The Secret Soldier Audiobook

John Wells may have left the CIA, but he hasn’t left the high-stakes world of espionage, where hidden battles determine the fate of nations.

In Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah is losing his hold. A series of terrorist attacks has put the Kingdom on edge, and even Abdullah’s own secret police cannot be trusted. With nowhere to turn, the King asks for Wells’s help.

Reluctantly, and with the secret blessing of his former CIA boss, Wells agrees. But as he begins to unravel the conspiracy, it takes an unexpected twist, becoming more dangerous than Wells ever imagined. The plotters want more than the fall of a monarch. They want to start the final battle between America and Islam—with only themselves as the victor…

From the Trade Paperback edition.

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"A review by The Providence Journal Bulletin on the dust jacket of this book, suggests that Berenson's earlier novel, "The Silent Man" quote, 'elevated him to the rarefied league of Vince Flynn', unquote. This preposterous statement only goes to highlight the problem of newspaper 'journalists' writing book reviews. Don't get me wrong, I am not being critical of Vince Flynn as a writer. I have read most of his work & he can be a very entertaining writer of action thrillers. His hero, Mitch Rapp, charges into action with the Stars & Stripes flying, & guns blazing. He typifies the all-American hero that features in so many thrillers coming from American authors these days. BUT, let me say that patriotic fodder such as this does not a good spy thriller writer make! Flynn's storylines are generally predictable & limited in scope, with action the prime component. A sort of wham, bam, thank you ma'am, if you like. On the other hand, Berenson's plotting is meticulous, often complicated, & demanding of the reader's attention, and his characters interesting & extensively developed. Flynn's hero appears to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, whereas, Berenson's John Wells is a flawed character, cautious, & often seemingly introspective. A methodical man, & yet in some ways, an enigma; more human than Flynn's Rapp. It is authors of the calibre of Berenson who will carry the torch of superior espionage fiction, first flamed by the likes of LeCarre, Forsyth, Deighton & McCarry.Once again, Berenson doesn't disappoint. Alex Berenson keeps getting better as an author (and I already liked his work)! In a genre not known for its subtlety, Alex Berenson brings us an introspective but still very tough leading man, a tough-as-nails hero who can see his own flaws. There's nuance and subtlety in his story, and that's what makes this book special. It's not the simplistic good guy-bad guy story that usually dominates this genre; instead, we feel the complexity of the real world and the difficulty of truly deadly situations. The good guys don't always come out on top, and the heroes aren't perfect, but there's plenty to cheer for in this terrific book!Berenson has an almost unequaled grasp of, and ability to convey, the intricacies and complexities of the Middle Eastern Islamic culture. It's all too common for books and movies to portray the region's dynamic over-simplistically, missing a lot of the nuance that animates the people from the area, with the consequence that characters are usually at least somewhat two-dimensional (to those who know) if not downright cartoonish. (Incidentally, a problem that also adheres to our "professionals" in government who are tasked with our foreign policy, if I may editorialize for just a moment. None of them seem to have any real understanding of the region. But I digress)Berenson's characters are all fully realized. They act believably. His pacing is flawless, and the story carries us from the US to Europe to Saudi Arabia and environs. He believably blends real-life people (King Abdullah) with thinly-veiled characters based on other real-life people (Saeed, among others) with completely fictional characters, and carries it off without a blip. All adds to the credibility of the story. And there's plenty of action for adrenaline junkies, too.The Secret Soldier" once again follows the personal and professional drama of John Wells, former CIA operative in Afghanistan and elsewhere. He's a free-wheeling man, disenchanted with the torturous ways of war, and yet he wrestles with his own desire to use violence and release emotion. He is still in a relationship with Anne, though it's more perfunctory and phone-based, with little to add a spark. He thinks of his son once or twice throughout the entire book. His main attention seems focused on understanding his own faith as a Muslim, while fighting terrorists based in extremes of that same religion.This time around, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are at the center of things. Political intrigue is taking place among the princes of the House of Saud, threatening the Saudi stability and, thereby, oil production and world stability. Tensions at the top are further exacerbated by a splinter group led by an Islamic extremist. From a massacre in a nightclub to the death of a royal to a political kidnapping, there are plenty of reasons for this book to move quickly and suspensefully. So why did it leave me unmoved, often disinterested and detached?A survivor of the early massacre reappears early on in the book, then seems to disappear again, his presence never really explained--despite a lot of pages given to that particular scenario. Wells, our intrepid hero, bounces from location to location, including an entire portion given to the Bahamas that ends up having nothing to do with the plot. Throughout, he seems one step removed from the most important action, until the end--and even there he becomes almost immaterial. The Saudi king and his princes seem to take up a lot of the story, though it's hard to care for any of them. Lots of things happen in the story, but in the end I just wasn't that concerned about any of them.As always, Berenson gives great details and weaves a timely tale, but it's only when he draws me into the personal struggles of Wells and those around him that I connect on a deeper level."

— Jerome (5 out of 5 stars)