The Good Spy Dies Twice

The Bullseye Series, Book 1

By: Mark H. Hosack

Narrated by: Mark Hosack

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Jake Boxer, investigative journalist and host of the conspiratorial news show Bullseye, is in serious trouble. Not only is his soundman murdered by Russian intelligence agents while reporting on a secretive New World Order, but his network cancels his show, leaving Jake humiliated and spiraling into a deep dark depression.

Years later, a condemned murderer, who claims he was abandoned by the CIA, and who starred in an early episode of Bullseye, is finally executed for killing two supposed Soviet spies back in the 1970s. Jake Boxer, still trying to piece his life back together, is on his honeymoon in a posh ski resort in the Alaskan mountains when he gets word of the inmate's execution...and the old killer's final words: "The good spy dies twice".

Those five words, seemingly meant for Jake, draw the ex-reporter out of his forced retirement and into a complex and deadly global conspiracy involving his newlywed wife, the secretive New World Order, and the hotel's 100 or so guests.

Everyone is a suspect.

©2016 Mark Hosack (P)2016 Mark Hosack

mind-blowing twists and turns in this thriller

The Good Spy Dies Twice is an action-packed, psychological thriller that never lets up.  Jack Boxer is a newlywed, ex-investigative journalist and ex-host of Bullseye as well as a man tortured by the death of his sound man.  Add in the Cold War, double agents, a lost painting and greed to complete the psychological thrill and mystery of this book.

Recovering from a nervous breakdown, Jack comes face to face with espionage and the New World Order in Alaska at an isolated ski resort.  Having lost his sound man to the New World Order and espionage, Jack is taken by surprise when he discovers his new wife is neck-deep in spying where she texts him the same words as a recently executed killer.  Jack discovers that Claire (his wife) is writing an earth shattering news story that is Bullseye worthy.

Trapped in a closed resort facing starvation, starving wolves and members of the New World Order, Jack is left to save the day.  Can he get those few left with him to a safe place before the bomb arrives or will they all meet the same fate as his sound man?  Recovering from a near death experience and crippled with a broken back, Jack pushes forward to tell the world.

Mark Hosack creates a world where the Cold War still exists and there are mind-blowing twists and turns in this thriller that keeps the listener mesmerized.  The Good Spy Dies Twice is a well-written plot with characters that are developed in a realistic way.  The situations that Jack finds himself are realistic as well.  Hosack describes the helplessness of Jack not being able to find Claire to the possibility of being wolf food in a vivid and detailed style.  Hosack does an excellent job of tying everything together and in growing Jack into a character that connects to the listeners.

The narrator, also the author Mark Hosack does his novel justice as the listener is treated to a passionate performance and the smooth flow of a narrator connecting to the story. He speaks clearly and concisely.   His passion, excitement, doubt, fear, pain and more are portrayed in a riveting performance.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

Audiobook was purchased for review by ABR.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Clever New Angle on Conspiracy

While this story kept me riveted and entertained I can certainly understand why some may find it tedious. Most of all you should know it's good enough for me to purchase the coming sequel.

For all it's good aspects there are several glaring flaws. The author is a good narrator, but he and the producer made the huge mistake of using sound effects and music introducing every chapter. It not only is distracting, but it takes away from an otherwise good performance. If the story is good, it needs nothing but a good narrator.

The second is not a flaw at all. Our hero is a former investigative journalist and star of a once popular show entitled Bullseye. He is now disgraced, having fallen victim to paranoia. This paranoia is a continuous thread that permeates his thought process. It is as exhausting to read about as it is to actually live through.

My last criticism is that the author does a poor job of explaining who the villain is and especially revealing his demise.

In the end it is indeed an excellent mystery, worthy of your time.

when is the next installment?!??!

As an avid listener to audiobooks, it was really refreshing to have the narration accompanied by real foreign accents and background sounds really putting you in the environment. An added plus is the author actually performing the narration, who else knows how the spy tale mixed with Indiana Jones adventure should be told.

