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The Faithful Spy

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The Faithful Spy

By: Alex Berenson
Narrated by: Robertson Dean
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About this listen

 “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

A New York Times reporter has drawn upon his experience covering the occupation 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 readers 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.©2006 Alex Berenson; (P)2006 Books on Tape Crime Thrillers Espionage Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Iran Middle East Exciting Crime

Critic reviews

“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

“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

“An intriguing thriller studded with alarming possibilities.”—New York Daily News

“A thriller worthy of Le Carré.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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Undercover agents have to learn their biographies so well that it becomes their number on operating story. Well does this so well that over the years he becomes his new self with understandable doubts as to the morality of his own country, America. It is, however, the same moral perspective that convinces him to accomplish his mission. Well written with some fine tense moments, neat twists and the menace of real danger. Not to be missed as this is the first spy story from a major writer of modern thrillers.

A good, intelligent, modern spy thriller

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I really enjoyed this book and it was very different from the usual genre I listen too. I would highly recommend a listen. It's a shame that not all of the John Wells series is available on audible.

Very Enjoyable

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An absolutely brilliant audiobook. Totally believable. Characterisation rich - author gives a balanced view of both sides of this conflict through his characters - even the lesser characters are very believable, plot completely gripping, and yet I didn't want it to end.

Stunning. Best spy/thriller have heard

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This novel grips from page one and is an intelligent and skillfully written account of the inherent conlicts within modern day espionage. The author takes a huge step beyond a good yarn and tackles the complex and lonely existence of a government agent who goes deep undercover for a protracted period of time. His hero stradles two worlds belonging and yet not belonging to either.
This is a challenging and fascinating listen enhanced by a splendid reading by Robertson Dean.
Highly recommended for the thriller fan.

A step beyond an average thriller.

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great story, great narration ...from start to finish a rollercoaster..well worth the read , really enjoyed

a very convincing listen...fantastic !

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