Agent in Place

By: Mark Greaney

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Gray Man is back in another nonstop international thriller from number-one New York Times best-selling coauthor of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels

Fresh off his first mission back with the CIA, Court Gentry secures what seems like a cut-and-dried contract job: A group of expats in Paris hires him to kidnap the mistress of Syrian dictator Ahmed Azzam to get intel that could destabilize Azzam's regime. Court delivers Bianca Medina to the rebels, but his job doesn't end there. She soon reveals that she has given birth to a son, the only heir to Azzam's rule - and a potent threat to the Syrian president's powerful wife. Now, to get Bianca's cooperation, Court must bring her son out of Syria alive.

With the clock ticking on Bianca's life, he goes off the grid in a free-fire zone in the Middle East - and winds up in the right place at the right time to take a shot at bringing one of the most brutal dictatorships on earth to a close....

©2018 Mark Strode Greaney (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Another intense Gray Man/Court Gentry novel!

Author Mark Greaney does it again! Agent in Place is Book 7 in his Court Gentry series and Greaney's 14th novel overall (the other 7 are in Tom Clancy' continuing Jack Ryan Jr. series). All 14 earn 5 stars! He stands with Ben Coes, Brad Thor, Daniel Silva,and Brad Taylor as the top tier of current espionage thriller authors.

The publisher's summary likely says a little too much in setting up Agent in Place, so I will not comment further on plot specifics. Espionage thrillers are successful based on the plot line, the intensity of suspense, and the amount of action. Espionage thriller protagonists are expected to be intelligent and smart in a practical sense as the perform almost impossible feats despite being tired and injured. They are the calm in the midst to the storm. Mark Greaney's plots and protagonist excel. Jay Snyder's narration is superb as his usual in the Gray Man series.

21 of 23 people found this review helpful

Court Gentry, baby & diaper bag hmmmm...

Court Gentry to the rescue!

Fantastic book with Court taking some of his most daring risks, or close anyway. As Wayne (Audible reviewer) said, the publisher's summary sets up the plot almost too well. In the espionage genre I do think the Gray Man books are neck 'n neck with Flynn's Mitch Rapp.
One thing about Gentry is his Moral Code that he will not deviate from if at all possible. When I read the plot summary I couldn't figure out why he would put his life on the line to rescue this woman's four month old baby. But then he finds out the infant will be killed if he doesn't get him out. OK, I understand now! Gentry could never let an innocent baby be murdered. So off he goes sneaking into Syria with all his stealth and cunning. The only question is how battered will he be by the time he get out...
Court is a deadly genius, often with super heroic antics but Mark Greaney has a fantastic ability to make it all sound so believable! Combined with Jay Snyder's outstanding narration, this book is another winner.
This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!!!!
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33 of 37 people found this review helpful

Spine-tingling

This is the seventh book in the Gray Man Series. Court Gentry is now a freelance mercenary. Gentry has been hired to kidnap the mistress of the Syrian president and then rescue her infant son. But quickly everything falls apart.

The book is well written and plotted. The pace is very fast with constant action. This a series that has each book capable of being a stand-alone book. It is obvious Greaney does a lot of research to make his books accurate politically, weaponry, spy craft and also the geography. The characters are interesting and realistic. I am always amazed at Greaney’s ability to write such intricate plots. He is a master storyteller.

This book is longer than the majority of books in this series at 512 pages or almost sixteen and a half hours. Jay Snyder does a fantastic job narrating this series. Snyder is a classically trained actor, voice-over artist and audiobook narrator. I love to listen to his voice. He is a smooth narrator.

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

a little disappointing

I'm a huge mark greaney fan, so I wish I could write a happier review. the plot is too long, convoluted and unrealistic and is only saved by greaney's matchless ability to write gripping action scenes...

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Amazing story!

This is among one of the top of all the Court Gentry series. The plot twists and excitement pile up around every turn. The reading was fantastic, the inflection was spot-on and this voice and intonation kept me riveted throughout the entire story. This is a total must for any military Thriller readers and long commuters who want a great book as their companion on their lengthy commute like mine.

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

Agent in (last) Place

To say that this book is Mark Greaney‘s best ever (as some initial reviews have stated) is truly unfair to Mark. He is my favorite writer in this genre and I own every volume he’s published. “Agent in Place” is dead in the middle of the pack between the Tom Clancy books he authored and the weakest Gray Man titles.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, especially his treatment of the Syrian Civil War. He animated this conflict including how mercenary groups are coordinated and deployed.

Unfortunately, the suspense that grips the reader in the other Gray Man adventures was lacking. There was a drought of likable characters as the author introduced a, “heart of darkness” style litany of bad actors (including some that are supposed to be sympathetic). That doesn’t make the book bad, just not as fabulous as some of the others.

Technical aspects of the production such as the narration were excellent (as always).

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the series. Although, you may want to start with, “Back Blast” if you’re a first timer.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

The Best one yet

Would you consider the audio edition of Agent in Place to be better than the print version?

Yes, because of the great performance delivered by Jay Snyder.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Gray Man, as always.

Which scene was your favorite?

The opening.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and almost did.

Any additional comments?

