The Double Tap

Here, in THE DOUBLE TAP, Cramer is dying of stomach cancer. Wishing to go out fighting, he volunteers to act as the bait to entrap and liquidate a faceless international hit man that attracts the attention of the SAS after he kills a friend of the Prime Minister, who demands action. Thus, Mike assumes the identity of a reclusive millionaire businessman known to be on the assassin's short hit list. With the help of SAS trainers, Cramer practices quick-draw techniques in the hope that he can swiftly out-gun the Bad Guy, who specializes in double taps, i.e., a first shot to the head and a second to the chest close-up with a hand gun. Unknown to Cramer and the SAS, however, the former has another predator on his track, IRA soldier Dermott Lynch, out to avenge the execution of his wife, an IRA bomber, years before during an SAS raid on an IRA safe house in which Sergeant Cramer participated. Who'll get to Mike first?

THE DOUBLE TAP is decidedly better than THE LONG SHOT. In the latter, Cramer shared hero duties with an FBI agent, and, consequently, readers' loyalties might understandably be divided. Moreover, the potential repercussions of THE LONG SHOT were more international than personal, and the plot as a whole consequently perhaps less engaging. Leather remedies both shortcomings here with a leaner and meaner plot while at the same time providing a clever end-game twist that fools Mike and his SAS controller.

It's a shame Leather thought it necessary terminate Cramer's career. One can only hope that he was buried with all due honors in the parallel universe of literary fiction.


Goody has to stop Baddy   March 16, 2002
griffer@hotmail.com (UK)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful

A poor book.I really enjoyed The Chinaman and The Stretch both had originality.I feel this was just a churned out filler to satisfy the publishers desires inbetween writng better books.


Well written , exciting thriller   October 5, 2001
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Being what I consider a moderate and tolerant person from Northern Ireland I was surprised and pleased at the way in which this author dealt with the subject of terrorism it would have been easy to offend some people but he manages to tread the line skilfully. He has also produced a first class thriller where seriously ill ex SAS man Mike Cramer is used as bait to attract a killer. Well written as I said and I will definitely be trying more books from this author