graduating from medical school because this book is exactly what you'd expect it to be from a young, white, straight, good looking, having-it-all, Harvard medical student. The plot, if you could really see it as one, was flimsy and unclear. The main character of Roger Carr (or Michael Crichton if you will,) is the typical intelligent, handsome, sex-crazed, stealthy man who is oddly boyish and calm for the first half of the book despite all the alarming things that are happening to him, only to actually give any type of damn when he starts to lose "the woman he loves." This book also carries many moments of homophobia, sexism, and worse of all awkward dialogue and transitions. It definitely leaves less to be desired if you're a fan of Crichton's more well known books. The only reason why I gave this book 2 stars is because despite everything, even from the beginning, Crichton knew how to write action and suspense, which, let's face it, it was sells his books to this day.
April 13, 2021
Michael Crichton's second book written (1967) under the name John Lange. I am reading through his bibliography.
Plot: It's a case of mistaken identity that reads like a James Bond spoof. There is some humor here and it threw me for a moment. Overall, the story is about how this mistakes plays out. There are some glaring holes in my mind, but overall, these early books are just quick entertainment
Characters: The main protagonist, Roger Carr, is the main focus. There are various police and agents and of course a Bond-like bad buy. Overall, mostly forgettable.
Pacing: As I've said in previous reviewed, Crichton can write efficiently. Thought he isn't in techno-thriller mode here. There really wasn't any point in the story where I thought it dragged on. Quick and fairly light.
Style: Every woman in the book is still described from a sexual standpoint as in Odds On, but the seduction aspect is toned down a little. 54 years was a long time ago, so it is what it is. Kind of interesting to flash back to this type of writing. Its what was expected.
Immersion: Overall, this is just a fun read. Nothing complicated plot wise, but no real zingers. Its straightforward and entertaining. I give it 2 stars, not as a knock, its just that books like this aren't going to elevate much above that rating. If it weren't Crichton, I wouldn't bother with it.
Plot: It's a case of mistaken identity that reads like a James Bond spoof. There is some humor here and it threw me for a moment. Overall, the story is about how this mistakes plays out. There are some glaring holes in my mind, but overall, these early books are just quick entertainment
Characters: The main protagonist, Roger Carr, is the main focus. There are various police and agents and of course a Bond-like bad buy. Overall, mostly forgettable.
Pacing: As I've said in previous reviewed, Crichton can write efficiently. Thought he isn't in techno-thriller mode here. There really wasn't any point in the story where I thought it dragged on. Quick and fairly light.
Style: Every woman in the book is still described from a sexual standpoint as in Odds On, but the seduction aspect is toned down a little. 54 years was a long time ago, so it is what it is. Kind of interesting to flash back to this type of writing. Its what was expected.
Immersion: Overall, this is just a fun read. Nothing complicated plot wise, but no real zingers. Its straightforward and entertaining. I give it 2 stars, not as a knock, its just that books like this aren't going to elevate much above that rating. If it weren't Crichton, I wouldn't bother with it.
February 17, 2020
Rating between 2.5 & 3
This novel for me has pretty much the same pros and cons as the other early MC novels republished by HCC.
The story opens with an interesting couple of chapters that introduce the main characters and plot. The pace of the book is kept at quite a brisk pace and the reader is drawn along with the main protagonist to the first of several 'action scenes'. The locations are quite well drawn/described although in this case if the town names had not been mentioned several times it could have been set in anywhere france (if not italy, spain or portugal). the main plot line of arms deal being disrupted by an arab supporting group is prominent at the beginning it just seems to peter out by the end (as with a couple of the other novels).
so overall a good read that passes the time but nothing spectacular. it clearly shows I think the versatility of MC as a writer and creator of plots, the missing skill at this point in his career was how to create an interesting and successful climax to his books.
This novel for me has pretty much the same pros and cons as the other early MC novels republished by HCC.
The story opens with an interesting couple of chapters that introduce the main characters and plot. The pace of the book is kept at quite a brisk pace and the reader is drawn along with the main protagonist to the first of several 'action scenes'. The locations are quite well drawn/described although in this case if the town names had not been mentioned several times it could have been set in anywhere france (if not italy, spain or portugal). the main plot line of arms deal being disrupted by an arab supporting group is prominent at the beginning it just seems to peter out by the end (as with a couple of the other novels).
so overall a good read that passes the time but nothing spectacular. it clearly shows I think the versatility of MC as a writer and creator of plots, the missing skill at this point in his career was how to create an interesting and successful climax to his books.
July 18, 2020
A book that started off fast and with a lot of death only to get a little confusing with so many characters being killed and then two sides that are fighting each other. In the middle of all this chaos is a man that is thought to be a major player in a plot to kill a race car driver by people that are of course into other criminal activities. I enjoyed the book but the main character could have saved himself grief by answering questions with answers rather than questions. At first Mr. Carr's question routine is accepted because his character is rather reckless. But after more and more terrible things happen to him you would think he would drop the question with a question nonsense. The book moves slowly but the last 58 pages are so were so suspenseful if you hang in there you will love enjoy the book. Would I re-read it? No and honestly this book is not as good as the other early work of Michael Crichton writing as John Lange. But still I am glad I found this book and I will of course buy more of his early work.
