Dragonfire

An Alex Hawke Novel, Book 11

By: Ted Bell

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Alex Hawke, British lord and gentleman spy, is looking for the queen's missing grandson, whose disappearance may be the culmination of a plot almost a century old in this breathtaking new adventure from New York Times best-selling novelist Ted Bell.

December 8, 1941, Washington, DC

The new Chinese ambassador to the United States, Tiger Tang, meets with President Roosevelt one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. For the next four years, China and the US will be wartime allies, but the charming, sophisticated ambassador may be playing his own treacherous game.

Today, The Bahamas

Alex Hawke is recovering from serious injuries incurred during a battle with a malevolent enemy. His recuperation is interrupted by a desperate call from the queen. Her favorite grandson has disappeared in the Bahamas. Lord Hawke is the only man she trusts with a mission this sensitive. All she knows is that the young prince was last seen at the exclusive Dragonfire nightclub owned by the nefarious Tang brothers, grandsons of Ambassador Tiger Tang.

©2020 Ted Bell (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Good, but not at its normal level

The series didn’t seem to have the meat of past books. Also, there was a lot more British poshness that kind of slowed things down. Not the island items, more the flashbacks. Still a huge fan.

great book. bad narration

what the heck happened to John Shea? the narrator leaves something to be desired. Did not capture my interest. had to buy the book to read for myself.

Great fast paced read!

As always, Bell delivers historical fiction filled with nods and one-liners drawn from real historical figures toggling from WWII to present day escapades by Hawke and his best battle tested friends and lovers! Readers of a certain age will appreciate the historical bits that come into the dialogue and younger readers will love the intrigue.

Love Hawke but what happened to Stokley?

This was a typical Alex Hawke book with plenty of adventure on awesome boats and beautiful women, but really disappointed with the portrayal of the jovial funny Stokley Jones. The character was completely differently portrayed and like a totally different person. Disappointed in that but overall a decent listen.

a crime most foul

Not sure why the change in narrator was made., but if the is another Hawke novel they should go back to the original talent.

Change of reader Alex hawke

The latest Alex Hawke book is interesting and fun, but the change in reader is disturbing. I understand that Alex and many of the characters are English and that an English reader makes sense, but John Shea was an important part of the series’ charm. His humor, accents, and flair made the books wonderful for listening. Stokely Jones is a great character and Shea made him come alive. Simon Vance just can’t do it. I don’t know, but can imagine why this change was made, and I fully disapprove. Bring back John Shea!

One Too Many

Regrettably this book represents one more in the series than should have been written. Beyond the change in narrators, which is extremely hard to get over especially especially for the Stokely character, the story was not great. Too many things going on at too many different times that didn't have a strong enough connection to each other for me. I love this series, especially the wonderful characters but I cannot recommend this book.

Anticlimactic

Of all the Alex Hawke novels, this was not my favorite! It went back-and-forth in time, and it seem to have two stories that weren’t really related other than the Hawke name.

Sad

The narrator made me very sad. It was like listening to a different book than all the prior.

not a fan of new narrator. story bounced around

struggled to finish.. new narrator throws you off. story bounced back and forth. it was like two stories in one..