Spy

A Thriller (Alex Hawke, Book 4)

By: Ted Bell

Narrated by: John Shea

Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

"A border ain't nothing but a law drawn in the sand." So says a small-town Texas sheriff in Ted Bell's most gripping espionage thriller to date.

Things along America's southern border are rapidly reaching the boiling point. American girls are being snatched from their homes, ranches are burning, and the number of deadly confrontations along the Mexican boarder grows daily.

At night, armed Mexican troops cross the border at will in support of narcotics smugglers and illegal immigrants. By day, Americans take up arms and plan reprisals. An all-out border war is no longer inconceivable. It's happening!

On assignment for the British Secret Service, a man leads a mysterious expedition into the heart of darkness. Sailing up the furthest reaches of the Amazon River, he is captured by a brutal tribe of indigenous cannibals.

Forced into slave labor, he witnesses the unimaginable. Golden domes and minarets rise beneath the rainforest canopy. Vast terror armies are being recruited and trained in the jungle. Their goal: a vicious jihad that will unite one continent...and destroy another. They possess weapons only dreamed of by the Western allies. Somehow he must escape his captors and live to tell his tale.

With tensions on its southern border threatening to ignite into war, America must look to the one man who might be able to confront the demons in the jungle...and destroy them.

Alex Hawke, with the aid of brilliant Scotland Yard Inspector Ambrose Congreve, and an unstoppable force of nature named Stokely Jones, begins a river journey fraught with peril. Hawke once again takes listeners right to that thin border between fear and overwhelming terror. It's merely a line drawn in the sand. Cross it at your peril.

Cross it if you dare.

Take another thrill ride with Alex Hawke.

©2006 Theodore A. Bell (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Think Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum meet Stephen King....Spy is the book of the summer!" (Glenn Beck, CNN Headline Prime)
"Bell ups the ante, and involves Hawke in what might be termed terrorism's perfect storm." ( Palm Beach Post)
"Here's an espionage novel that not only lends itself to audio, but also is topically current....Shea's characters, whether Texan, Latino, or Brit, are highly credible and give this thriller a real international flavor." ( AudioFile)

awesome as usual

another great book, all action. despite knowing that he is Alex Hawke and best at what he does, the author keeps you riveted with the ending that does not disappoint.

The best narration i have heard in an Audio book!

Would you listen to Spy again? Why?

Actually I did listen to several chapters again after listening to the whole book which I have never done before.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The true hero and main spy was Hawk; but there were several key heroes.

What about John Shea’s performance did you like?

He was able to portray by voice the dialects of totally different individuals from proper English accent, Texan southern, Arabic, to Latin American with very convincing differences.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I had to listen to the whole book during one 24 hour day; because the book was so riveting
and I could not shut it off. The story and narration were superior!!

Any additional comments?

Best Audio book I have heard!

4

I LOVE this book. Years ago I read it. Some descriptions of the jungle village stayed with me for yesr , the Texas Sheriff became the Superman of my youth and the ghost trucks became the stuff of nightmares. I enjoyed this audible version thanks to an excellent narrator. it is a rollicking good thriller.

Best one yet

The first few books were great and I'm reading them in order. This was the best yet.

A winner!

Another captivating piece of work by Ted Bell. A big fan of the Hawke series, loved this and want more please!

fun

Alex Hawke strike a blow to evil once more. from the Amazon to the Whit House.

Bad fantasy fiction

Armies of Mexican bikers invading Texas border towns? American border vigilantes (11 of them) having their heads cut off and set on their horses (horses?)sent back over the border by evil Mexican sadists? Islamic terrorists building city-sized bases in the tree-tops of the Amazon prepapring to invade -- yes invade -- the US across the Mexican border? British aristocratic spy-adventurer apparently under the discipline of MI-6 but wth his own private almost-battleship sized armored craft?

This is not intrigue or espionage fiction it is a kind of witches brew of right-wing fantasy and borrowed stereotypes. Willing suspension of disbelief is one thing: you need a lobotomy to get into this one.

But: the reader is really good with accents.

So far fetched.

stories like this have a hero, verging on super hero, this story has 4 super hero's and another 4 lesser hero's.
The hero's in this tale were bullet proof, bomb proof and knife proof, they shot everything they pointed their guns at.
blew up everything they threw a grenade at and destroyed everything they fired a missile at.
numerous disasters were avoided or neutralized with seconds to spare.
They even had a motor boat that had weapons systems and armourments that would put a guided missile destroyer to shame.
Their enemy although numerous were a pack of incompetent idiots, who could not hot a barn door at 10 ft with machine guns.
The only thing that was missing were the capes on their backs.
I was very dissapointed, I hope the next in the series is a bit more realistic, but I doubt it.

AuShouldn't let his politics be so obvious...

Foolish, fear-driven drivel. The author is obviously pushing his political agenda.
This is the 2nd Ted Bell novel I've listened to. The first (Pirate) was very good. This book (Spy) was a huge disappointment. Bell is obviously a far right republican, which is okay, except when it makes his book stupid.
The book is replete with a Texas lawman saving the president (Bush Jr at his second inauguration) riding around on a horse in DC, Mexico wanting to take back the Alamo, Latin American countries banding together to overthrow the US, big semi-trucks driven by remote control all over the US, a Mexican border war (Please!! What are you guys so afraid of? Mexico is not having an army cross our border as illegals in order to attack us at some future date), Arabs in the Amazon, a British spy and investigator being tortured by the Arabs in the Amazon, etc....
The whole thing is crazy right-wing fear mongering. Bell would do well to remember that fear itself is what can destroy us as people.
Too bad that Bell ruined his characters with such crap. Bell writes well and the narrator is excellent. The book is awful -- save your money/credits.

Barf

Would you try another book from Ted Bell and/or John Shea?

I doubt it

What do you think your next listen will be?

I do not know but it will be one that does not make me sick to my stomach.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of John Shea?

I have nothing against the narrator

What character would you cut from Spy?

I would cut the story so that there is no book

Any additional comments?

Nope, that will do it!