Intelligence: A Novel of the CIA

By: Susan Hasler

Narrated by: Susan Hasler (introduction), Joe Barrett, Rachel Butera, Catlin Davies, Terry Donnolly, Peter Ganim, L J Ganser, Gayle Hendrix, Bryan Kennedy, Ken Kliban

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

A team of intelligence agents tries to prevent an impending terrorist attack, but is thwarted by bureaucratic hurdles in this darkly humorous debut by former CIA agent Susan Hasler.

Maddie James and her colleagues are terrorism experts working in a crumbling intelligence agency. They are certain another big terrorist attack is coming, but in a post-9/11 election year, the administration is stressing its victories in the War on Terror, and few want to hear the team's warnings.

Maddie is given a team of five analysts to focus on the impending threat. The crew labors through bureaucratic obstacles, personal problems, and a blossoming romance between its senior members, Doc and Fran. They come heartbreakingly close to stopping the attack, but fail to predict a surprising twist in the terrorists’ plot.

In the wake of tragedy, the administration pins blame on Iran, despite a lack of evidence—so Maddie and her team try to investigate. With dark humor and a razor-sharp tone, they fight back against office politics, government cover-ups, and blackmail in order to set the record straight. A keenly crafted debut that could only be written by an ex-CIA agent, Intelligence will please fans of Wag the Dog and Primary Colors.

The excellent cast of narrators includes Joe Barrett, Dina Perlman, Suzanne Toren, Marc Vietor, Peter Ganim, Elisabeth Rodgers, L J Ganser, Caitlin Davies, Rachel Butera, Ken Kilban, Terry Donnolly, Eileen Stevens, Gabra Zackman, Kevin Pariseau, Joshua Swanson, Gayle Hendrix, Anthony Salerno, and Bryan Kennedy.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an introduction written and read by author Susan Hasler.

©2010 Susan Hasler (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A biting satire of the agency [Hasler] once called home….It’s a very funny book about a deeply unfunny slice of recent history. Read it and weep – but you’ll be laughing, too." ( The Washington Post)

"Often laugh-out-loud funny, Intelligence even manages to squeeze in a genuinely sweet romance. Susan Hasler does for the folks at the CIA what Joseph Wambaugh accomplishes with cops: she gives them human dimension. Sometimes sad, sometimes stupid, sometimes scary and at other times heroic, Hasler’s characters always seem achingly real." ( January magazine, Best Crime Fiction of 2010)

"There have been many books written about the CIA, some of them by ex-agents of the clandestine organization. But none of them have been anything like Susan Hasler’s Intelligence. For one thing, it’s refreshing to get a female point of view. For another, Hasler’s mordant wit makes reading this novel an unalloyed delight. Not since Catch-22 has a novel with such trenchantly mordant wit illuminated the inherent insanity of institutionalized war. Intelligence is funny, sad, and frightening. It’s a book to keep you up at night, one you won’t soon forget." (Eric Van Lustbader)

Exceptional

I really enjoyed this book. There are certain things about previous administrations and policies that became more clear to me after listening to the book. Also, the performance of the narrators was outstanding.

Best Political Thriller I Have Ever Read

Well it's smart and authentic, written by a former CIA analyst. She knows and is able to introduce us to what the inner workings of the CIA.

It is well written, a gripping, suspenseful tale that kept me riveted till the end. It has some of the best, most human characters I have encountered. And it is as funny and clever as it is intriguing.

The narrators are outstanding. I am not a fan of multiple narrators, but every one of these work seamlessly. Joe Barrett is one of the best.

Finally, it actually educated me on just how important it is to beware of the industrial military complex. I do not think I will trust our leadership again when it comes to going to war.

"A must read"

Any additional comments?

Written by one of the key figures in the CIA prior to 9/11. Susan Hasler quit the CIA after 9/11. She'd tried unsuccessfully to get the government to act on information her agency had discovered about the plot before it happened.

This is a suspense novel, plain and simple; Read it with a mind to how the scenario would have played out prior to 9/11 and it will send shivers down your spine.

Not your typical spy novel....

Apparently the type of people who prefer typical spy novels want their spy heroes to be generally flawless, exceedingly clever and handsome, and to ultimately prevail in any given scenario (regardless of how unlikely the plot contortions this requires). This is not a typical spy novel, and frankly, I'm glad.

This is an extremely well-produced audiobook with a terrific and varied voice cast (so much better than having just one person do different voices for the various characters!), that combines the genres of spy novel and political satire almost seamlessly. The novel presents a compelling picture of the complexities and challenges of working inside one of our country's major intelligence agencies, including both the problems of bureaucracy and the difficulties of keeping at least one step ahead of terrorism, while also retaining a dark sense of humor about the whole business. And, if you have a somewhat dark sense of humor, this book is not just clever, it's laugh-out-loud funny.

It also presents a slightly fictionalized account from a CIA insider about the events leading up to, and immediately following, the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001. The details in the book are consistent with what we've learned in the months and years following the U.S. invasion of Iraq, but are presented from a perspective that has not really been present in political discourse.

This is one of the best audiobooks I've ever heard - it's entertaining, funny, insightful and informative. Highly recommended!

A Whiny Woman

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. I learned way too much about the main character's personal life. It was devoid of action and whiney. The basic story was a good one, and well thought out, but the characterizations were not as rich as I would have liked.

Would you recommend Intelligence: A Novel of the CIA to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend Mark Greaney or David Baldacci. This was a woman who hated George Bush and wanted to write a novel to ping him. I am no fan of Bush, but I don't buy books based on politics.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Narrators were terrific

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Only if Fran Drescher played the lead character.

Any additional comments?

There are better books about the CIA, but this one is still okay and worth your time.

What a Treat

This book worked for me on many levels: It is a suspenseful thriller; it kept me interested in the characters and the plot (which I found believable); and it was EXCEPTIONALLY well produced and performed by a very large cast of talented actors. I have hundreds of books in my library, and It is one of the few I will listen to again. This isn't just a keeper but one I will recommend to all my friends who are thinking about exploring audible books.

A+

Would you consider the audio edition of Intelligence: A Novel of the CIA to be better than the print version?

The audible book was can't put down exciting and was performed almost like a lay with many different and very good actors playing different characters. I loved it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

can't remember; read it a while ago.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Too close to the truth

This is an excellent story. It smacks of the reality of what probably happened during and just after 9/11. The multiple narrators was a nice touch.
Except for prolific profanity it would have been perfect. This is not a story that the whole family will want to listen to.

Good story

What made the experience of listening to Intelligence: A Novel of the CIA the most enjoyable?

I know we are all tired of 9/11 terrorist plots but this was a fresh take. It is written by a woman who actually worked for the cia and actually was ticked off at the way the government handled it. You could feel her bitterness is the forward, she told a good story and I really enjoyed. it.

the lies your government tells you

this was a pretty good CIA novel, written by an ex CIA terrorist specialist. I enjoyed listening to it because the cast of narrators was quite good. I also found it to be believable and interesting