An absolutely thrilling story

Any additional comments?

In this first installment of the Bullseye series, we are introduced to Jake Boxer, an investigative journalist and host for a very controversial news show called Bullseye. When his soundman and best friend is found murdered while on an investigation concerning a secret group, Bullseye gets cancelled. Bullseye was Jake's livelihood, so without any clear direction and his dream job nixed, he spirals into a deep depression. Fast forward a few years, and we find Jake newly married and on his honeymoon with the love of his life. This honeymoon does not go as planned though as the events from the past collide with the present and Jake must find who is behind the secretive group and a killer.

The Good Spy Dies Twice is filled with tense action that held me in its grasp right from the beginning and was impossible to put down. Mr. Hosack’s uncanny ability to create a plot that is both engaging and thrilling kept my interest throughout – needing to know what would happen next. This well written, fast paced thriller is raw, gritty and suspenseful with extreme amounts of action and solid, well-developed characters.

I was a bit leery to listen to this audio book due to it being narrated by the author himself. Sometimes authors just need to the leave performance of their book in the capable hands of professional narrators and just concentrate on the writing. My thinking though was quite wrong in this instance – a whole lot of wrong. Mark Hosack narrated this book outstandingly. His voice is crisp and concise, with pacing that was perfect. Not only was the narration top notch, each chapter begins with sound effects that not only complement the story but in my opinion adds a level of uniqueness that sets this audio book apart.

Overall, if you love action packed thrillers then you don’t need to look any further than The Good Spy Dies Twice. Mr. Hosack is a masterful story teller and amazing narrator who has created a thrilling story that is filled with just enough twists and turns to make your head spin. This was a great start to the series and I can’t wait for the next installment.

Story – 4 stars
Performance – 5 stars
Overall – 4.5 stars

The Good Spy Dies Twice Captivates!

In Mark Hosack's audio version of his thriller The Good Spy Dies Twice, he reads with an animatedly alluring baritone of a voice that draws the listener into the story, oftentimes making the listener not want to take pause between chapters. Suspenseful music punctuates the book's opening sequences, lending the feel of a '40s style radio play.
In 43 juicy, action-filled chapters, TGSDT is replete with action, sass, red herrings and at times, raunch that keeps the reader engaged in the plot's multitude of intricacies. I often found myself forwarding through chapters to find out what happens next in this chilling whodunit that takes place mainly in a ski resort town that houses a mysterious painting that is central to the novel.
This tale of espionage and love recounts hero Jake Boxer's quest to decipher a cryptic text message from his newly betrothed wife. All this amidst a politically-themed backdrop involving a possibly murdered friend, Russians, drones and a mine.
Hosack has a natural gift for writing and oral narration that is entertaining and packed with punch, both metaphorical and literal punch. For an all-around depthful and edge-of-your-seat piece of work, look no further than The Good Spy Dies Twice. Great for anyone who appreciates a good mystery thriller, listen to this book on long drives or to unwind at the end of your work day or work week for some suspenseful escapism. You won't regret it!

A riveting spy novel

What did you love best about The Good Spy Dies Twice?

The Good Spy Dies Twice was a riveting spy novel, perfect for the conspiracy theorists. I was hook on page one. The author weaves a fantastic tale of global espionage. Every one has a secret and no one is whom they appear in this story I was glued to the story and shocked by the outcome.

My favorite character was the MC, Jake Boxer. He is like a dog with a bone when he gets on the trail of a story. Pure genius!

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

I have not listened to any other of Mark Hosack's performances but I am definitely adding him to my list. Mark did a wonderful job with narrating the story. The added sound effects and music interludes at the being of each chapter was a unique aspect and set the tone of the chapter.

Any additional comments?

I look forward to reading and listening to other books by Mark Hosack.

Captivating, perfect voice for thriller

What did you love best about The Good Spy Dies Twice?

