The Matlock Paper is the third novel from the award winning thriller author Robert Ludlum. It was first published in 1973. It is an intensely written novel with non-stop action and multiple plot twists, something that is a constant in the majority of his works. The Matlock Paper was one of the first Ludlum novels I read, and I have since read it again, and it is still just as good the second time round.

The Plot

James Matlock works as a professor at Carlyle University. A Vietnam vet with a reputation, he is recruited by the US government to attempt to uncover a drugs and prostitution ring. As he finds himself up against a power hungry organisation with a lot at its disposal, Matlock is drawn into something far deeper and mroe dangerous than he ever expected, and finds himself regretting taking the job on. However, the government seem determined that he be the one to do the job, and for a very specific reason. Can Matlock survive being used as a pawn by the US government long enough to discover what's really going on?

The plot here is very well written. A lot of Ludlum's book, especially the more modern ones, rely a lot on modern technology. The beauty of this book is that the spy element is that much more believable and relies heavily on the individual as opposed to the technological world. It is set in the 1960s and 1970s when there were no mobile phones and computer technology was extremely limited in comparison to today. This means a more intense and twisting plot where human factors are more in tune with the plot, and the characters are all developed accordingly and with great skill. It is easy to visualise the majority of the novel as you are reading, and I give this one a big thumbs up.

The book is 352 pages long, very short by Ludlum's standards, and is available from amazon.co.uk for £4.54 and is well worth it.