Alistair MacLean (1922-1987) is the acclaimed author of 29 bestselling novels, many of which were adapted for film. The most famous
ones are The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare. One of my favourites is
Puppet on a Chain. It centres around Interpol British cop Paul Sherman, who
flies down to Amsterdam to uncover a drug ring. It’s deeply atmospheric, with
the canals, high houses, psychopaths and corrupt cops. I love the concept of
smuggling drugs in puppets and the way the villains make a
puppet representing their next victim: a grisly warning, which they carry
through almost each time. I have used a similar ruse in my Killer Kavita
series, which revolves around a female contract killer. Her USP is that she
sends her targets a poetic warning before each kill, informing them of the day
of their deaths…and she still gets her man or woman, as the case may be. In
Puppet on a Chain, Sherman is fallible and he makes mistakes, for which readers
have criticized the author. Yeah, we want the hero to be on top of things; mine
certainly are. But there’s a certain vulnerability to the character and I loved
the story from the moment I got hold of the book as a teenager. The 1970 film
did not do it justice but the book is unputdownable.
Which is your favourite Alistair MacLean novel?
The 1971 film Puppet on a Chain and the full audiobook are available on You Tube.
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