The Traitor's Story

Publisher's Summary

When fifteen-year-old American Hailey Portman goes missing in Switzerland, her desperate parents seek the help of their neighbor, Finn Harrington, a seemingly quiet historian rumored to be a former spy.

Sensing the story runs deeper than anyone yet knows, Finn reluctantly agrees to make some enquiries. He has little to go on other than his instincts, and his instincts have been wrong in the past - sometimes spectacularly wrong.

But he gets involved anyway, never imagining that Hailey's disappearance might be linked to the tragic events that ended his career six years earlier, drawing him back into a deadly world that has neither forgiven nor forgotten.

©2016 Kevin Wignall (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Complicated but pretty well done

First, the narration: Simon Vance at his best. Every writer of intrigue should want him to read his or her books. Excellent.

Then, the plot: Past and Present storylines that get complicated (twists and turns) within themselves and in relation to each other. What's great: the two storylines are interesting on their own (sometimes when there are two timelines, one is there simply for the other's benefit). What could have been better (ergo the three stars): some of the twists are so complicated that the author doesn't have enough time to develop the characters that come into the picture. Still, the overall was indeed four stars and I will definitely give this author another try.

42 of 42 people found this review helpful

Intriguing spy novel : a good book !

Past problems always catch up with you. Finn Harrington believes he has successfully retired from clandestine operations, but he is shaken when his neighbors' daughter goes missing. He finds out that the event is somehow linked to his past: he has been the subject of surveillance by a mysterious company with ties to his old agency.
The book is well written; a different twist to a spy novel that, after a slow start, keeps you gripped and becomes difficult to put it down. Characters are well shaped and the suspense is growing page by page.
The story has a few little spots that don't ring quite true and the main character is not utterly likeable, but , all in all, this is a very enjoyable reading.

43 of 45 people found this review helpful

Pretty good book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would make the women characters have a little more depth and the main character a little less narcissistic.

Would you be willing to try another book from Kevin Wignall? Why or why not?

Probably not, but mostly because it's not the kind of book I usually read. Men might like it more than women would be my guess.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

He did a good job with all of them. He's one of the best narrators out there.

Was The Traitor's Story worth the listening time?

Really, barely. It's not really the kind of book I enjoy but I listened to find out what happened to one of the characters. I guess that says something about how the writer motivated me to care and how he was able to move the plot along.

Any additional comments?

I don't mean to sound too negative. Others might like it more than I did. The writing is good; I just wasn't crazy about the main character and I felt I was supposed to like him.

24 of 25 people found this review helpful

Exciting New Author for Me

With over 600 books in my library, I find myself struggling for good read (or listen). By chance, I tried Wignall's "A Death in Sweden" and now "The Traitor's Story". Both stories, narrators and characters are quite different. A clue to settings and, etc. comes from looking at who does the narrations ... and both quite accomplished.

Kevin Wignall is an excellent writer ... and his work has been well-polished for publication. As a heavy mysteries and suspense reader, I have found only a few can muster up original story lines and assemble non-stereotypical characters to animate them. I would say Mr. Wignall is quite good at both story and character development.

As of now, Wignall has not decided to serialize a protagonist. If he continues in this manner or decides to serialize either of the main protagonists in the 2 books, that's OK with me ... he's got me as a reader for now.

98 of 105 people found this review helpful

Got It for Vance

I love Simon Vance's voice so much I select the books he narrates. I thought the storyline was ok. It took 3/4 of the book to set up the plot and then the author wrapped all up a little too neatly and quickly.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Intriguing Plot With Lackluster Conclusion

Yet I listened to it in 2 days! That is because it is well written and well read!

There are two storylines flowing through the novel, one in the present and the other in the past. In the past a spy, the hero of this tale, is persuaded to become a double agent by his country, effectively branding him a traitor. At present, the spy is retired and is a well respected author. But when the daughter of his neighbors' goes missing, he agrees to help find her. In his search for the girl, he discovers his past reputation as a traitor will dramatically effect not only him, but all of those close to him.

Where the story is lacking is in his relationships with two powerful Russian men and his former employer. All three relationships are crucial to the story and its conclusion, yet the author chose to barely skim the surface of any of them.

Still, its a fast moving tale and the few characters he chooses to develop are intriguiging and well done.

Simon Vance is stellar.

34 of 37 people found this review helpful

Enjoyable Story with complete characters

What did you love best about The Traitor's Story?

The story was multi layered and was not laced with profanity. The characters were believable you can relate to the main characters vulnerability and determination to do the right thing.

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

It did at times

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Vance does a great job perfect fit for this book

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

The Life I Lived

Any additional comments?

I like a good mystery especially dealing with spies. I also like the fact the book was not filled with foul language.

22 of 24 people found this review helpful

Superb narrator

I search for books narrated by Simon Vance - they are always if the highest quality and best stories.

29 of 32 people found this review helpful

A Great Start to a Serial? I Hope!!!

This one has everything good -- Simon Prebble narrating, Wignall's superb prose, and a fascinating, edge of the seat mystery. The story focuses on a "retired" spy who gets drawn back into sleuthing and spying due to the mysterious disappearance of a 15- year old neighbor. the narrative gives listeners a great "current" story while adding in the details of why the spy retired; which by the way are strongly connected to the contemporary tale that Wignall created. Lovers of good mysteries will enjoy this -- a good cat and mouse romp through Europe!

41 of 50 people found this review helpful

50:50 two stories, past and present

Lightweight and only fair in terms of writing quality and story/plot. This is a past and present book, with the present story of a runaway teen merging into revenge for something that happened in the past - hence, the past story intertwined with the present.

Good narrator, fair book. I won't go looking for another.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

mystery, thriller

loved it, if you like mysteries this is well worth the listen, I would recommend highly

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great story well read.

Fast gripping story and very enjoyable. superbly performed by Simon Vance. I hope the author does more in this series with this main character and of read by Simon Vance.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Slow start but stick with it

Well worth a listen. I'd suggest the audio book will enhance the enjoyment as Simon Vance adds credibility to Finn. Only criticism is the largely untouchability of the same which takes some believing. However, this aside a superb book with some clever twists and a solid and satisfying ending.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Boring and foreseeable

Unfortunately the story drags on and on and real suspense doesn't come up. Very disappointing. Well read though.