Mortal Allies

Sean Drummond Series, Book 2

By: Brian Haig

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

JAG lawyer Sean Drummond has gotten himself in way over his head - with a case that challenges his deepest fears and a co-counselor who challenges just about everything else. Assigned to South Korea as an advocate for a gay officer accused of brutally killing the son of a South Korean war hero, Drummond is teamed up with an old law-school nemesis. Katherine Carson is a curvy, liberal, William Kunstler-like attorney with a reputation for manipulating the media on behalf of her mostly gay clients. Drummond is as distraught to be working with a woman who knows how to push all his buttons as he is to be defending this client. However, it's just this lack of political correctness that makes him the one man the CIA can trust with its disturbing secrets, and Drummond quickly learns that what appears to be an open-and-shut case is really just the top layer of a deep conspiracy.

©2002 Brian Haig (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Korean culture and the country's North/South divide play an important role in the novel's denouement, as Haig successfully kindles his powder keg of a plot." (Publishers Weekly)

Sean Drummond Series

Sean Drummond is a lawyer - a JAG officer. Sardonic, sarcastic, and self-deprecating at times, Sean is a good guy, a patriot that has taken his oath to "preserve, protect, and defend" to heart. Each book is a complex who-done-it murder mystery in a military environment - from Baghdad to South Korea to Washington DC to Abu Ghraib, Leavenworth, and more.

Intricate plots, no objectionable language, little sex - all fade to black; Brian Haig shopped around with regard to narrators. Preference? Scott Brick or Christopher Lane - but they are all acceptable. There is a bit of violence - Sean gets himself into some scrapes, but nothing gratuitous.

Written by Brian Haig, the Sean Drummond Series consists of seven novels - Secret Sanction, Mortal Allies, The Kingmaker, Private Sector, The President's Assassin, Man in the Middle, and The Night Crew. The novels range from 12-17+ hours in length, each story has a beginning-middle-end, and you can jump in anywhere, no need to read in sequence. Released over a period of 10+ years - several publishers.

Recommended mysteries.

Pure Entertainment

Clever clever story telling. This is next level over Thor, Flynn,Clancy
Jack Carr, Greaney. I’m so thrilled to add Brian Haig.
I listened to the sample and read the summary and I almost moved on. SO GLAD I did not.
Starting book 3 of the Jag lawyer Drummond series.

Timely topic/story, great performaý mind

i am new to the Sean Drummond series but definetely will continue. . Accurate representation of attitudes towards serving in the military and just happen to be gay. "maybe it is our (hetero's) problem, but it is a problem" great line.

Great audible book

This is a fantastic story, great narration, and it works wonderfully well on audible. Big thumbs up.

I like this author and his character.

Love Sean Drummond

Where does Mortal Allies rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is in the top 5. I love this character. He cracks me up constantly.

Which character – as performed by Joe Barrett – was your favorite?

Sean Drummond

Any additional comments?

Great character, and challenging twists in the plot lines.

one of my favorite authors - I adore snarky Sean

great story, lots of twists and turns ... kept my interest until the end.. highly recommend

Conduct Unbecoming

What made the experience of listening to Mortal Allies the most enjoyable?

Reader, Joe Barrett’s execution of author’s dialogue is bark out loud laughter. I had purchased a couple of other stories by this reader, but had no inclination to buy more of those series as the mystery author’s were not my cup of tea.
Thank you Audible for putting 2 different readers, Joe and Scott, on sale to encourage listeners to enjoy the rest of this series. I would have missed out!
I do use 1.25x speed to match the author’s intent.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Our hero, Major Drummond. He has laughter in his heart, contrition in his soul, and he learns from his lessons. Most of all he believes in revenge. With each book our hero becomes funnier, the characters become more complex, and the mystery more intriguing.
I had started this series with book 5, on the $4.95 sale with a fave, Scott Brick, reader. However, I had just finished a couple of long Nelson DeMille, John Cory books, and did not appreciate this author work for it’s value. When book 1 was on $4.95 sale, I got hooked on Joe Barrett as Sean, then purchased #2,#3,#4 at the same time. These are mysteries with a twist and a moral dilemma, which is always entertaining for me.

Which scene was your favorite?

Big Mac scenes. These just about broke my heart, and made me proud to be an American
The end summery gave me joy, then I re-listened to #5 with Scott again to see how I had by passed this series the first time. “Goodness”, I fully got the author’s intentions from #1 & #2, and could fully appreciate #5 the second time around.
If you start with #5, it is very good, but only after you hear Joe develop this good humorous character in the previous books. Frankly, I like #2 better than #1 but it’s a close call.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I join the ranks of mystery reviewers Shelly and Wayne, whom I follow, in saying get this full series as all the books #1-5 at least are entertainment in it’s purest form.
It is fast paced, no gore or terror and you get a bark out loud laugh when you least expect it.

Any additional comments?

Were my comment of help to you?

Great 2002 novel finally available in audio format

Mortal Allies is Book 2 in the 7 novel Sean Drummond series. It is a military legal thriller. Major Drummond is an experienced lawyer and JAG officer. Author Brian Haig's Sean Drummond has a wisecracking nature similar to Nelson DeMille's John Corey. It is not overdone and it keeps the listening interesting. This novel is set in South Korea in 2002 (read the publisher's summary for more details). Mortal Allies is a first rate action thriller by one of the best living authors of such novels. VERY, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

Twists and Turns

The story will keep you guessing even after the case is solved. Well done and worth your time.

Love the Story

Great listen…very difficult to stop. Lots of drama, suspense, and humor. The narrator is perfect for this book.