Agent Zero

A Kent Steele Thriller

By: Jack Mars

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this much-anticipated new spy thriller series by Jack Mars, listeners are taken on an action thriller across Europe as presumed-CIA operative Kent Steele, hunted by terrorists, by the CIA, and by his own identity, must solve the mystery of who is after him, of the terrorists’ pending target - and of the beautiful woman he keeps seeing in his mind.

Kent Steele, 38, a brilliant professor of European History at Columbia University, lives a quiet life in a New York suburb with his two teenage daughters. All that changes when late one night he gets a knock on his door and is abducted by three terrorists - and finds himself flown across the ocean to be interrogated in a basement in Paris. 

They are convinced that Kent is the most lethal spy the CIA has ever known. 

He is convinced they have the wrong man. 

Do they? 

With a conspiracy around him, adversaries as smart as he is, and an assassin on his tail, the wild game of cat and mouse leads Kent on a perilous road - one that may lead back to Langley - and to a shocking discovery of his own identity. 

Agent Zero is an espionage thriller that will keep you listening late into the night.

©2019 Jack Mars (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.

Right up there with Orphan X and Court Gentry!!!

I've been crawling through the genre to find another author at the same level as Gregg Hurwitz and Mark Greany sowing stories with genuine intrigue, action, and with a plausible story line to keep one interested. Well this is my first book with Jack Mars and he is quite promising. I will be going onto the next in the series.

This Book has all the sharp edges and gut wrenching action to satisfy the best agent apatite.

Chuckle and Scoff...Chuckle and Scoff

Overall this was a great book. The story was good the characters were well-developed and the narrator was wonderful. But I want to know who placed a bet as to how many times they could get the words “chuckle and scoff” who says that let alone a multiple of times?).
I really did like the book so I wasn’t going to mention it. But I’m on the second book in the series now and the author is still doing this. I don’t know whether to chuckle or scoff.

Top Notch Espionage!! With first class narration!

Loved this book! This new espionage series by Jack Mars is fabulous!!! I kid you not!

With the start of this book, you learn that Reed Larson is a professor at a NYC college. Wife is deceased. Raising two teenage daughters on his own and seems to be doing a good job.
When a knock comes at midnight he doesn't think twice about opening his front door. He lives in a good neighborhood. When he's kidnapped and questioned about events he's never heard of he's really confused. But then he finds that he knows how to fight. He knows how to kill and he can speak multiple languages.
Little by little throughout the story he picks up more about his past and the person he used to be. He also learns of a terrorist plot. He's betrayed, misguided and treated as though he was a rogue agent. All the white worrying about his daughters and the danger he may have put them in.
This book is fast paced with plenty of great action.

Edoardo Ballerini does a spectacular job narrating. This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.
If you found this review helpful please indicate so.
Thank You.

Not a great book IMO

Over the years I have found a basic truth in regard to spy and mystery novels. If there is anybody name Stone or Lance in the book, don't buy it. I think I will add Kent and Steele to that list also. Entirely too many completely unlikely to survive scenarios mostly as a result of the lead character not using his head to any extent, but yet escaping by using his near-superhuman skills and fighting abilities while defying all conventional wisdom. One of the critics or authors I read set the stage for my criticism as follows "tell me some lies that are convincing enough I can pretend to believe them." I can't pretend to believe or recommend this Audible book. I feel bad about that, but it is my closing thought.

Great Book! So intriguing! You can’t stop listening!!

The story by Jack Mars in this first installment of the Kent Steele books is funny, thrilling, and brilliant. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and you can’t stop listening.

The performance by Edoardo Ballerini is stunning. This book comes alive with his enthusiasm. The way he brings different accents and personality to the characters keeps you interested and involved. A great performance for a great book!

Didn't know what to expect

But....a gripping story, setting up a sequel, and excellent narration..a better than average thriller. Give it a try

Come on. Really? You are not Jason Bourne.

I'm guessing this is supposed to be like the Bourne series. Guy worked for the government, lost his memory, and finds himself being hunted by good guys and bad guys alike. Ok. I loved Jason Bourne. That was fresh at the time and had incredible action sequences. I wanted to give up on this book after the first few chapters, never really a good sign for this genre. If you love Bourne, and are ok with something not quite as good but with a similar type story line, then maybe this is the book for you.

