Ride a Pale Horse Paperback – 27 Jan. 1986

I have read all of Helen McInnes' books over the years. I have many of them but not the above book and it is no longer in my local library. It was extremely enjoyable reading this story again and i look forward once more to reading it in the future. Putting aside the change in society over the years and the old fashion male/female views it is still an enjoyable read.

Great reading.Nothing very new but...in comparison with todays writers ,a great big breath of fresh air.!

MacInnes is always an enjoyable read

I revisited Helen MacInnes after many years. She did not disappoint. An exciting story.

Brilliant spy story from a writer who understands how to weave an intriguing plot, and must have inside knowledge of how the secret services work!

Great book as I remembered

It is the middle of the Cold War and Karen Cornell, a young American reporter, is in Prague, having just finished covering a so called peace conference and is awaiting an important interview, when she is approached by a stranger claiming to be a high ranking KGB officer who is planning to defect. He hands her an envelope which he claims contains information of earth shaking importance and asks her to deliver it to a specific CIA employee in Washington. She does, thereby unleashing a series of tumultuous events.What was in the envelope; is the KGB operative truly a defector; who are the three individuals she runs into in Vienna, one of whom accuses her of stealing his job; and why is everyone trying to get their hands on the cassette tapes she made describing her experiences?This is standard MacInnes material, spies, double agents, murder, travelogue (this time Rome), and of course romance. Entertaining and exiting.This was Helen`s twenty third and final book. She passed away in 1985. A pity she couldn`t have lived longer and written more.

I have been a Helen MacInnes fan for many years. The paperbacks I bought during the '70s are falling apart. I am delighted to see that Amazon has made them available electronically. Ms. MacInnes was noted for writing thrillers set during the war years. They seem to me to be well researched and VERY well written. Not a lot of violence. No filthy language. Just well constructed who-done-it stories. I love her work. The way she can talk about the area the story is set in is amazing.

Excellent book

I give RIDE A PALE HORSE four stars because anything by Helen MacInnes involves a good yarn. I couldn't give it more as it failed to have the drama and tension of her earlier works (THE VENETIAN AFFAIR, NORTH FROM ROME, DECISION AT DELPHI, THE DOUBLE IMAGE). Like all of her books, this one dealt with civilians thrown into the geopolitical relations of the day. It was technologically dated, but one would expect that - what book wouldn't be in this fast moving electronic communication world we live in? I was disappointed she again used a man to carry the story instead of the woman she began with, but it did have standard MacInnes spy fare involving a defector, a mole, and even hinted at terror elements, which were beginning to make headlines. I thought the end was realistic, but could have been stronger. I would recommend RIDE A PALE HORSE to anyone wanting the thrill of reading about spies, foreign places, and have a love relationship thrown in.

Helen Macinnes was one of my very favorite authors, I remember mourning her passing, along with my daughter, who was also ab avid reader of hers. Her stories always have suspense, intrigue, a little romance and great endings!!! I am re-reading all her books because they are like knew again. I was so pleased when I saw we fans can now get ebooks from her fabulous stories!!