Red Rabbit is an innovative and intriguing entry in the Tom Clancy canon, satisfyingly sketching in details of his hero Jack Ryan's early life. The author can still be counted on to deliver the expected Clancy trademarks: this one is full of intriguing, well-researched detail, and studded with the adroitly staged action set-pieces we have come to expect. Working on the bottom rungs of the CIA's analysis departments, Jack Ryan is given the unenviable mission of debriefing a key Soviet defector. He discovers a dark secret: there is a plot afoot to murder Pope John Paul. Of course, this is only one aspect of a massively complex skein of skulduggery, and as Jack penetrates to the heart of the mystery (with less assurance than usual--he is younger, after all), Clancy admirers will definitely feel all the right areas are being massaged. Not, perhaps, vintage Clancy, but still a stylish and economical piece of work that grips from the first page. --Barry Forshaw