The Hellfire Club

By: Jake Tapper

Narrated by: Jake Tapper

The debut political thriller from Jake Tapper, CNN's chief Washington correspondent and the New York Times best-selling author of The Outpost - 1950s DC intrigue about a secret society and a young congressman in its grip.

Charlie Marder is an unlikely congressman. Thrust into office by his family ties after his predecessor died mysteriously, Charlie is struggling to navigate the dangerous waters of 1950s Washington, DC, alongside his young wife, Margaret, a zoologist with ambitions of her own. Amid the swirl of glamorous and powerful political leaders and deal makers, a mysterious fatal car accident thrusts Charlie and Margaret into an underworld of backroom deals, secret societies, and a plot that could change the course of history. When Charlie discovers a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of governance, he has to fight not only for his principles and his newfound political career...but for his life.

©2018 Jake Tapper (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Tapper uses his storytelling chops to deftly put you in the moment when Joe McCarthy was waving his infamous paper and the Congress was at peak skullduggery. Hellfire is a potent thriller, replete with well-developed characters that made me think that history does indeed repeat itself." (David Baldacci, number one New York Times best-selling author of End Game)

"The Hellfire Club's first, thrilling scene pulled me into 1950s Washington, D.C., and didn't let go until the last, satisfying page. Tapper's passions for history and politics shine through in this remarkably timely, page-turning debut." (Alafair Burke, author of the New York Times best-selling The Wife)

"Here's your chance to get up close and personal with John and Bobby Kennedy, Nixon, Eisenhower, Kefauver, LBJ and Joe McCarthy. Jake Tapper puts you right back in the 50's. At the same time, Tapper has written a superior thriller that I couldn't stop reading. To be completely honest though, Tapper is an irritating bastard. Journalists like him are supposed to be writing dusty non-fiction tomes that help us get to sleep, not thrillers that keep us up half the night. The Hellfire Club is a helluva good read. Now Tapper should return to writing non-fiction." (James Patterson, number one New York Times best-selling author)

Author and narrator again

A fine job by the author as narrator. Interesting characters, timely. Perhaps a new political series? I do hope so.
It has been a long time since Allen Drury penned
Advise and Consent.

Great mix of fact & fiction woven into a thriller

Over 90% of my Audible library is non-fiction but hearing about this book and being a fan of Jake made me decide to download this book to see just how he could mix historical figures into his story. I must say I was pleasantly surprised and enthralled the whole time. I can't say Jake is the best fiction narrator ever but his voices made clear which character was speaking through the entire story and that's really all that matters. I imagine other readers that are iffy on fiction but have an interest in history and politics will enjoy this book and just have fun with it like I did. Certainly recommended!

Action packed history!!!!!!

As a mystery, I loved it. But the mystery story interwoven with the historical facts made it special. So many times, I had to stop and look up the history. I just couldn't believe it was true. Every time it was! How many times can I be surprised? Delightful and fascinating!

Written by a high schoolHistory enthusiast

So much historical detail is crammed into every page you can’t follow the story. It’s as if Jake wanted to show off how much history he knew And I don’t think it was a good choice to read the book himself. He kind of whiney

Fast-paced 'history, many real-life characters

This story was engrossing, loved the real characters including Estes Kefauver, Lyndon Johnson, Roy Cohn, Joseph McCarthy, the Kennedys and many others. Main character Charlie is easy-going and a grown-up, with a quirky sense of humor and also an uncanny sense of smell, which becomes important to the plot at the end. Definitely not a 50's cut-out, ditto Margaret, his wife, who is a research zoologist. Great reminders of the times, not only with the Communist presence both real and imagined within D.C. circles, but also with everyone smoking and drinking -- and of course, the timelessness of both corruption and idealism.
Jake Tapper was at first just an OK reader, at first he sounded stiff and read-y in places. I thought it would have been better done by a professional reader . . . BUT then his mimicry of real voices was spot on -- quite expert, he really did the Kennedys (Jack, Bobby and Jacqueline) exactly right. And I think his reading style became more natural as he went along.
I would definitely read another book from the multi-talented Jake Tapper.

Intense and interesting

Excellent story with well developed characters. Read wonderfully by talented Jake Tapper. Draws you in from the beginning

Fine read, superbly researched,interesting times, questionable narrator

Briefly, Mr. Tapper’s book follows a young substituted congressman into a classic portrayal of the slime of the Swamp. The best part of the book is his authentic research into the post-WWII Washington, the workings of a Hellfire Club vaguely resembling the British original but filled with power players, most of whom are corrupt Republicans (which Jake feels is redundant) and some interesting information on the Eisenhower presidency. Since the book is a novel, its later chapters turn into a predictable potboiler for the purpose of sales, grade c. To me, however, the most unusual reaction I had to an otherwise good book was Mr. Tapper’s choice to do his own narration. It’s somewhat akin to watching a few good George Clooney movies, then going to church, only to find George as the homily speaker. Tolkien, a singular linguist and scholar, did not read his own three books in The Lord of The Rings, even though he was eminently qualified to do so. I think that Mr. Tapper’s choice of himself as Reader was misguided at best and egocentric at worst. Hearing a top-tier factual reporter spinning a fable with the two married protagonist characters acting out The Sincere Grey Hero and Rosie the Riveter was simply too much Tapper. The story would probably have gone down better had he chosen an experienced, polished reader other than himself for this project. Like, say, George Clooney.

History lessons and a good story

I loved this. I did not know much going into the book. But I certanly recognized some names listening to the story. The author has included a lot of historic events I knew little about, and sometimes I paused to read more about those. The story is great.

The only negative thing is Jake Tappers narration. It isn't terrible, but it isn't great either.

Story is good.

I haven't finished this book yet because Jake Tapper as a narrator isn't cutting it. I think the story, the premise, everything else about this book is good. I think it would be better listening if they'd paid the bucks to hire a professional narrator.

Telling...

I thought the story took a while to get going, but it does come together well and in the end leaves you with the compelling thought that this story, although it takes place in the early political 1950's, could just as well be the politics of today...