Authors voice is so engaging and leaves you wanting more of his books on tape. A wonderful thriller with twists and turns you didn't see coming. As a fan of Mark Hosack's books I was prepared for twists and still didn't see them coming.

What about Mark Hosack’s performance did you like?

Mark's voice is perfect for this on edge thrill seeker, deep voice keeps you alert.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wish, with kids and a full time job, I couldn't make this happen, but I would have likes to.

I couldn't get enough!

Any additional comments?

Hosack did an amazing job on “The Good Spy Dies Twice.” I couldn’t get enough and was up late listening every night until I was finished. The plot kept thickening and getting more intense and the characters were extremely well written and felt real to me. The audio was done very well with the deep tone of Hosack’s voice which made the story even that much better. Overall, I highly recommend this book.

Interesting Premise, Confusing Follow Through

Any additional comments?

While I really enjoyed this book, I felt that it was a little off in a lot of ways. The storyline of Jake trying to figure out what his wife was doing on their honeymoon, especially after she died was interesting. He figures out she had never let the past go and was still looking for her dead fiance’s killer. There is a lot of mystery and intrigue to the story, but I don’t think I enjoyed the way it turned out/developed.



The first thing to really confuse me was the back and forth from present to past without any warning. And the dream sequences Jake had. There should have been some tone or perhaps sentence to say what was happening. The second thing was that Jake broke his back, or legs, or cracked his spine. All three were mentioned. Yet he never had a cast. And he could walk….yeah that seems extremely unrealistic. Even if in the book it was described as him walking poorly, I still don’t think it’s possible. The last thing to bug me was while the reader for the story was great, he did women voices poorly. Super duper poorly. They all sounded the same except the ones with Russian accents strangely enough. All the men had a wide variety of voices, yet the women just sounded like the same frustrated person over and over. It got annoying after a bit.

As for the story itself I am not a fan of the mystery. Claire goes off on her own during the honeymoon to do investigations that Jake doesn’t have privilege to. Instead of telling him some lie, she just tells him he’ll fuck up anything if she tells him. She lets him worry the whole time that she is cheating on him, that she is doing something illegal, or that she is investigating something dangerous and not related to the honeymoon article. When did Claire have time to bug all the rooms? Jake was with her a lot of the time in the beginning until he got mad that he lost her on the slopes and got drunk. If she had been in the hotel surely someone would have told him, so where in the two days that they were there before she died did she have time to plant listening devices in each room? The code that the painter left in her painting made nonsense. I listened to that section twice trying to follow Jake’s logic. Obviously he was of sound mind as he was able to find the spy’s name, but if so why does the explanation for the code not pan out? I wish that had been better explained. Then the whole the least obvious person is the betrayer thing really bugged me. He apparently loved her, yet killed her? Ok…sure…makes perfect sense…

I think this story gets credit for super interesting premise and fun scenes where Jake is doubting himself with all the mind games being played. But the follow through was just off. There are supposedly more books in the series. I’m certainly intrigued to find out if they all follow Jake. And if they do, hopefully there are more answers than questions given to us in these subsequent books.

In the end I would rate the story a 4/5 or a 7/10 on my scale. And the narration a 4/5 or 8/10 on my scale.

Fantastic, exciting book

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Mark Hosack. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

The good spy is a fantastic read. With a thrilling Plot and Fantastic characters it was hard to put down. It is very well written and kept a good pace throughout.

There were some great characters but ones that stood out was Jake Boxer. Without giving too much away I was very invested in his story and how he was going to solve his problem.
The audiobook was narrated by he author Mark Hosack. I thought he did a fantastic job. There was a great flow throughout the book. A good character distinction through most of it.

Overall it translated quite well into a audiobook and had a great sound quality. While I have only listened to the audiobook, nothing has seemed to be lost in translation and was very enjoyable.

In the end it was a excellent read. It was a fantastic start to the series and I cannot wait to find out what happens next in this series.