The Wolves

By: Alex Berenson

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

The latest thriller from the New York Times best-selling author of Twelve Days, Alex Berenson.

John Wells has just barely managed to stop an operation designed to drive the United States and Iran into war, but the instigator himself disappeared behind an impenetrable wall of security. Now it's time for him to pay, and Wells has made it his personal mission. There are plenty of crosscurrents at work, though. The White House doesn't want anybody stirring the pot; his old CIA bosses have their own agendas; and other countries are starting to sniff around, sensing something unusual. It is when Russia and China enter the mix, however, that the whole affair is set to combust. With alarming speed, Wells is once again on his own...and the wolves are closing in.

©2016 Alex Berenson (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Narrator George Guidall provides another outstanding listen in this tenth John Wells mystery. Guidall has perfect-pitch timing and pacing for this type of thriller. He imbues the characters with distinctive voices by adding powerful unwritten features such as a gravelly undertone or a tone of coarse indifference.... Guidall's extensive experience with the main character, John Wells, doesn't hurt either." (AudioFile)

“Exhilarating...when the call of duty summons, Wells rises to the occasion; his emotions may be mixed, but he still puts on a great show for readers.” (Publishers Weekly)

“[An] adrenaline-filled thriller.... Fans of the John Wells series won’t be disappointed. They’ll agree with his enemies that if Wells isn’t Superman, he’s super something.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“As always, Berenson brilliantly blends global politics into an adrenaline-pulsing spy novel. But, most of all, there is Wells, a stone-cold killer who nevertheless does what we all wish we could do: stand up to the powerful and make them pay.” (Booklist)

Good spy thriller!

The Wolves is Book 10 in the John Wells series. It starts exactly where Book 9, Twelve Days, finished. I have rated all prior books in the Wells series either 4 or 5 stars. I'm rating this one 4 stars although is is clearly the weakest novel in the series. The plot is simply not as credible as the others.

George Guidall is one of my favorite narrators. I believe this is the first time I have rated him less than 5 stars.

I've been waiting to see if Alex Berenson is going to break into the elite group of espionage thriller writers (authors like Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, Brad Taylor, Ben Coes, Brett Battles, Brian Haig, Mark Greaney, Vince Flynn, Mark Dawson, Tom Wood, Nelson DeMille, and Tom Clancy). Berenson is not there yet, but he does show promise of the capability in his best John Wells novels. The Wolves is not one of his best.

This book needs a warning: contains graphic harm against children

I'm a fan of the author, but feel the need to flag this particular book for the gratuitous and graphic pedophilia and rape scenes. The amount of detail was so disturbing, if it had been a movie it would have been rated X. Totally unnecessary, these horrid and haunting scenes distracted from an otherwise solid John Wells book.

Best Yet!

I got hooked on John Wells after the first book. The author has taken the time to create a full character instead of an action hero. While Wells loves his country deeply, he knows the things she asked of him having taken a huge toll on him. Wells takes the time to consider the emotional impact of his actions, but he also has developed the capacity to stuff his feelings into a compartment and move forward with his job when necessary. As Wells has matured over the series, I love that he now trust his own judgment and moral compass to take action, instead of following the lead of his mentor or even the presiding president. Good for him. I won't rehash the story line, its covered in the book summary. Not entirely plausible but then it is called fiction for a reason.

Great book / love series, but...

Discovered Alex Berenson a year or so ago when looking for more books read by George Guidall. Alex Berenson's books are in the same genre as many of the other spy / espionage books that Guidall likes to read - I've enjoyed them all. The Wolves is my least favorite of the series as it's more revenge and less espionage - a departure from his prior books. It's hard to give a proper review without giving away the plot but I think I can safely say that unless you read the prior book in the series then you really won't understand what's going on in this one. While I enjoyed this book, I look forward to Alex's next in the series and hope that he gets back to having the main character, John Wells, fighting the bad guys.

The writing is good but George Guidall carries this book. If you're considering this as your first Berenson book, pick a different one. If you're like me and have already listened to his other works, you can't not read this. You just may not enjoy it as much.

Yes!

I was half way through listening to this before I came up for air. I enjoyed it a great deal. Suggestion - don't read this book until you've read TWELVE DAYS. This one picks up right where the previous one ends.

This is vintage Alex Berenson. I have been a bit disappointed in a few of his latest works but TWELVE DAYS and this one are back to what I've enjoyed about the John Wells books. The story was interesting and full of enough suspense. Wells is his normal self and this time he actually gets some Agency help. I just wish he'd figure out what's going on with his feelings about Anne and deal with it. He needs her.

I have a feeling we'll see at least one of the characters from this book in another one.

George Guidall is, as usual, brilliant!

Great Read.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Wolves to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the print version.

What other book might you compare The Wolves to and why?

The survivor, because when the world is in jeopardy I want either Mtich Rapp or John Wells on my team.

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

I love the way he is able to bring a story to life.

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

Thriller in the spirit of Jason Bourne

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Very good!

My only complaint isn't with the book, but with the publishers and audible. I had no idea this was out until weeks after it was released. I am a die heard Wells fan, and was pissed that it had been out and I didn't know.
Every time I look up mundane items online some mind reading algorithm advertises that thing to me on random websites for weeks, but audible somehow missed the fact that I own every one of these books and listen to them all several times a year. Rant over. Good book!

Good Read, Good Storyline

What made the experience of listening to The Wolves the most enjoyable?

Although is Guidall is a good narrator, you sometimes can't tell which character is speaking. But the story is good enough to keep you going.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Berensen does a good job of location description, so much so, that when I travel to the places he's written about, I can almost navigate from it.
Plot was such that it kept me listening. I wouldn't exactly call it a nail biter, but it was good.

Which character – as performed by George Guidall – was your favorite?

Guidall has to identify with Ellis the most. You can just tell when he speaks that he would be Ellis.

Any additional comments?

I've finished his series in about 4 months....it's going to be a long long time until The Prisoner in Jan 2017. :-(

You have to like John Wells to like this book.

Any additional comments?

I have been listening to all the John Wells books for a while. I like books with strong characters who manage to save the day. It is escapist literature. With this character, John Wells, you have to also buy into the idea that the U.S.A. has guys out there whose job it is to kill people we don't like.

In this one, you have to like the idea that the government is corrupt from the top down, that it is okay to just kill people that we don't like, and that even though we have courts designed to deal with terrorists we shouldn't use them. You have to like the idea that revenge is a good motive for murder. Skip the courts, skip the rest. Just kill 'em. I know that I will hear from people saying why not, and this review isn't the place to say. I will say that I still give the book a good rating because, as I started with, it is escapist literature and I like it.