Spy

A Thriller (Alex Hawke, Book 4)

By: Ted Bell

Narrated by: John Shea

Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

"A border ain't nothing but a law drawn in the sand." So says a small-town Texas sheriff in Ted Bell's most gripping espionage thriller to date.

Things along America's southern border are rapidly reaching the boiling point. American girls are being snatched from their homes, ranches are burning, and the number of deadly confrontations along the Mexican boarder grows daily.

At night, armed Mexican troops cross the border at will in support of narcotics smugglers and illegal immigrants. By day, Americans take up arms and plan reprisals. An all-out border war is no longer inconceivable. It's happening!

On assignment for the British Secret Service, a man leads a mysterious expedition into the heart of darkness. Sailing up the furthest reaches of the Amazon River, he is captured by a brutal tribe of indigenous cannibals.

Forced into slave labor, he witnesses the unimaginable. Golden domes and minarets rise beneath the rainforest canopy. Vast terror armies are being recruited and trained in the jungle. Their goal: a vicious jihad that will unite one continent...and destroy another. They possess weapons only dreamed of by the Western allies. Somehow he must escape his captors and live to tell his tale.

With tensions on its southern border threatening to ignite into war, America must look to the one man who might be able to confront the demons in the jungle...and destroy them.

Alex Hawke, with the aid of brilliant Scotland Yard Inspector Ambrose Congreve, and an unstoppable force of nature named Stokely Jones, begins a river journey fraught with peril. Hawke once again takes listeners right to that thin border between fear and overwhelming terror. It's merely a line drawn in the sand. Cross it at your peril.

Cross it if you dare.

Take another thrill ride with Alex Hawke.

©2006 Theodore A. Bell (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Think Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum meet Stephen King....Spy is the book of the summer!" (Glenn Beck, CNN Headline Prime)
"Bell ups the ante, and involves Hawke in what might be termed terrorism's perfect storm." ( Palm Beach Post)
"Here's an espionage novel that not only lends itself to audio, but also is topically current....Shea's characters, whether Texan, Latino, or Brit, are highly credible and give this thriller a real international flavor." ( AudioFile)

Was a bit disappointed in this one

I've read the first 3 books in this series and I loved them. Took a break from the series to read other things and then looked forward to continue with Alex Hawke in SPY.
I felt the intrigue of Alex was non existent. Actually Alex was almost non existent. It was very atypical compared to the first 3.
John Shea was great as usual. Now I'm a bit scared to try the next one.

Can't put it down

Loved the reader of the story. A real page turner. Have given the book to several family members and friends.

2nd Time

I enjoyed this book so much I listened twice. Even better the second time!
Spy!

Ear-Candy for Thriller-Lovers

Thriller-lovers will enjoy the whole Alex Hawke series. Just don’t expect realism, O.K.? Alex Hawke is a cross between James Bond and Dirk Pitt: an impossible super-human super-hero. In the Alex Hawke series, the good guys always save the world in just the nick of time; our hero is a tall, dark, and handsome babe-magnet; the good guys always manage head-shots with one bullet, while the bad guys usually miss altogether, but might manage to hit our hero in the shoulder; and our hero always recovers from grievous wounds in record time, with no lingering sequela. Oh, and to top it all off: Alex Hawke — a Peer of the Realm, mind you — happens to have more money than God; so he can buy lots of great toys, like the fabulous armored speed yacht that our heroes use in “Spy” to root out the bad guys from their hidden Amazonian lair. If far-fetched, fantastic thriller plots offend you, I would steer you away from the Alex Hawke series. Maybe choose John Le Carré, instead. I, personally, use escape fiction to take a break from reality, so I enjoy the Alex Hawke series immensely.

On the other hand, I hope that Islamic terrorists don’t read “Spy,” because it might give them ideas! Here, Mr. Bell coins the word “Jihadistas” to describe an unholy alliance between Mexican Reconquistadores and Islamic Jihadists. He places the political hot-potatos of illegal immigration and the porous, violent Mexican/American border at the heart of “Spy”’s plot. The resulting scenario — if Mr. Bell is not making it up out of whole cloth — would be very scary, indeed ….

Narrator John Shea has a nice voice, and does a good job of dramatizing “Spy” for us. He has lots of voices and credible accents at his command to help distinguish the characters from one another. Although he makes little attempt to voice female characters differently from male characters, I hesitate to criticize him for that, since thespian attempts at gender-crossing sometimes flop hilariously. For the character of Stokely Jones — the big (“approximately the size of an armoire”), black co-hero of “Spy,” Mr. Shea always uses a laughing voice — which generally works, since Stoke usually does have pretty funny lines — but sometimes this voice for Stoke does not work in “Spy,” like when our good guys are engaged in hairy combat. Aside from those minor quibbles, I like John Shea’s narration of the entire Hawke series very much.

In summary, I would recommend “Spy” to all thriller-lovers, provided that you are not expecting realism, and that you are not thinking of illegal immigration as a racist issue. You can probably get away with listening to “Spy” (the fourth in the Alex Hawke series) out of series sequence, since each novel in the series does not rely too much on previous episodes. Indeed — as of this writing — we have no option but to listen to this series out-of-sequence, since Audible has not yet provided us with the 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 installment, “Hawke.” (Hopefully, by the time you read this, “Hawke” will have been published in audio form!)

Good complex thriller with a few problems

Which scene was your favorite?

There is a side story with a Texas sheriff which really is exciting. The characters are believable and attractive.

Any additional comments?

There is so much good about the book that it is disappointing when the author throws in something that is not up to par. He has a cast of characters - some seem real, but others are out of central casting for a B movie. Also, he describes a character crossing Texas on one tank of gas which is impossible. Little things like those detract from the enjoyment, but not enough to keep me from enjoying the other titles in this series.

Great narration!

I love these stories and the narrator is simply awesome! Amazing range and awesome timing!

You may have the tech and money, but story ?

It's probably me but I had a lot of trouble connecting with this story and characters.
I listened to some chapters 3 and 4 times because my interested just drifted away repeatedly. I really felt like I was going senile and stupid.

I'm shocked @ the parallels this has to 2021.

This story reminded me of current events in 2021, but was written in 2005/2006? Someone saw something coming. Pay attention.

Outstanding Thriller

The best yet in Bell’a Alex Hawk series. Hawk is the new Bond with up to date technology and lots of bad ass villains.

One of my best reads of the year!

This was my first Alex Hawke book and I couldn't put it down! I just added the other 4 titles to my wish list. The publisher's short description doesn't do the book credit as to what it is really about. This was one of my best reads of the year!