Scratch One

By: Michael Crichton, John Lange

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

To prevent an arms shipment from reaching the Middle East a terrorist group has been carrying out targeted assassinations in Egypt…Portugal…Denmark…France. In response, the United States sends one of its deadliest agents to take the killers down.

But when the agent is delayed in transit, lawyer Roger Carr gets mistaken for him. Now, with some of the world's deadliest men after him, will he survive long enough to prove his identity?

©1967 John Lange; Copyright renewed 2005 by CrichtonSun LLC.. “John Lange” and “Scratch One” are trademarks of CrichtonSun LLC., used under license (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Loved It!

I loved this book and recommend it to everyone! It kept me engaged the whole time.

A good outing but a little stale

reading the Lange books as a Michael Crichton fan is always a real treat. here are the books that paid our authors way through medical school. a glimpse into his mind before his famous books were written.

in scratch one we find much of the same intrigue, crime and murder that are the staples of early Crichton. Here a lawer vacationing abroad gets mistaken for a dirty spy by a ring of international gangsters trying to finalize an illegal gun sale. pretty women, hired thugs and action ensues on the streets of Italy.

the standout finale takes place in Monaco, during the famous car race. Here Crichton's attention to detail and storytelling truly shines.

However I must say this book does take some time to settle in. for the first several chapters I had a hard time distinguishing a main character from the sea of options presented. this book is a slow burn, but once you settle in its worth the ride.

You'll be surprised and find parts funny.

enjoyed the read/listening and it was fun. listen the first time out, found the paperback at a service station some months later and read along as it played. still found fun and good.

Worst of Crichton's early works

I usually like Crichton's work but this one lacked the science or believability. It relied on a series of improbable events. Narrator was fine.

Pretty good book

I love Creighton and this book does not disappoint. It is one of his older pieces so it's certainly pulp fiction. A good listen on long drives. It starts kind of slow then picks up the pace. Good villans and the hero has a good arc. It's fairly short so it's not a heavy commitment.

Mistaken Identity Thriller, Superb Narration

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.

works out

startled out a little confusing, but it worked out by the time the story concludes.

Skip it!

Terrible, didn't enjoy it at all. It took a long time to get into the story, and the ending didn't seem to make much sense to wrap up what the story started out about. The main character bangs or wants to bang every female in the book.

It would be an insult to call this a poor man's James Bond. It's not worth a credit, not worth the money, and certainly not worth the time.