Man in the Middle

By: Brian Haig

Narrated by: LJ Ganser

Length: 17 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Ripped from today's headlines, Brian Haig's new novel finds Army lawyer Sean Drummond caught between duty to Washington's elite and the soldiers in Iraq.

Dispatched to investigate the suicide of one of D.C.'s most influential defense officials, an ardent, early supporter of the war in Iraq, Drummond and his female partner find themselves in the middle of a tug-of-war between Washington's most influential power brokers and his own personal allegiance to the soldiers dying overseas. What he uncovers are the secrets that led to the war, secrets that, once exposed, would destroy public support and undermine the presidency. Now Drummond faces the greatest moral quandary of his life: what is the true meaning of patriotism?

©2007 Brian Haig (P)2007 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"A marvelously twisted plot and marvelously twisted characters help along a tale in which Drummond actually gets to act a little human. Great entertainment; highly recommended." ( Library Journal)

Great book/story, horrible audiobook

Brian Haig writes an incredible story. One you can't pull yourself away from. Unfortunately, this narrator/producer ruins this audiobook.

Rules Of Engagement

FC
I purchased this book due to Joe Barrett narrating books 1 to 4, If you try only 1 book choose Private Sector as author wit comes shining through due to Joe Barretts delivery.
All the negative reviews concerning LJ Ganser is on spot on, but if you love author B.Haig, and can not wait until some producer or author realizes they must have this book re recorded by Joe Barrett, by all means use a Gold credit for this outstanding read. Publishers summery is spot on so need to add to it. It is a mystery that is fun, entertaining and stimulating.
I generally use 1.25x speed to match the action, but in this book you must stay with regular speed so you can hear the wit and humor author had intended. You have to tune out LJ deep breaths and as the story progresses he does gain his momentum and does not take as deep a breath! However, you must concentrate on catching the wit and humor of L.J. timing. It takes a few chapters to get into narrators rhythm, but you can finally appreciate the strong writing from the author. Author has out done himself on this book so as not to miss out on the few B. Haig books available, I purchased it.
Were my comments of help?

Excellent book.

Did LJ Ganser do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

While listening to this book, I had trouble at times figuring out which character was supposed to be talking. Still, when it was obvious who was talking I could still see the character of Sean in my mind as I listened. Humorous guy, IMO. I attribute that to the author, not the reader.

Any additional comments?

While I was disappointed to see that this book had a different reader, once I got used to him I was able to enjoy the book. It is amazing how much the reader affects one's enjoyment of the audio version.

Excellent story, though.

Horrible narrator

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

The narrator frequently has horrible gasping intakes of air. Very distracting. Ruins the story.

Love Sean drummon books

I like the character Drummond and the plots as well. Thoughly enjoyable books that I highly recommend. These books are funny. Suspenseful and dramatic.

Great book, very well-conceived plot.

A long book, but held my attention the whole way. The usual Saen Drummond sarcasm was in place . 😄

A solid mystery, maybe a bit too long

Switching narrators after several books is alway a bad idea, but here they got a narrator with a two pack a day habit, who viciously inhales his cigarettes throughout the entire reading of the book. His female cia asst director voice was the same as his protagonist. Just a lazy, poor effort.

Where is Scott Brick?

I realize several other readers have made the same comment, but I did want to stress how incredibly distracting it was to change readers in this series. I nearly quit listening several times, until the book itself became so interesting that I could stop being distracted by the "wrong" voice. The narrator was adequate, but in my brain, I hear Scott Brick as Sean Drummond. PLEASE, Brian Haig, insist on Scott in the future! The book was very good, and I learned a great deal about the Middle East, but I nearly gave up in the early going. I'm not sure the narrator always understood Sean's sense of irony or humor. He quite literally trampeled on the jokes, and the humor was badly needed to offset the grimness of the subject matter.

I am not certain why the current narrator breathes so loudy, but either the producers made an error in muting a natural breathing technique, or the narrator himself needs to quell his inhilations.

As for the story itself, it was top-rate. It's not often I read a thriller and come away thinking that I need to do historical research on the subject matter. Well done, Brian Haig.

character/reader mismatch

I really struggled through this book because of the narrator -- his voice just didn't jibe with the character of Sean Drummond. I agree with the first reviewer -- please bring back Scott Brick or John Rubenstein. I only rated the book three stars, though it may have deserved more, because I just couldn't get by the narrator's voice.

Bring Back Scott Brick

I enjoy Brian Haig's series, and I love Sean Drummond (kind of John Corey's brother in the service). I had grown very familiar with the voice of Scott Brick in this series, and missed his voice to a point of near distraction during the first several chapters. By the time I stopped thinking about how much better it could have been, the book really developed into an interesting story, a great fictional adventure in war torn Iraq. I recommend sticking with it, the story is worth it. And, I further recommend that if Brian writes another Sean Drummond book, he fire whichever publisher or agent chose the wrong reader for his hero.