In the Name of Honor

By: Richard North Patterson

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Home from Iraq, a lieutenant kills his commanding officer—was it self-defense or premeditated murder? In the Name of Honor marks an enthralling novel of suspense about the high cost of war and secrets from bestselling author Richard North Patterson.

The McCarrans and the Gallaghers, two military families, have been close for decades, ever since Anthony McCarran—now one of the army's most distinguished generals—became best friends with Jack Gallagher, a fellow West Pointer who was later killed in Vietnam. Now a new generation of soldiers faces combat, and Lt. Brian McCarran, the general's son, has returned from a harrowing tour in Iraq. Traumatized by wartime experiences he will not reveal, Brian depends on his lifelong friendship with Kate Gallagher, Jack's daughter, who is married to Brian's commanding officer in Iraq, Capt. Joe D'Abruzzo. But since coming home, D'Abruzzo also seems changed by the experiences he and Brian shared—he's become secretive and remote.

Tragedy strikes when Brian shoots and kills D'Abruzzo on their army post in Virginia. Brian pleads self-defense, claiming that D'Abruzzo, a black-belt martial artist, came to his quarters, accused him of interfering with his marriage, and attacked him. Kate supports Brian and says that her husband had become violent and abusive. But Brian and Kate have secrets of their own, and now Capt. Paul Terry, one of the army's most accomplished young lawyers, will defend Brian in a high-profile court-martial. Terry's co-counsel is Meg McCarran, Brian's sister, a brilliant and beautiful attorney who insists on leaving her practice in San Francisco to help save her brother. Before the case is over, Terry will become deeply entwined with Meg and the McCarrans—and learn that families, like war, can break the sturdiest of souls.

©2010 Richard North Patterson (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Patterson's thriller, his best to date, has it all-including a superb narrator in John Bedford Lloyd...Lloyd is at his best in the multiple courtroom scenes as he differentiates the numerous characters. This is a real winner, thanks to both writer and reader-as well as the bonus of an unexpected ending.” —AudioFile magazine, Earphones Award Winner

“A powerful and devastating study of war and its aftermath on those who fight… Patterson long ago established himself as one of the nation's best writers of serious thrillers, and his latest novel burnishes his reputation as the thinking reader's best friend.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch

“This book is Patterson at his best, and the listener is in for a suspenseful and thought-provoking listen.” —Publishers Weekly

Great story

I have read most of Richard North Patterson's fiction and have enjoyed it all. Some of the more recent works lack a clear finish and can have flat sections. This book is mostly engaging and finishes well. If you like legal thrillers you will like this, including the twist towards the end. (although you get a sense of the twist before it happens.) My only criticism is that the dialogue, particularly the testimony and response to counsel questions is too much the same. Real court interactions are not like that- every response is different. The "information' on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is interesting and I learnt a lot. This is a great story from a very accomplished story teller.

Another engaging book from Richard North Patterson

Most of the action is in the court room, but you know with Patterson there will be some decisive moments outside the court. In contrast with Paterson's other stories, in this case the hero has no history with the other characters. I suspect we may see one or more of these characters again. The portrayal of the Iraq war seems accurate with honorable soldiers doing their best in impossible conditions.

I fell for the hype

Perhaps one needs to be a Patterson fan, but I fell for the ads for this book and wish I hadn't. Almost 2 hours into it, I find it slow and not very interesting, though there is an occasional well written passage. Otherwise, some of the long passages when someone explains something the reader needs to know sounds like quoted research by the author. Good description of expectations for career Army wives is good (ask me how I know), but also too long, again, sounds like quoted research. Decided to quit it, but understand it may be for Patterson fans.

gripping

Gripping story really worth listing to good twists and turns. Could not stop listing to the book

On the mark

There are many reviews that have written what I might have written, but much of that is already in the reviews. I would like to emphasize Patterson’s remarkable accuracy on PTSD. I am a Clinical Psychologist and widely read on PTSD, especially on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have and am currently treating multiple veterans of these wars (at 77). Patterson has done his study well. I write study rather than research because he echoes what my patients tell me and goes beyond what he can read in the time devoted to writing a book. He addresses the full range of symptoms in the diagnostic manual (DSM-5), but also important symptoms not in the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. He addresses Brian’s and Sgt. Waylon’s experiences of grief, guilt, and moral injury. Brian feels it, but won’t (or can’t) express it, while Sgt. Waylon puts it into words as he talks about Brian’s action in combat, his grief over the death of men he’s come to love, his guilt over the role he mistakenly believes is his responsibility for the deaths of his men, and the betrayal of his moral beliefs. In my experience, most veterans will not address these concerns without a little prompt. In the McCarran family and their close friends, he touches on family pathology- enmeshment. No one breaches these boundaries until Paul Terry is blindsided by it’s pervasiveness as revealed in the conclusion. Apologies for misspelling character names, not visible in Audible. I might add that I’m a Vietnam era veteran, having received my commission in 1968 just weeks before my letter from the draft board in Mississippi. I was always a psychologist in service in the Army and Air Force, with a 5 year break in the Augusta, GA, VA. I’ve never been shot at, went through a 4 week non-strenuous officer basic training, and never been closer to a combat zone than England. The damage we have done to our military, their families, and our country goes far beyond cost, deaths, and maiming injuries. PTSD has been a family “illness “, suffered by spouses, children, parents, and friends. I see veterans as a civilian psychologist because the VA can’t see enough of them fast enough. Long waits for appointments are common. We must do better ‘for him who has borne the battle”.

A good one

Patterson has a bad habit of telling the same story over again in multiple books. This isn't a story he's told before, or at least not in my memory. I figured out the twist relatively quickly but I enjoyed watching the protagonist work it out.

This is a solid effort especially for RNP fans and not as political as some of his books tend to get.

Too much of a lecture...

Too much of a lecture and boring long court sessions too little suspense action etc..

A good example...

This is a good example of how a great story can be ruined by narration. A deep voice doesn't a narrator make. It took me a long time to stop agonizing over the narrator and get into the story. The story itself is a great trial novel. However, I suggest reading it.

Not the ending I imagined

This was one of the most enjoyable books I have listened to. I expected some twists and turns but not how this one turned out. Makes you consider what choices you would have made in the same circumstances. Listen to the book the time flies by.

Narration Ruins It

Although the concept is compelling enough, the narrator sounds more like he's reading the news or delivering an informational speech in a college class. The narration lacks emotion, thus forcing me to stop listening. Too bad.