The Faithful Spy

By: Alex Berenson

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

“A well-crafted page-turner that addresses the most important issue of our time. It will keep you reading well into the night.” (Vince Flynn)

A New York Times reporter has drawn upon his experience covering the occupation in Iraq to write the most gripping and chillingly plausible thriller of the post-9/11 era. Alex Berenson’s debut novel of suspense, The Faithful Spy, is a sharp, explosive story that takes listeners inside the war on terror as fiction has never done before.

John Wells is the only American CIA agent ever to penetrate al Qaeda. Since before the attacks in 2001, Wells has been hiding in the mountains of Pakistan, biding his time, building his cover. Now, on the orders of Omar Khadri - the malicious mastermind plotting more al Qaeda strikes on America - Wells is coming home. Neither Khadri nor Jennifer Exley, Wells’s superior at Langley, knows quite what to expect. For Wells has changed during his years in the mountains. He has become a Muslim. He finds the United States decadent and shallow.

Yet he hates al Qaeda and the way it uses Islam to justify its murderous assaults on innocents. He is a man alone, and the CIA - still reeling from its failure to predict 9/11 or find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - does not know whether to trust him. Among his handlers at Langley, only Exley believes in him, and even she sometimes wonders. And so the agency freezes Wells out, preferring to rely on high-tech means for gathering intelligence. But as that strategy fails and Khadri moves closer to unleashing the most devastating terrorist attack in history, Wells and Exley must somehow find a way to stop him, with or without the government’s consent.

From secret American military bases where suspects are held and “interrogated” to basement laboratories where al Qaeda’s scientists grow the deadliest of biological weapons, The Faithful Spy is a riveting and cautionary tale, as affecting in its personal stories as it is sophisticated in its political details. The first spy thriller to grapple squarely with the complexities and terrors of today’s world, this is a uniquely exciting and unnerving novel by an author who truly knows his territory.

©2006 Alex Berenson (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

“A well-crafted page-turner that addresses the most important issue of our time. It will keep you reading well into the night.” (Vince Flynn)

“Berenson offers a very American story - a sort of terrorist High Noon...exciting.” (The New York Times)

“A hold-your-breath thriller...a grabber.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

good story, good characters, very good ending I wi

I really liked the story and characters. I will read the next in the series.

Well Depicted Characters

The narration for this book was excellent. The characters were interesting, and used to help the Western reader try to understand the varying motivations of the disparate characters. Even the smaller characters had something interesting to add. I very much enjoyed "reading" this book. Although obviously fictional, enough of its themes are drawn from headlines, and the facts from technical journals to give it a realistic undertone.

Loved it

When I finished this book, I immediately looked for another by Alex Berenson. It is a great spy novel that was well researched and held my interest from start to finish.

just starting this series

I'm fairly new to the audio book world. I started with Vince Flynn and Mitch Rapp. I'm totally hooked. Next Brad Thor and it was ok very entertaining but I started wondering if I was going to find anything close to my "first". Well this comes as close to it as I'm likely to get it seems. Can't wait to start the next one especially with George Guidall narrating.

Interesting, Enjoyable

This book was captivating and the narration was good. I miss having the story to return to. Some interesting stuff about terrorism, but not a huge amount.

Marching forward

What made the experience of listening to The Faithful Spy the most enjoyable?

The author, is able to bringing several story lines together, adding to the enjoyment of listening

Any additional comments?

Already purchased book 3

Superb

I listened to dozens of myteries and thrillers so far. This one is my favorite.

John Wells returns

What did you love best about The Faithful Spy?

I enjoy the character - John Wells. The voice of John Wells in this book sounds exactly as I imagined when I read the story.

What did you like best about this story?

The description of life inside Al Quieda was interesting.

Which character – as performed by Robertson Dean – was your favorite?

Without a doubt - John Wells.

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

Not particularly. I was grateful when John Wells missed American life, making him more human.

Any additional comments?

The end was a little predictable as you started to get close to the ending.

A Faithful Fan

Wonderful narrator!
A great story!
It was truly spellbinding!

This book kept me awake & entertained all night

Les Archer Sr.

Not Mitch or Scott but good espionage fiction.

While this book is not on par with the original Mitch Rapp books or current Scott Harvath books—it is a good read!