October 9, 2020
I had to read this, and the other early thrillers written by Michael Crichton under various pseudonyms, him being one of my most favourite authors. Long before he became world renowned for his brilliantly versatile techno-thrillers, Crichton wrote several light pulp fiction novels to pay for his medical school. Scratch One is one of those, meant only for entertainment without taxing the reader's mind - of no consequence, in Crichton's own words. In spite of this, glimpses of Crichton's knack for imparting detailed technical knowledge to the reader through his fiction - related to medical science, art and Monaco Grand Prix - are evident in this novel too. I confess that I would not have picked it up if Crichton's name was not associated with it. But, I am happy that I did, and enjoyed it with all its plot holes and implausibilities.
December 24, 2017
Excellent early Crichton in pulp fiction style
This is one of Crichton's early thrillers, written before his breakout under his own name into the more cerebral techno-thrillers. The endpapers are a super insight into this incredibly accomplished man. The story uses the mistaken-identity storyline and wraps it around a plot that owes a lot to the James Bond classics. A relatively short, easy read that has the desired effect of wanting to know what happens next. I give it 4 stars rather than 5 because most readers will judge it by the author's better-known mature work, but it is a good casual read (and, at the reduced price, far ahead of the mass of poorly-written first-timers that inhabit this price point).
This is one of Crichton's early thrillers, written before his breakout under his own name into the more cerebral techno-thrillers. The endpapers are a super insight into this incredibly accomplished man. The story uses the mistaken-identity storyline and wraps it around a plot that owes a lot to the James Bond classics. A relatively short, easy read that has the desired effect of wanting to know what happens next. I give it 4 stars rather than 5 because most readers will judge it by the author's better-known mature work, but it is a good casual read (and, at the reduced price, far ahead of the mass of poorly-written first-timers that inhabit this price point).
August 5, 2022
Excellent extremely early Crichton from 1967, writing under a pen name. The book borrows heavily from the plot of North by Northwest where spies mistake an innocent for an opposing spy, right down to the love interest being the bad guy’s girlfriend. A few details change though, probably enough to set it apart, and it’s set in Europe, so, different setting and all that.
I wish there had been a longer ending where the loose ends could have been tied up a bit better - I suspect some of that was cut in editing because Crichton tends to over-explain a lot more than under-explain.
I also swear that there was an alternate ending where the back-up killer lived, because Crichton wrote that scene with the binoculars in such a way that it was very, very uncertain that the guy had been shot.
I wish there had been a longer ending where the loose ends could have been tied up a bit better - I suspect some of that was cut in editing because Crichton tends to over-explain a lot more than under-explain.
I also swear that there was an alternate ending where the back-up killer lived, because Crichton wrote that scene with the binoculars in such a way that it was very, very uncertain that the guy had been shot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2020
Mistaken Identity Thriller
This was an exciting early thriller by Michael Crichton. A case of mistaken identity becomes a life of death situation for lawyer Roger Carr. Sent overseas to buy a villa, he is mistaken for a hired killer and the game is one. A fast paced, entertaining thriller, it has many twists and turns. Though dated, it's still fun. I read this book using immersion reading while listening to the audiobook version. Christopher Lane magnificently handles the narrative and accents and is a not to listen to. If you are a Chrichton fan, or just love a fun fish out of water tale, you will enjoy this book.
This was an exciting early thriller by Michael Crichton. A case of mistaken identity becomes a life of death situation for lawyer Roger Carr. Sent overseas to buy a villa, he is mistaken for a hired killer and the game is one. A fast paced, entertaining thriller, it has many twists and turns. Though dated, it's still fun. I read this book using immersion reading while listening to the audiobook version. Christopher Lane magnificently handles the narrative and accents and is a not to listen to. If you are a Chrichton fan, or just love a fun fish out of water tale, you will enjoy this book.
December 10, 2020
This Michael Crichton writing as John Lange. You will find this as good as any Crichton novel. The setting is 60's noir in the Riviera of France. One thing I like about Crichton is the depth of his descriptions of important circumstances in the story. I felt the drama build as the story progressed, and I got to a point where I finished the story in one sitting.
There are eight books by my count available for John Lange novels. This was my 8th. All of them were good in their own way. I believe I have read his bibliography now. He was a great author, and this novel supports my statement.
There are eight books by my count available for John Lange novels. This was my 8th. All of them were good in their own way. I believe I have read his bibliography now. He was a great author, and this novel supports my statement.
May 15, 2021
This was a very well thought out story. Carr is about as lucky as one person can get, but that's part of the story. The only thing that I didn't like about it was that the characters are all classist, smoke too much and put on absolutely pointless airs with their drinking, fast cars and generally being snooty. I don't like snooty people. I don't like snooty characters unless they experience some terrible downfall. That's really the only reason for the 4-star rating. Otherwise, "John Lange" (OK, Michael Crichton) wrote a mighty fine story. Mighty fine.
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