Beth's Review: Code Name: Papa: My Extraordinary Life While Hiding in Plain Sight by John Murra
Author Provided Copy
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Released: October 6, 2015
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Length: 326 pages
Format: ebook, paperback, hardcover
Authors Links:
Buy Links:
Blurb
Who’d have thought a bright, but fairly ordinary young man from middle class America who got just above average grades, dated the same girl throughout high school and went to church most Sundays, would grow up to eventually head a very secretive band of brave individuals--both men and women--who regularly put their lives on the line because they wanted to protect the rest of you. Yet that’s what we did, often sacrificing our personal lives (four marriages for me, all in the book) and our health (countless broken bones, major surgeries, even death) to do it.
Meanwhile you’re just going to have to call me “Papa” like everyone else around the globe has through most of those wildly unpredictable and dangerous years.
Three Boundless Stars
As we read, we are taken through life’s journey as a secret agent, “Papa” struggles with his relationships, children and friends as he tries to balance both lives. It’s dramatic, adventurous, suspenseful and even comical; nice read for a long trip.
I found the book to be well written with nicely developed characters, the ones we got to know well anyway. There were some that went as soon as they came and we really never knew them, but that’s ok because they were just mentioned to help us understand “Papa”. Like his kids, we didn’t get to know them well, but enough to know his relationship with them was lacking, to say the least. Knowing this helps readers know a little more about the life of a double agent, and the sacrifices he makes.
The only negative is, there were some slow parts in the book; I found myself drift off while reading a few times, but I still liked it, I just think it could have been better. Overall, it’s a strong 3 Boundless Stars book.