The Cover Wife

By: Dan Fesperman

Narrated by: Dan Fesperman

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

When CIA agent Claire Saylor is told she'll be going undercover to pose as the dowdy wife of a stuffy academic who has posited a controversial new interpretation of the Quran's promise to martyrs, she assumes the job is a punishment for past unorthodox behavior. But when she discovers her team leader is Paul Bridger, another maverick within the agency, she realizes that the mission may be more interesting than meets the eye - and not just for professional reasons.

At the same time, in Hamburg, Mahmoud, a recent Moroccan émigré, begins to fall under the sway of a group of radicals at his local mosque. As his commitment to his new friends deepens, he finds himself torn between his obligations to them and the feelings he's developing toward a beautiful westernized Muslim woman.

Their lives intertwine as Claire learns the truth about the mission in Hamburg and as Mahmoud's relationship with the radicals pulls him into dangerous waters. And they both soon realize - but is it too late? - that the consequences of their actions could well determine the very future of the United States.

©2021 Dan Fesperman (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Great Book

This is a very well written book and the excellent narration by the author makes it even better. He narrates his books so well, as good as any I’ve heard. Very well done.

Great novel, so realistic like Author had lived it

I have listened to alot of audio books around this time in our history and I have to say I highly recommend this novel. Great focus on details and amazing how the author and narrator can put you there in that time. Definitely better then I thought it would be from the sample. I still say I can't wait for the time machine to be built.

Ok, but not Fesperman's best

for me, the book didn't really make the characters come alive, so there didn't seem to be much advantage to reading this fictionalized account of the eventing question as opposed to reading some of the very good nonfiction accounts out there. I have read several of Fesperman's books. This is my least favorite among them. The Arms Maker of Berlin is my favorite.

Dan Fesperman is a new favorite!

I loved the story and read/listened to The Cover Wife. It was a really well-written story, and the tiny peak into the CIA's trade craft was fascinating. The plot was great, and in the acknowledgments, Mr Fesperman gives a nod to some of the events that inspired his story (no spoilers!)

Initially I thought Fesperman was doing a great job reading his book, but as time wore on, there were a few garbled (my linguistic prof would have said 'swallowed') words, then a few that were mispronounced altogether.

A professional voice actor could have avoided those amateurish pitfalls, and given a bump to the action scenes, and the scenes that on the page were far more intense than the audiobook.

It's definitely a great story, but maybe next time I will wait for Edoardo Ballerini or George Guidall.

An exciting story about the possible early origins of 9/11

Once again Dan Fesperman comes up with a very realistic story about jihad, and September 11, tying it together with two of his best characters.

Loved it.

I didn’t know a single thing about it before reading it other than that the NYTimes recommended it. Great story, thought the author did an excellent job reading it. Don’t want to say much more. A more astute reader would probably pick up on where it was headed but I was a little oblivious until the end.

A paid reader would benefit this book

I enjoy the sound of the author’s voice and his pacing but there some mispronunciations which are so jolting they pull me right out of the story. Good story.

Great book

This guy is a great writer. This is the second book in the series and is as good or better than the first. Highly recommended.

Unfair portrayal of Muslims and Islam

I listened until the main characters began sneering at Muslim beliefs — banal and ugly portrayal of Islam. Definitely not the kind of book I want to read or recommend.

A Clever idea, but nothing happens

Fesperman has attempted to write a prequel to the Al-Queda terrorists who organized in order to destroy New York's World Trade Center buidlings, but he misses the mark, pun intended, by a mile. At one point I thought, because of the number of them, there might be a hint of a relationship between this novel and the true event, but it passed by, like nearly every other event in the story, into insignifcance. (the biggest hint fell at the tail end of the book when a Boeing aircraft manual is mentioned and then, like all other potential clues, simply forgotten about.) The professor aspect is nearly a red herring, again full of sound and fury, yet signifying nothing. Ditto Claire, who like all the other agency types - Bridger, Donlon, etal - never seems to figure anything out except to rescue Mahmoud, although she isn't even certain about his undercover role. Yes, Al-Queda did pull it off and beguiled every American intelligence agency. We seem to get caught flat-footed over and over (think Uvalde), like it's some kind of iconic thing Americans should do: wait for the bad guys to pull their six-shooters first. So, Dan Festerman, where's the story? You churn and churn and churn some more with pre-moribund daily details - food, streets, cars, etc. - all signifying nothing, just filling the pages with words. Blah, blah. I returned this book.