Excellent book

Absolutely amazing thriller! I could not put it down, with the many twist and turns.

Mixed feelings about this new series

A good plot, not a bad story, but a not yet in the league of "The Gray Man", "James Ryker" or the Orphan X" series.
I got a bit bored two thirds into the book and the ending was a little predictable. The Author makes a couple of rookie mistakes.. Glock pistols do not have external safety catches and the Glock model 27 is a small sub-compact pistol which does not hold as many rounds as Agent Zero pops off without reloading..
The narrator does a fair to good job with the narration, and because of this I endured till the end. I'm not sure I'll continue with this series though.

Silly.

Spy thrillers are my favorite genre, and I go into most of them knowing that the authors probably push the limits of reality. But far-fetched would be a drastic understatement to describe the events in this book. Not a fan.

Well I Enjoyed it but . . .

I really did enjoy this, the idea that Mars presents of this likeable professor who may or may not be more than he seems is intriguing and when you get into it presented well. On top of that, the narration by Edoardo Ballerini is good throughout but delivers very strongly in the moments that really matter. It's an enjoyable story that moves with decent pace and is infused with lots of action and tension. Reed is a seemingly loveable professor teaching history with a passion, father of two and as such people go as average as they come. But then, one day it all changes and he is forced to confront the fact that his life and his past are not as he thinks!

Before I wax too lyrical over it though there were a couple of eye-rolling moments when I thought that the author had been a bit lazy in the way that he resolved things and you really do have to swallow a couple of very significantly unrealistic events. In all, it reads much like the Bourne series with similar dilemmas for the main protagonist though I would not say it reaches those heights consistently.

So, a bit of a mixed bag for me. But I may well proceed to the second book sometime to see how this develops.

Jason Bourne revamped.

Another far fetched agent saves the world story. I ear marked the series for down load, but after this one I won’t bother. Well read, but I’m afraid it is just another same old story line. Having read the entire Bourne series, this one just doesn’t make it.

I can't believe the reviews of this?

Having read some of the reviews of this trash, I was convinced this was a great listen. I can only assume that those who posted reviews were either new listeners to this genre or had not previously listened/read Gerald Seymour, Frederick Forsyth, John Le Carre or Andy McNab. The latter with the exception of 'Whatever it takes", which was complete tripe.

The narrator is awful and the content was dire also. The only saving grace was that I spent most of the time picking out the other plots that this book had been lifted from. Bourne Identity, Mission Impossible, Taken to name 3. I have not listened/read any other books by Jack Mars, so it would be unfair to criticize this author on the basis of this book. The book opens pretty poorly and the amnesiac assassin theme has now become tiresome. There are so many floors to the plot and the manner in which the CIA conducts itself. I will not be listening to other Kent Steele books. So bad was the author that the book may have been okay, he seemed to try and act out the plot, which was very offputting. To those who thought this was a great book/read, I suggest you try some of the authors mentioned above, as they make this book look like something from playschool.

End puzzle/anticlimax

Without wishing to give too much away for would-be readers, did anyone else find it totally bizarre that a certain ‘baddie’ is alive and plotting revenge at the end of ch 37 but is suddenly dead five minutes later with no explanation at all? Couldn’t get my head round it!

Totally awful

I have listened to some piffle in my time but this beats it all. It's ridiculous, badly written and poorly narrated. Possibly the worst of my 728 Audible books so far.

Plain awful

it was so bad I stopped listening to it after ten minutes I give up

Narrator was great......but

A cliched bland Bond/Bourne gallop across Europe culminating in an excruciating save the day ending.


Narrator was great.

No swear word

This is good, cos I can recommend it to my teenager without feeling like I’m encouraging him to swear. Story was good as well

agent zero

somewhat disjointed and overly complex and with implausible relationships but a pleasing listen and/or read

narrator was great, but the story not so much.

not a series I'll be looking to download more of to be honest.

far too cheesey, obvious.

and basically a template copy of the Bourne books/films