• The Third Bullet

  • Bob Lee Swagger, Book 8
  • By: Stephen Hunter
  • Narrated by: Buck Schirner
  • Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (676 ratings)

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The Third Bullet  By  cover art

The Third Bullet

By: Stephen Hunter
Narrated by: Buck Schirner
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Publisher's summary

It’s not even a clue. It’s a whisper, a trace, a ghost echo, drifting down through the decades via chance connections so fragile that they would disintegrate in the puff of a breath. But it’s enough to get legendary former Marine sniper Bob Lee Swagger interested in the events of November 22, 1963, and the third bullet that so decisively ended the life of John F. Kennedy and set the stage for one of the most enduring controversies of our time.

Swagger begins his slow night stalk through a much-traveled landscape. But he’s asking questions that few have asked before: Why did the third bullet explode? Why did Lee Harvey Oswald, about to become the most hunted man on Earth, risk it all by returning to his rooming house to secure a pistol he easily could have brought with him? How could a conspiracy that went unpenetrated for 50 years have been thrown together in the two and a half days between the announcement of the president’s route and the assassination itself?

As Bob investigates, another voice enters the narrative: knowing, ironic, almost familiar, that of a gifted, Yale-educated veteran of the CIA Plans Division. Hugh Meachum has secrets and the means and the will to keep them buried. When weighed against his own legacy, Swagger’s life is an insignificant expense - but to blunt the threat, he’ll first have to ambush the sniper.

As each man hunts the other across today’s globe and through the thickets of history, The Third Bullet builds to an explosive climax that will finally prove what Bob Lee Swagger has always known: It’s never too late for justice.

©2013 Stephen Hunter (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Third Bullet

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not what reader is anticipating

I am a little old lady and love Stephen Hunter and Bob Lee, but we have a problem now. Bob Lee is 66 years old: too old to do what he does best, so the story takes another path. I liked this book as a stand alone story, but it is not about our Bob Lee. Unfortunately the author has tied his books to a timeline and we have gotten to the last stages of Bob Lee's life. I would like to see the author go back and give us more adventures in years past. I did not care for the narrator. He did a decent job, but his voice does not fit my mental scenario that I created when reading all of Mr. Hunter's books through the years. I know Bob Lee is from a humble background, but he is a master, an artist in his field. He is the best. Narrator should be reading Mickey Spillane - needs to be more like Gary Cooper - smoother.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really Good.... not Great

I've read every one of Hunter's Swagger stories (both Bob Lee & Earl). That Hunter is keeping BobLee in real time and aging is sad but, heck, I'm aging too which I often lament. I found this book more about Hugh Meachum than Bob Lee. Bob Lee was secondary to Meachum narrating his memoirs of Nov 1963. I enjoyed Meachum's Yale "snoot" perspective and the narrator's voice for Meachum.

Hey Stephen.... howsabout another story on Earl cleaning up Arkansas in the 50s.

FWIW: my favorite Bob Lee story is Point Of Impact with Behold A Pale Horse as #2.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

On Par to be One Of His Best Works

If you could sum up The Third Bullet in three words, what would they be?

At first glance, I was less than intrigued. Another JFK story? Having been a fan of Mr. Hunter for many years, I decided I'd give it a shot, pun intended. The opening of the book made me question whether this was indeed a Hunter novel or not. It wasn't written in his usual style, but the departure ends up being one of many enjoyable aspects to this piece.

The reader who is familiar with Mr. Hunter will immediately notice a bit of wit in the opening chapter, and will most likely enjoy the similarities, but that's all I can say for fear of ruining it.

As for the story itself, all I can say is that it is a unique take on the events of that day, and those leading up to it. A credit to Mr. Hunter, as it's not only a unique take, but it's also a highly plausible theory... which only serves to add to the intrigue. At times, I found myself wondering if, perhaps, this wasn't a fictional tale after all.

Our beloved, and respected Bob Lee plays an almost trivial part in the entirety of the story. While he is the main character, his role is made less noticeable in this novel, at least for the first two parts. Sure, he's there, but he takes on more of a investigative role than that of the actionable shooter we so cherish him for being. He's old though, so what do you expect? I did enjoy the overseas action scene with another aged shooter, however.

All things being equal, this is easily one of his 3 or 4 best works. DEFINITE BUY.

