Red Rabbit

Red Rabbit (2002) is a New York Times bestselling novel by Tom Clancy. It incorporates the 1981 plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II.

The abridged book on CD released in 2002 was read by Dennis Boutsikaris.

The unabridged book on CD released in 2002 was read by Derrick Hagon.

Plot summary

Jack Ryan, former Marine turned CIA analyst, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the British Secret Intelligence Service help with transporting a Russian defector and his family to the United States. The defector tells of a KGB plan to kill Pope John Paul II.

Reference in other Clancy Novels

In Command Authority, When trying to find information on the KGB assassin known as Zenith. Ryan asks Greer if 'Rabbit' knows anything about the assassin with Greer confirming to Ryan that 'Rabbit' does not know anything about him.

Reception

Upon its release the novel received somewhat poor reviews. Critics praised Clancy's believable account of the plot, but disdained the lack of suspense. Reviewers for CNN and The New York Times considered the development of the main plot slow and tedious and noted that sub-plots remained underdeveloped and unresolved. Reviewers for Publishers Weekly and Esquire believed the involvement of Clancy's main character Ryan in the main plot to be highly marginal. Nevertheless, the novel reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List.