The Faithful Spy

By: Alex Berenson

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

“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)

I loved this novel !

The story, performance and narration are excellent, I am listening to it for the second time. I sat in my driveway several times listening until the end of a chapter. Great listen, I highly recommend it.

I truly enjoyed this thriller

The description of this book tells you all you need to know. It is a story well told. I found myself wanting to get back into my car to find out what happens next.

Don't start if you can't finish

Best audio book in my 3 year history with Audible.com. Great story, good character development and exciting all the way through. The plot was believable, realistic and unpredictable. The only flaw was the reader who gets a B-.

Good but gruesome

Lots of killing and revenge, but a good thriller even so. Main character made of hero stuff, terrorists are typical, but good story.

Couldn't stop listening

I loved this book for its Clancy-like details coupled with a spellbinding story filled with suspense, excitement, and current-event tidbits. I wish he had another book -- I would start it immediately.

Ready for Hollywood!

This a fun book to listen, written mainly to entertain rather than to be profound. But that's OK! If one could give half starts I would have given it half more.

A great listen....

I don't write many reviews, but I enjoyed this book as much as any I've listened too. It's just a great listen. The John Wells character is one of my favorites. I recommend the book.

Good

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

I thought it was fast paced and fun.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All were believable

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

They main characters voice was grating.

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

No

A different angle to a large situation

Would you listen to The Faithful Spy again? Why?

Yes, because I feel I may have missed some details

What about Robertson Dean’s performance did you like?

I liked the performance but the speaking part for the ladies needs to be realistic

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Are we over thinking the other side of a problem. Should we begin at home fixing our
world before entering another?

Any additional comments?

Really enjoyed the book & would recommend to a friend

Great suspense

This was really good. I enjoyed the character development, and look forward to continuing the series. If you like suspense/mystery this is a great choice!