Have you listened to any of Buck Schirner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've not heard any of Mr. Schirner's works, but I will be more than happy to purchase more works wherein he narrates. Unlike some of the more notable narrators, such as Scott Brick, Dick Hill, and George Guidall, (though I enjoy them all) Mr. Schirner doesn't go to obviously strained lengths to differentiate between characters in the story. He deftly manages to make clear distinctions between speaking characters, without working so hard at it that it becomes unbelievable.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stephen Hunter is By No Means Done!

WOW! I've read all of Stephen Hunter's Earl Swagger and Bob Lee Swagger novels, and I thought for awhile there that he was running out of realistic story lines. But with this latest - The Third Bullet - he has come back stronger than ever.

Some will say that this is an alternative history, but it is not that, because the story doesn't change any history at all, or try to modify the current or future events based on an alternate historical outcome. Without causing any spoilers, it provides some realistically plausible explanations to expand on an actual historical event, that are fictional but really makes you think that they might have really happened differently than what we previously understood, but with the same resultant outcome.

Bob Lee Swagger gets into his usual investigative bumblings that keep you in suspense and makes you wonder if he's going to get to the bottom of things and survive at the same time. I can't honestly say at this time that this is the best of Hunter's works, but only because it's been so long since I've read all of the earlier ones, as I read them as they first come out. Having just this hour finished it, I am left with the feeling, however, that it is the best!

I have a few authors whose books I purchase either in Audible or e-book format as soon as they are available, without even reading the first review. And Stephen Hunter is at the top of my list. And I'll say it again for this one. WOW!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Et Tu Hunter!

Well, I struggled through most of King's book on this topic (Kennedy assassination), then I saw Bob Lee was tackling it. I love the Bob Lee character and Hunter's writing in general. This one is just interminable, I have tried and tried to get through it, but jeez, I can't take any more LHO stuff. There may be something to the conspiracy stories, but to quote Hilary lately, "what difference does it make?" Bygones! I am a tad older than Bob Lee and retired military and that is what I enjoy hearing about, a little too much ballistic study here and focus on other than our hero. Maybe some time I will come back for part 3.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Worst Stephen Hunter book ever.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Stephen Hunter fans.

What could Stephen Hunter have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

If he would have left out most of the middle chapters.

Would you be willing to try another one of Buck Schirner’s performances?

Buck Schirner droned on and on.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

B-o-r-i-n-g!

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2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Started well, turned to crap.

Ok, till Hugh starts narrating BS. Disappointing . I am a big Hunter fan. But not this one.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I had high hopes ...

... that Hunter might shed some fictional light on the events in Dealey Plaza, much the way James Ellroy did in "American Tabloid." Unfortunately, Hunter admits in the afterword that his research was limited to the Warren Commission Report, "Case Closed" by Gerald Posner, and "Reclaiming History" by Vincent Bugliosi. These are the worst sources imaginable if one is looking for the truth. I wish Hunter had done a little more research and stumbled across a book by Craig Roberts titled "Kill Zone: A Sniper Looks at Dealey Plaza." Now THAT would have given him some ideas to work with. The ballistics analysis of the shot from the grassy knoll is flawed, the portrayal of Oswald is way off the mark, and Hugh Meachum (particularly as voiced by Buck Shirner) is obnoxious. "Bob the Nailer" as gumshoe detective is a terrible waste of a good character. The side-trip to modern-day Moscow and the Lubyanka archives was a stretch. I consider this a reasonably entertaining book consisting of a police procedural with a couple of gunfights thrown in, and an unsatisfying resolution of the assassination conspiracy. Not Hunter's best work. He has recently shown himself still a capable of writing a good action thriller, however. See "Soft Target" if you are looking for something on par with "Point of Impact."

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Slow-developing plot but still Bob Lee

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Although the idea of a solution to the many Kennedy assassination theories is intriguing, the story took forever to develop with long periods without the usual Swagger action. I liked it ultimately, but had I known how long it was going to take to get to the final solution, I probably would have passed on this one and listened to something more fast-paced.

Would you be willing to try another book from Stephen Hunter? Why or why not?

Yes, definitely. Overall the Bob Lee Swagger novels are very satisfying.

Which character – as performed by Buck Schirner – was your favorite?

Bob Lee, of course. His Russian buddy was a close second.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoy the ride.

What made the experience of listening to The Third Bullet the most enjoyable?

the peformance was flawless, the accents accurate and the timing perfect. The plot moved with enough twists and turns to keep the action going and me guessing. The conspiracy was completely plausible.

Who was your favorite character and why?

A sixty seven year old hero ...nuff said.

Have you listened to any of Buck Schirner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

this was my first.

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

When the hero identified his father with the slain officer Tippet.

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