The Faithful Spy

By: Alex Berenson

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

“A well-crafted page-turner that addresses the most important issue of our time. It will keep you reading well into the night.” (Vince Flynn)

A New York Times reporter has drawn upon his experience covering the occupation in Iraq to write the most gripping and chillingly plausible thriller of the post-9/11 era. Alex Berenson’s debut novel of suspense, The Faithful Spy, is a sharp, explosive story that takes listeners inside the war on terror as fiction has never done before.

John Wells is the only American CIA agent ever to penetrate al Qaeda. Since before the attacks in 2001, Wells has been hiding in the mountains of Pakistan, biding his time, building his cover. Now, on the orders of Omar Khadri - the malicious mastermind plotting more al Qaeda strikes on America - Wells is coming home. Neither Khadri nor Jennifer Exley, Wells’s superior at Langley, knows quite what to expect. For Wells has changed during his years in the mountains. He has become a Muslim. He finds the United States decadent and shallow.

Yet he hates al Qaeda and the way it uses Islam to justify its murderous assaults on innocents. He is a man alone, and the CIA - still reeling from its failure to predict 9/11 or find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - does not know whether to trust him. Among his handlers at Langley, only Exley believes in him, and even she sometimes wonders. And so the agency freezes Wells out, preferring to rely on high-tech means for gathering intelligence. But as that strategy fails and Khadri moves closer to unleashing the most devastating terrorist attack in history, Wells and Exley must somehow find a way to stop him, with or without the government’s consent.

From secret American military bases where suspects are held and “interrogated” to basement laboratories where al Qaeda’s scientists grow the deadliest of biological weapons, The Faithful Spy is a riveting and cautionary tale, as affecting in its personal stories as it is sophisticated in its political details. The first spy thriller to grapple squarely with the complexities and terrors of today’s world, this is a uniquely exciting and unnerving novel by an author who truly knows his territory.

©2006 Alex Berenson (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

“A well-crafted page-turner that addresses the most important issue of our time. It will keep you reading well into the night.” (Vince Flynn)

“Berenson offers a very American story - a sort of terrorist High Noon...exciting.” (The New York Times)

“A hold-your-breath thriller...a grabber.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Predictable and Stereotypical But Fun

Alright book but nothing that makes one think or see a different point of view. The Al Quida mole, hope I spelled it right, is pretty not very believable. The portrayal of Muslim terrorists and their motives are somewhat simplified and nothing that is going to challenge or change our preconceptions. Romance in the story is pretty unlikely. Characters are very one dimensional. The reader is very good as always.

unexpected pleasure..

Any additional comments?

This author will be a new favorite of mine. The character John Wells is riding the fine line between crossing over. I will be reading Mr Berenson"s other works now that I found his Well's series. With the "too soon demise" of the wonderful Mr. Vince Flynn I was on the look out for a new series to capture my imagination, thank you Alex.

Excellent Modern Spy Novel

Having exhausted my interest in The Cold War era spy classics, I've been of traditional genre novels for a while..I didn't find many that held the thrill of Tom Clancy, John La Carr, etc. I think this series about John Wells, CIA spy in alQueda, is going to fill the slot for me.

Quite exciting but not encumbered as so many of the recent novels are with super tech gadgets, Wells lives on his brash nerve and skills alone. This is my kind of spy.

As much as I enjoyed the plot, however, I didn't enjoy narrator Robertson Dean. I thought he was too monotone and mumbling in his reading and didn't differentiate between the speakers at all. I'm pleased that favorite George Guidell seems to have much of the balance of the series, though I haven't purchased beyond books 2 and 3..just in case it fails to hold it's fascination for me.

Recommended for those who enjoy the genre, of course!

Thought provoking

Would you listen to The Faithful Spy again? Why?

Maybe if I was sick or bored.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Faithful Spy?

The Gay General operation.

Which character – as performed by Robertson Dean – was your favorite?

John Wells

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Don't sell your soul to al Qaeda it's not a fair trade.

Any additional comments?

If you were sick with a very nasty contagion, I don't think you would be running around a major city hocking up giant lugies in crowds of people. It made me ask the question what would be worse, a dirty bomb going off in a major city or a pandemic disease running rampant through a population. The book glossed over this question and the answer was not to my satisfaction, hence the scores. Also the poor character was in deep cover for about 10 years - there was no mention of how much back pay he should have received.

fantastic

excellent characters, great plot and fantastic narration make this a very good listen. I'll be getting the next one in the series once.

EVERY MOMENT!

I enjoyed every moment. I love this story reveals the Light in being a Muslim as well as the lunatic fringe being just that. I enjoyed all the characters. Very realistic. Great Story... Great book.

Page turner

couldn't put it down. if you like any tom clancy books you will love these.

Great story, great charcuterie and narration.

Hard to put down. Looking forward to the next in the series. Would recommend to anyone who like Vince Flynn.

Compelling story and rich with detail

Would you listen to The Faithful Spy again? Why?

Yes I am sure I would hear something new each listen and the story is entracing

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Faithful Spy?

In the beginning of the story there is a moment where his old and new worlds merge and it is heart wrenching.

Have you listened to any of Robertson Dean’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first and other than the whispering voice that I could I do without it was well enough

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

It was sad and intriguing as well as action in just the right amounts. It was an amazing insightful story of two sides of a war.

Chilling and riveting

A gripping yarn about just how easily terrorists could penetrate the porous defenses of the U.S. and wreak devasting mayhem. Unlike many books of this genre, the novel captures the behind the scenes workings of intelligence agencies, their blunders and bureaucratic plodding, in a realistic plot with believable characters. No superheroes here. Well narrated and engaging right until the very end.