The Faithful Spy

A Novel

By: Alex Berenson

Narrated by: John Heffernan

Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

A New York Times reporter has drawn upon his experience covering the ccupation 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.

Please note: This is the abridged edition. An unabridged version is also available. 

©2006 Alex Berenson (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic Reviews

• Mystery Writers of America 2007 Edgar Nominee, Best First Novel by an American Author

“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, author of the Mitch Rapp series)

“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) 

The title tells it all.

A far-fetched tale of a spy who came in from the heat and saved New York from disaster while holding off the CIA and Arab/Pakistani/Jihadi terrorists and their diabolical plans. Moments of suspense. Unrealistic (exaggerated) characters. Dialogue uninspired. Probably OK for a long ride across country, but not the best of audibles out there. (Try Grisham or Connelly).

Excellent Listen

I found this audio book hard to put away and I thought the narrator's voice was the perfect match for this type of book. This book has a "Sum of All Fears" feel to it and will definitely make you think about homeland security.

Wow

Great story that moved quickly. Finally a replacement for Alex Cross. Can't wait to read the next book.

Too plausible

Excellent first novel kept me engaged with enough specifics. Berenson is better known for his expose of Covid misinformation.
The plot is all too believable similar to Chris Stewart’s “The Great and the Terrible “ 6 volume narrative of an EMP attack on America. I’ve wondered why the enemies of America haven’t followed the plots in these books.
I’m grateful for the dedicated folks who are engaged in difficult, dangerous and necessary activities to protect us.
Narration was excellent.

What will it take to bring down Islamic terrorism?

A provocative look into the hearts and minds of Islamic terrorism and what it may take to to stop it.

Undercover

Entertaining and provacative. Did not want to put it down. Teaches you to careful who you trust, especially radical Muslims in this age of terrorism.

A real page turner!

This is a well written book about a timely topic. I enjoyed the narration very much too. I enjoyed it and believe you will too.

Over Abridged

A good written book has been spoiled by having too much of it taken away in this audiobook.