Court Gentry aka The Gray Man is back in action in Agent in Place, the 6th unputdownable thriller in the series with the same name by bestselling author Mark Greaney. Mr. Greaney is one of the best thriller / espionage writers of our times, with 14 amazing releases to date and a few others ghostwritten… Really curious about those as well…

The international assassin known as The Gray Man is freelancing again and he picks up a really strange job that will put him in harms way when things start going upside-down. Court Gentry is a living, breathing, killing machine, but he as a code by which he accepts or declines assignments. When he is approached by a Syrian expat in order to hire Court for a kidnapping that will disrupt the political regime in Syria, a country which has fallen in the hands of a monster who must be stopped at all costs, Court decides to help the rebels and he will come closer to death than ever before. The opening chapter is absolutely heart-wrenching for old Gray Man fans, but that one sets the pace for the entire adventure.

Agent in Place is the best book from Mark Greaney and that’s saying something because all his previous works are great! I’m thinking about Back Blast when I make this statement since that one was a blast from start to end. Filled with over the top action and scenarios, espionage, covert operations, moral dilemmas, betrayals and incredible gun fights, all driven by a solid narrative and vivid lifelike characters, Agent in Place is a book all Thriller fans should experience for themselves.

The audiobook version of Agent in Place is performed by Jay Snyder, just like all the other books in this awesome series. He is the perfect narrator to give life to Court Gentry. Jay fills the listener with a sense of urgency and keeps him glued to the earbuds for hours on end. If you choose the audiobook, you will find yourself immersed in Court’s adventures, ignoring phone calls, people talking around and with you and forgetting that you still had some work scheduled, at least that was what happened to me in the 4 days it took me to finish the book.

Jay Snyder handles accents very well, switching between French, Arabic, Russian, British, Spanish and even Australian characters with ease. He gives different voices to the characters and keeps it easy for the listener to differentiate between them. You can feel the intensity of the action and you’ll hold your breath many times during the performance.

This book should satisfy any hardcore fans of Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Daniel Silva or Vince Flynn. I am looking forward with much enthusiasm to the next Mark Greany thriller.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great series rolls on with another solid adventure

What made the experience of listening to Agent in Place the most enjoyable?

Jay Snyder!!!
Seriously, I cannot imagine reading this without hearing his narration at this point.

What other book might you compare Agent in Place to and why?

Recent books by Alex Berenson in his John Wells series.

What about Jay Snyder’s performance did you like?

He nails Court's black wit.

Any additional comments?

The only downside to this one was that it was too carefully plotted. None of the twists were telegraphed but all were predictable because there were no red herrings or misdirection. Things mentioned in chapter two that hadn't come up by the 3/4 mark you just knew were going to show up at some point, so when a twist started to happen you already knew what it had to be. This was especially bad at the start of the book, but the last two hours were straight fire that made up for the overall lack of twists.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Good book but narration is distracting

What aspect of Jay Snyder’s performance would you have changed?

The abundance of mispronunciations drove me crazy. Some words he pronounced 3 different ways until he stumbled his way to the correct pronunciation. How did the producers / editors not correct this?? Better yet, how does a professional narrator not research items with which he is unfamiliar?? Ugh!!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I'm the fu*king Gray Man! (in Jay Snyder's voice)

This book was great. It is my favorite tied with Ballistic. Thanks Greaney and I hope your next book comes out soon!

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Another great Greyman Story

Loved it from the beginning. Mark certainly does his research well and with the current up to date news only downside to this book is i will have to wait for the next one. Read tge greyman series from the start as you will love the character Keep it going Mark

We need more

Can't wait for more stories of the Gray Man's escapades, full of action, twists and turns, you name it, it's there.

Entertaining.....

I enjoyed this book, I enjoyed 30 other books that were the same tho, be it Milton, Bourne, the greyman, orphan x, reacher etc etc.... They are all the same - someone's in trouble then the ex specialnops guy saves the day because of his "code" c'mon guys step up! Saying that, he filler is decent here and the delivery is excellent.

Excellent

One of the best gray man books. Can’t wait for the next instalment .
The gray man is by far one of my favourite assassins along side motch rapp and John Milton

Outstanding

Greaney does it again. Great story, great narration.
Looking forward to the next installment.
The gray man is awesome.

Dire

What would have made Agent in Place better?

More action, less talk, and a more plausible plot.

What will your next listen be?

Not another one by Mark Greaney

Did Jay Snyder do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

His foreign accents were terrible. French, Arabic, Spanish, male or female, they were all the same and equally bad.

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

Sorry, no. I persevered, but gave up two-thirds in.

Good book poor narration audio levels

I’ve been following the series from the beginning and generally enjoyed the books. The storyline here however is slightly let down by the varying recording levels and tone of the narration. This really should have been fixed before publication.

A Grower of a story<br />

Love the way this story unfolded.
Gripped all the way.
Great gripping Court Gentry story

If I could give 10 stars I would

Mark Greaney and The Grey Man are the best in this genre hands down. Action packed and gripping from beginning to end. Minimal padding, more action and ambitious plots with plenty of twists and turns

Yet another terrific Grey Man book!

the narrator is perfect for this and other Grey Man books. can't wait for the next one..

1 of 2 people found this review helpful