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Product Description
Book Description
In 2009, the CIA's Kabul Station fell for a source who promised to lead it to Bin Laden, but instead he blew himself up, taking the station's most senior officers with him. Now, more than two years later, the station is still floundering, agents are dying, and at Langley the CIA's chiefs wonder if the unthinkable has happened, if somehow the Taliban has infiltrated the station.
When they ask John Wells to investigate, he reluctantly agrees to return to the country where his career as an undercover operative began. But there, he finds a vipers' nest of hostility and mistrust-and clues that hint at a drug-trafficking operation involving the Agency, the military, and the Taliban. Americans are dying, and an American is responsible. And only John Wells stands in his way . . . for now.
About the Author
Alex Berenson’s novels have been hailed as “heart-stopping” (USA Today), “terrifying” (The New York Times Book Review), and in the case of The Faithful Spy, “one of the best spy stories ever told” (The Wall Street Journal). The reason is not only their brilliant plotting and some of the best characters in modern suspense fiction, but Berenson’s cutting-edge examination of the very real dangers confronting us. They’re not only “superbly crafted” (Kirkus Reviews), they’re about the way we live now.
As a reporter for The New York Times, Alex Berenson covered topics ranging from the occupation of Iraq to the flooding of New Orleans to the financial crimes of Bernie Madoff. His previous novels include The Faithful Spy, winner of the Edgar Award; The Ghost War; The Silent Man; The Midnight House; and The Secret Soldier. Berenson lives in New York City.
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Similar to the first five books in Berenson's John Wells series, The Shadow Patrol is entertaining and well-researched. However, relative to the other books, The Shadow Patrol is not quite as well-plotted, nor is it as much of a page-turner. Further on a comparative basis, The Shadow Patrol falls somewhat short in terms of dimensionalizing his main character and particularly his supportive characters; to the point that readers that have not read any of this author's previous books might feel that they don't know the characters as well as they would have liked in order to care more about them. Additionally, the plot tends to drag too much at various times during the middle of the book.
Despite these comparative flaws The Shadow Patrol is a worthwhile read and one that I think espionage/spy genre readers will enjoy. I'd suggest, however, that before reading The Shadow Patrol new readers to the series begin with The Faithful Spy and at least one of the other John Wells books to enhance their understanding and appreciation of the characters they will meet in this book.
Ever since leaving the CIA, Wells has found himself working more as a freelancing troubleshooter than a spy, last time for the Saudi royal family, this time for his old bosses at the Agency.
An agency op in Afghanistan goes badly wrong, leaving several case officers dead and the resident office in an administrative shambles. An army Stryker unit - a platoon-sized outfit of mechanized infantry - is involved in moving drugs from Afghan Taliban suppliers through to the States, with the help of a couple of Delta snipers and another American who seems to have his own agenda.
Wells is called on to go to Afghanistan as an "unofficial" representative of his old CIA boss Vinnie Duto to assess the effectiveness of the resident office as a viable force, and in doing so he stumbles onto the problems arising from the disaster that wiped out so many of the local Agency operatives.
How this evolves, and Well's actions in addressing these problems, form the crux of the story.
Berenson weaves an intricate and involving story here that blends the espionage and military genres masterfully. In many ways this book is evocative of the military novels of Nelson DeMille - particularly "The General's Daughter" - though the crimes at its heart are of a very different nature. The characters are well-realized and three-dimensional; it's well-plotted; and I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable. In other words, what we've come to expect from Berenson.
A very solid four stars; maybe 4 .
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