The Gryphon Heist

By: James R. Hannibal

Narrated by: Mia Barron

Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Talia Inger is a rookie CIA case officer assigned not to the Moscow desk as she had hoped but to the forgotten backwaters of Eastern Europe - a department only known as "Other". When she is tasked with helping a young, charming Moldovan executive secure his designs for a revolutionary defense technology, she figures she'll be back in DC within a few days. But that's before she knows where the designs are stored - and who's after them.

With her shady civilian partner, Adam Tyler, Talia takes a deep dive into a world where only criminal minds and unlikely strategies will keep the Gryphon, a high-altitude data vault, hovering in the mesosphere. Even Tyler is more than he seems, and Talia begins to wonder: Is he helping her? Or using her access to CIA resources to pull off an epic heist for his own dark purposes?

In this Ocean's Eleven-meets-Mission Impossible thriller, former tactical deception officer and stealth pilot James R. Hannibal offers you a nonstop thrill ride through the most daring heist ever conceived.

©2019 James R. Hannibal (P)2019 Recorded Books

Excellent read!

Mia is fantastic and brings this boo to life. Love the entire experience! Good character development. Good storyline!

Good story

I enjoyed the story I just wish I had got a hold of it before I did chasing the white lion.

The Gryphon Heist

This author is new to me and I’m so pleased to have made this discovery. This book is quite memorable. Things are definitely not as they seem. I loved the characters of Talia, Tyler and Eddie. I’ve already purchased the next in the series. I also plan to listen to everything written by this author. Humor is unusual for this genre and I found myself laughing out loud several times. Outstanding narrator.

BLOWN. AWAY.

WOW! I just finished listening to THE GRYPHON HEIST, and I was blown away by it. BLOWN. AWAY. I basically listened straight through to the 12+ hours of it (at regular speed due to the amazing narration by Mia Barron) and am considering queuing it up again and listening to the last three hours again because WOW! Did I already mention BLOWN AWAY?

While I have to allow some time for all the words floating around in my head to settle down so I can write a proper review, I want to mention the Christian aspect of the book and how organically it worked within the story. I know many readers are wary of any book that has the "Christian Fiction" label, and there's nothing to fear here. If religion and faith aren't your thing, then the mentions will be no more than elements of plot and characterization. On the other hand, if you are looking for or enjoy a faith journey, it's here for you between the action-packed, edge-of-your-seat thriller that is THE GRYPHON HEIST. And James Hannibal slipped it in so well between the technical concepts, the sub-plots with the spies and thieves, the subtle humor, and the in-your-face explosive action, that I was caught completely off-guard when a scene brought me to tears.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I am happy that I waited so long to read THE GRYPHON HEIST because now I am able to jump right into my copy of book two in the series, CHASING THE WHITE LION (publishes March 3, 2020). Watch for it on Hall Ways Blog.

Absurd plot

I wanted to like this book, but the plot made no sense. If you like reasonable storylines and credible characters, don't waste your time and credit.

Free, and I still want a refund

This is a very silly novel. I can't believe people are still writing over-the-top CIA fan-fic in this day and age. I believe readers deserve more than cliches.

This book has:
-The awkward geek who can hack anything in no time--"I'm in!" Obviously, he's from India.
-The pretty, young female lead who swoons at every handsome man she meets, regardless of her mission.
-The enigmatic rich guy (who, of course, owns a castle) who may be playing both sides
-The Jackson Lamb-esque old case officer who's more shrewd than he looks

Once the plot is finally revealed and all the characters declare themselves you realise there were a dozen points in the story where everything could have been deconflicted very simply with less brinksmanship.

If you like realistic spy novels, then this is not for you.

If you're looking for a straight-to-video Mission Impossible story, then you can lose 12 hours litening to this.