Marine One

By: James W. Huston

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

After the presidents' helicopter, Marine One, goes down in a brutal thunderstorm, the government blames the European manufacturer of the helicopter, accusing them of killing the president.

Senate investigations and Justice Department accusations multiply as Mike Nolan, a Marine Corps reserve helicopter pilot and trial attorney in civilian life, is hired to defend the company from the criminal investigations and a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the most notorious lawyer in America on behalf of the First Lady.

Nolan knows that to win his case, he has to find out what really caused Marine One to crash and why the president threw caution aside to go to a meeting no one seems to know about.

©2009 James W. Huston (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Nonstop legal suspense at its best."( Publishers Weekly)

Fantastic story, well told, action packed!

Huston does it again with this wonderful book. Full of suspense and unexpected turns that are both fantastic and plausible. This is a great book that's well read by the narrator.

My Favorite Worlds Together In A Brilliant Novel

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, particularly my friends who love aviation down at the airport cafe

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

Yes it did. Mr Huston kept several "balls in the air" which made getting to the next chapter unbearable. Mike Nolan, a Marine Corps reserve helicopter pilot and trial attorney had everything stacked against him. What a great journey this book is!

What about Joe Barrett’s performance did you like?

He is as good as the best narrators in the business! My first Barrett listen and he is up there with Will Patton, Michael Beck, The late Edward Herrmann and Dennis Boutsikaris.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I had to fight myself to spread it out a few days

Any additional comments?

Grisham with rotor blades. Great aviation thriller.

My favorite audiobook of all time.

This is the second time listening to Marine One and probably not my last. Hooked me on legal thrillers but haven’t found one I liked as well.

Excellent

Marine One started strong, and finished strong. A good listen from start to finish. Narration was good, and the book kept me guessing on how things might turn out. The ending was not my favorite with his politics inserted, but other than that, I highly recommend this one.

Too melodramatic

The story did hold my interest to the end, but I kept thinking the scenes and characters were "over-the-top." Instead of crafting a believable story, the author uses extremes to create tension and suspense. When I finally arrived at the denouement, I was left disappointed. As another reviewer (Liz) wrote, there were subplots tossed in that were never resolved . . . and in the end, never connected to the story.

3 stars because it held my interest, but I don't think I'll buy another of Mr. Houston's works.

Aircrash Investigation + Grisham courtroom drama

Marine One is engaging, suspenseful, interesting AND, best of all, is without the bad language that has become so common place in books.

The story is about a helicopter crash in which the US President is killed and the subsequent trial against the manufactures of the helicopter.

I great listen which kept me glued to my earphones. I will be looking at more audiobooks from this author.

Good listen......to a point.

The story is very good. The technical aspects of the accident and investigation are interesting. The main character is very likable and you root for him throughout the book. Overall an interesting story and definitely worth a listen. If the book has any drawbacks, its the lack of exposition of the various characters, who appear and disappear so frequently that they are hard to keep straight sometimes. Also, although the ending is well done and edge of your seat stuff, it seems lacking somehow. It's as if the author had a deadline and had to end the story about a chapter or two early.

BTW, the narrator is top class.

Good one.

I enjoyed this book. Not too drawn out...kept my interest all the way through. Narrator was excellent as well.

Surprised to find it enjoyable!

I don't normally find legal thrillers entertaining, but this one really delivered for me. It had a nice, round assortment of red herrings, sleazy lawyers, secrets, blind alleys, and mystery to hold my attention throughout the book. Bravo!

Great listen. A little unbelievable.

Any additional comments?

*spoiler alert*
I actually enjoyed the book quite a bit. The last hour was very fun to listen to but I thought it was unrealistic. At one point the witness on the stand pulls evidence out of his pocket.. and it's allowed? Also I found myself disliking the main character at the end of the book. I've read all of Vince Flynns books and I very much dislike people trying to disclose government secrets for personal gain which is what this main character did. So I liked the book and I'd recommend it but not if there's my Vince Flynn books you haven't read.