Hunting Season

By: P. T. Deutermann

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 17 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

When college kids hiking near an abandoned military industrial complex in West Virginia mysteriously disappear, special agent Janet Carter - earnest, honest, and fed up with the stifling chauvinistic environment at the Roanoke FBI headquarters - is called in to investigate. Unfortunately, there are no leads - it's as if the three just vanished into thin air.

The authorities at the FBI are quick to write off the case as teenage runaways, and order Janet off the case - but not before she has the chance to speak with the father of one of the missing, Edwin Kriess.

Kriess is an ex-"sweeper", a member of an elite CIA task force trained to track down and bring in rogue agents. To be a sweeper means to be expertly trained in the art of hunting and killing, and Kriess was not only a sweeper himself, but the agent in charge of training and leading the entire program. Only something went wrong - an assignment to track down an agent involved in a Chinese espionage plot ended in a bloody massacre, and threatened to reveal a monumental government cover-up. Kriess was quietly sacrificed to the scandal, and has since lived in solitude.

But now his daughter is missing, and he knows that she didn't run away - and he will do anything to find her and bring her abductors to justice. His search brings him back to the abandoned industrial complex, where two right-wing religious fanatics - tied to the Waco disaster and inspired by the Oklahoma City bombing - are building a hydrogen bomb.

When the FBI learns of Kriess' independent investigations, they fear the worst: he knows too many secrets already, and if his search efforts are successful, a scandal of epic proportions would unfold. They decide they need a plant, someone who has access to Kriess, and can win his trust. Someone who will report back what he knows, and what he finds - and that person is Janet Carter.

©2005 P. T. Deutermann (P)2005 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Deutermann's latest blast at the FBI/ CIA establishment [is] read with muscular intelligence by Hill." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A solid read from an author whose own tradecraft is every bit as good as that of his characters." ( Booklist)

great story, but not for children

Where does Hunting Season rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was in the top 50%. I really don't care for a ton of swearing. I think the English language is a beautiful thing and only those who don't know how to use it, revert to the "F" bomb all the time. It could have been written without the vulgarity.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Lots of twists and turns. Loved that. Lots of people didn't like the FBI agent and said she was stupid. Actually I liked her and she was one character that was really real. She was an academic not a field officer. She caught a lot of breaks. . . but that is sometimes how life is. Sometimes things actually go your way even if you didn't make them happen.

Any additional comments?

This is not a read for the soccer mom. Try Baldacci or Brandon Sanderson for books you can listen to with kids that are also great stories.

Loved it v

Listened to this going to NH from Ohio and the return trip home. Thoroughly entertained the whole way.
Female voice was not the best but narration as a whole was very good.

Long Thriller With More Plot than Character

Hunting Season by P.T. Deutermann is a surprisingly well developed thriller. This may be because it is about twice as long as most thrillers to which I listen. Unfortunately, Deutermann uses most of this extra time developing plot rather than his characters. If the real FBI has as many incompetents as Deutermann puts into his story, the USA is in real trouble.

loved it

I could hardly stop listening. In addition to a really great story, the narrator, Dick Hill, really added to the enjoyment of this book.

Kept me listening

Enjoy this one a lot. Story had lots of twists and turns and uneasy accuracy about the secrecy going on in our federal government.

Reader

This is one of the best books I have heard - and I listen A LOT! It was like two stories in one.

Among the best

Unfamiliar with Deutermann, I was trying someone new because Nelson DeMille and Greg Iles don't write fast enough. What a surprise! A wonderful expose of the stupidity of bureaucratic in-fighting and turf-wars among agencies that are supposed to be on the same side, disguised as a fascinating but believable thriller. Kreiss is an intriguing hero that I hope we will see more of. And Dick Hill proves once again why he is one of the best narrators ever. It was his inclusion on this audio program that convinced me to take a chance on an unknown (to me) author.

Only 4 stars rather than five because, as some of the other reviewers have remarked, Hill is less convincing with female voices.

Great Read!

This book kept my interest all the way through. And what can I say - DICK HILL!!! He just makes everything interesting and fun!
The only reason I gave it 4 stars, was because I felt the character "Janet" was at times a bit weak and not believable. But it was still a terrific read which I will circle back to again!

Good story but the whiny voice was rough

Any additional comments?

It was full of action and conspiracy but I found myself really frustrated with the whiny voice used for Janet Carter. It was driving me crazy! I also have to admit I was a little unhappy with that character as a whole. I was ok with naive but it seemed she was beyond that. She was dangerously stupid which didn't seem fair.

Very Good,But.......

This was a very action-packed book which for the most part, I enjoyed. Having said that, I did have a few issues with the book. 1/ There were just too many wordy, boring details given. 2/ Janet, the main female character seemed so weak, inefficient and to put it bluntly - stupid. Her successes seemed to have been by pure luck. It didn't help either that the narrator was unable to get a female voice that didn't sound whining and weak. 3/ The book went on for a couple hours too long. I was more than ready when it finally ended.

I'd still recommend it though, but maybe listen to it over the course of a week or two, rather than continuously (like on a car trip). It's just too much of the same thing all at one time.