The Deceivers

By: Alex Berenson

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Russians don't just want to influence American elections - they want it all. Former CIA agent John Wells confronts a plot of astonishing audacity as New York Times best-selling author Alex Berenson goes beyond today's headlines to tomorrow's all-too-real threats. 

It was supposed to be a terrorist sting. The guns were supposed to be disabled. Then why was there so much blood? 

The target was the American Airlines Center, the home of the Dallas Mavericks. The FBI had told Ahmed Shakir that his drug bust would go away if he helped them, and they'd supply all the weaponry, carefully removing the firing pins before the main event. It never occurred to Sami to doubt them, until it was too late. 

When John Wells is called to Washington, he's sure it's to investigate the carnage in Dallas, but it isn't. The former CIA director, now president, Vinnie Duto has plenty of people working in Texas. He wants Wells to go to Colombia. An old asset there has information to share - and it will lead Wells to the deadliest mission of his life, an extraordinary confluence of sleeper cells, sniper teams, false flag operations, double agents high in the US government - and a Russian plot to take over the government itself. If it succeeds, what happened in Texas will be only a prelude. 

©2018 Alex Berenson (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“Smart, prescient, and harrowing…‘The Manchurian Candidate’ for a new generation.” (Providence Journal) 

"The fantastic plot, character development and action are insidiously riveting.” (Connecticut Day) 

“[T]imely...Berenson’s knowledge of geopolitical issues and government intelligence strategies impresses.” (Publishers Weekly)  

Here we go again...

Since the 2016 elections, the news networks and so many authors have been focusing way too much on "Russian influence". Anyone old enough to remember the early 90s will remember the flood of Columbus movies and documentaries, 24 years later comes the Russian invasions.

And here we go again.

This is a good book in the John Wells series, but it is a needle in a stack of needles as far as the bad guys right now. The Russians are trying to influence the elections, not by hacking or tampering with voting machines, but with influencing the candidates that run. They are also influencing the news cycles by creating the news stories. Not with "fake news", but by controlling the people involved. Not necessarily a "Manchurian candidate", but still one under their control.

George Guidall once again does a great job narrating the audio book. The primary reason I have stuck to audio for the John Wells series is his outstanding performances.

Topical political/espionage thriller!

Book 12 in Alex Berenson's John Wells series has him near the top of espionage thriller authors. The story is ripped from the headlines as Russia attempts to damage the US and its government. John Wells is one of the really interesting espionage protagonist in modern novels. Wells' background including being a CIA operative and a convert to Islam is unique among other leading espionage thriller protagonists such as Mitch Rapp, Court Gentry, Dewey Andras, Pike Logan, Jericho Quinn, Victor the Assassin, John Rain, Jonathan Quinn, etc. I'm not ready to place author Alex Berenson at the very top of his craft beside Mark Greaneyand Ben Coes (I do not mention the deceased Mitch Rapp who is the best ever), but Berenson is very close to being in their class. George Guidall does a fantastic job of narration.

I recommend without reservation The Deceivers to everyone who enjoys suspense thrillers. All 12 of Alex Berenson's John Wells are in my Audible library. All are standalone and all are worthwhile.

Great Characters and Performance

Berenson’s core characters, Johnny Wells, Ellis Shafer, and President Vinnie Duto continue their dysfunctional love hate relationship chasing down a Russian false flag operation - a timely subject matter. Adding in a couple of new players on the good guy side, Berenson has a strong cast for his next novel.

I hope the next novel is not too far off because there are some loose ends.

George Guidall’s performance was excellent!

Solid, but a little too on the nose for my taste

Story felt a little too law & order: "ripped from the headlines!"

Entertaining as usual, regardless of the plot points that felt a little obvious and choices that seemed a little too easy.

Not the best John wells story

Disappointed with this one. First time in awhile I almost gave up on finishing. The story was convoluted and disjointed and barely came together at the end. Not the usual page turner the other books in the series have been

Political Agenda

Like some of the previous reviewers, I was disappointed by the naked political agenda that takes shape in this book.

Love John wells

John wells is one of my favorite heroes. But this was my least favorite book. Too many characters to keep up with. Too many places---it was confusing trying to keep track and follow the story. Maybe it was just too close to our current political mess which is terrifying enough to watch our daily news!!!

This series continues to impress

Imagine a foreign power (Russia) trying to orchestrate a Presidential election in the US. Hard to grasp ... or not. A different take on current events but it's not too difficult to imagine.

Quite a ride in this book. Again, John - and his new friend, Winston (glad he's back), answer President Vinnie's call to investigate a strange terrorist attack in Dallas that is more than it seems. I didn't like the fact that John wasn't as prominent in this book as he should be. There are a lot of moving parts. Ellis in the field! Good stuff!

I loved the final line. And George Guidall's narration, of course. I hate having to wait a year to find out what happens next.

Best Yet!

I've read all of Alex Berenson's books. Most are very good, a couple weren't and I'm happy to say this one was GREAT! As usual, George Guidall narrated perfectly. The plot moved along nicely - word to the wise, don't plan on doing anything except listening for the final two hours.
Definitely waiting for the author's next John Wells adventure!

Rushed ending.

The story was great until the ending which felt disappointedly rushed and sadly under developed.

Great pacing

I think it was the best so far. The multiple angles and controlled doses of Wells worked well. Stopped it from being too 'and then.' A hard audio not to listen to.