Red Cell

A Novel

By: Mark Henshaw

Narrated by: Rob Patterson

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Red Cell follows Kyra Stryker and Jonathan Burke, two outcasts in the Agency who are brought together in the Red Cell, the agency’s out-of-the-box think tank. Stryker is a young and beautiful agent who’s struggling to recover from a job gone bad during her first assignment in Venezuela, while Burke is a straight-laced analyst who’s pissed off all his colleagues with his knack for always being right, political consequences be damned.

When a raid on Chinese spies in Taiwan ends in a shootout, CIA Director Cooke turns to the Red Cell to figure out why China is ready to invade the island nation without any fear of reprisal from the U.S. Navy. Stryker and Burke’s only lead is the top CIA informant in China, codenamed Pioneer, and they’re tasked with extracting him before the Chinese can get to him.

From the White House to a Navy battleship in the South China Sea, Henshaw takes listeners on a whirlwind race against time as Stryker and Burke try to save Pioneer and discover the hidden threat to America’s power and keeping the peace: China’s top secret weapon, the Assassin’s Mace.

©2012 Mark Henshaw (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Very good story ruined by an awful reader

I've been an Audible member for over ten years (607 downloads) and I'm hard pressed to think of a worse read than this one. Every conversation sounded the same, whether deciding what to eat for dinner or staring down an incoming missile. Men, women, Americans, Chinese, all sounded the same. This was particularly frustrating when men and women were talking because you had to listen especially hard to figure out who was who.

I don't know who Rob Patterson is and what he's done before, but it's as if they pulled some random guy off the street and said, "here, read this novel." "Never done it before?" "No problem."

The biggest shame is that the story is actually quite good. Put in the hands of even a competent reader, and it would have been fabulous. As it was, I put this down three or four times and had to push myself to finish it.

Interesting and entertaining story

The book was quite good. Interesting subject, the story seemed well researched and therefore very plausible.

But, this is one of the few times I have been very disappointed with the reader of an Audible book. It was read in a monotone, almost computer like way, lacking any kind of understanding of what was being read. Especially dialogues were very difficult to follow. My apologies to the reader, but it just was very distracting.

A Different Spy Series

As many have said the narration isn't the best but not bad enough not to listen. The narrator didn't handle dialog well; ok he sucked at dialog sections, but luckily there isn't much back and forth dialog. While this isn't the strongest book it is a good start and I can see potential. I have listened to the second in the series and the author has tightened up his writing and there is a different narrator. While you don't need to listen to this book before the second book, I do recommend it.

Terrific first novel...performance only average.

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

A truly excellent first effort from an "insider's" perspective (Henshaw was a former CIA analyst). Also adds some Tom-Clancy-like military action.

What three words best describe Rob Patterson’s performance?

Choppy reading in places; poor transitions (e.g., often provides no audible pause when scenes change.)

(Sorry...three words just didn't work!)

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, but it gave me goosebumps a few times -- some of the scenarios were way too plausible!

Any additional comments?

Reallly looking forward to Henshaws next effort. I'll buy it for sure!

excellent

best story i have read in a long time. cant wait to read the others!

Red Cell is Highly Entertaining

The story and reader are outstanding. Mark Henshaw is a good writer who rivals Vince Flynn in this genre. I recommend this book to his fans. I look forward to the other novels in the series.

Loved it!!!

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

I loved the drama. Wasn't sure what to expect since I'd never read anything else by this author, but he sucked me right in in the first chapter. Hard to put down. I loved the fact that he told a gripping story without the foul language and sex that is so commonly found in 'adult' fiction. Kudos to Mark Henshaw for an excellent book that I can wholehearted recommend to my friends and family.

Good Book, Bad Narrator

This is one occasion when I would probably recommend the print book over the audio book.

I was not fond of the narrator of this book. He often sounded distant and uninterested in the material he was reading. There did not seem to be any enjoyment, warmth or character to his reading of the book. The conversation between the characters felt flat, emotionless and distant. The whole performance was more like listening to a court reporter and less like a well written novel.

I really enjoyed the book and think a better narrator would have only made it more enjoyable.

5 star story. 0 star narrator.

First, as a parent who likes to play audiobooks on regular speakers or in the car, I cannot overstate my appreciation for this author not using foul language. Imagine a writer who knows how to make an impression of stress or gruffness without f-bombs. Much better writing than using foul language as a crutch. Thank you so much.

The narration wad as poor as the writing was good. That I tolerated this awful narrator to the end is a testament to what a good book this is. If I had it to do again, I'd let Alexa read the Kindle book to me.

Excellent book!

This had me hooked from the first chapter! My only disappointment was there were serious vocal tone changes in random places in the narration which sounded like poor editing by the sound engineer.