The Travelers: A Novel

Perhaps I am not equipped to rate this book since I only read the first few chapters but therin lies the tale. The book sits here on my desk and I have little inclination to pick it up and resume reading because I just don't care either about the story teller, or the so called plot which is all over the map.
If a book doesn't get me through 3-4 chapters l've got to look elsewhere.
Oh well, perhaps sometime I will attempt to try again but then again so many others deserve my attention so on second thought a library donation is the way to go.

The first pages quickly caught my attention. I thought, "wow, this is going to be a great read". About a third of the way into the book it devolved into ridiculousness: each scenario more impossble than the preceding one. It felt to me as if the author suddenly realized that the publisher's deadline was approaching and got out the cookie-cutter. I plowed on, but finanally decided that just because I wasted my money on this book, I did not have to waste my time, and I threw it out.

What at first seems like an author being coy with the facts, we find instead a cunningly concealed trapdoor that drops us into a labyrinth of compelling plot twists, all fraught with danger. I didn't stop reading until it was all explained. Ready for more.

Maybe not a full five stars but definitely something worth reading. Fresh ideas, good writing. Sometimes I rushed through eloquent descriptions only to go back and reading them again but slow. Enjoyed it even though wanted to go to next page. Some things could be better but still fun, fresh and I enjoyed it a lot!

The Travelers is real page turner, moving rapidly from New York, to Argentina, to Paris, to Barcelona, to Dublin, to Capri, to Stockholm, to Edinburgh, to Iceland – reminds me a little of a James Bond movie!

Travelers is a New York City based global travel magazine, with bureaux or stringers in most countries of the world. Malcolm Somers, the editor, presides over the empire… Will Rhodes is a leading travel journalist, a friend of Malcolm’s who also works for the magazine. Will is married to Chloe.

Will is on assignment in Mendoza, Argentina when he is seduced, and then blackmailed by Elle, an American pretending to be an Australian. She and her partner have filmed his indiscretion and threaten to show the film to Chloe – unless Will agrees to work for the CIA, and use his cover as a travel journalist to spy on those of interest to the CIA that he meets in his job. He says he will. But are the people he is to spy on the real target? Is he actually working for the CIA? Could Travelers magazine itself be at the heart of the story?

The plot and intrigue is fast moving – from an oligarch’s yacht in the Mediterranean via Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, and Barcelona to a final dramatic climax on a cliff top in Iceland – with side scenarios along the way in Capri and Stockholm. Nothing is as it seems and no one is who they appear to be. The climax features (amongst others) Will, Malcolm, and Chloe – but how did they all get to be there?

Chris writes in an extremely readable style – and you can just flow along with the book as it takes you from location to location. In TripFiction terms we don’t really spend enough time in any one place to become that familiar with it, but each location is described pretty authentically. Ideal reading for a globe trotter dropping in on various destinations! Bits of the plot may go over you as you read (they did for me…), but all becomes clear in the end.

The Travelers is Chris’ third book. The first two, The Expats and The Accident, both featured in the New York Times and Sunday Times best sellers lists. I confidently predict that The Travelers will do the same. It is a great read.

Over on our blog we talk to the author: [...]

While the premise here was interesting, sadly, I felt like it turned into a cookie cutter type story, easy to figure out what was coming, The story moves from one character to the next, and each chapter seems to end in a manufactured cliff hanger. Will, the main character, actually irritated me a bit, for some reason. However, I noted that other reviewers seemed to really enjoy the story, so perhaps I just am not part of the intended audience.

The Travelers, Chris Pavone, author; Paul Michael, narrator
Sometimes less is more and in this novel, I felt it was definitely the case. For effort, I gave the book two stars, but for context I don’t even know if I would give it one. I listened to the audio which went on for hours and hours of overly detailed dialogue with excessive descriptions of mundane events that seemed not only too wordy, but unnecessary. If you couple that combination with crude language and an inordinate amount of vulgar sexual reference, you have a book that is mighty hard to get through. For most of the book, I found the prose pretty hackneyed. It actually took more than 2/3rds of the novel before I even began to understand the direction in which the author was “traveling”. I thought the plot lines defied reality. There were just too many tangents and way too many characters, most of whom seemed to serve to confuse the storyline.

Because I truly believe authors write to please their readers, I soldiered on and listened to the entire audio, but it was a challenge and an enormous effort. I felt that even the narrator was disconnected from the story. For at least half, he sounded as if he was reading a grocery list. The story kept wandering off into another country, another scene, and another character’s experiences, all of which, until the end, seemed almost random. It began to feel like several books had mistakenly been combined in one. Most of the book was taken up setting up the stage for the final scene when the muddied atmosphere did finally become clearer.

Basically the story is about the antics of Will Rhodes, a journalist who worked for Travelers magazine. He and his wife, Chloe, both worked for the magazine in different capacities. Both traveled a lot and were often separated. Their marriage had been going through a rough patch. On assignment for the magazine, after being seduced by a beautiful woman named Elle, almost against his will, he woke up in the middle of the night to find a large, hulking figure standing in his room in a threatening way. He tried to escape from Roger, but failed and was knocked out cold during the attempt with a sucker punch from that same woman who had seduced him. She suddenly and unexpectedly had reappeared outside his room. This woman had videotaped their liaison, and now she and her accomplice threatened to blackmail him if he refused to work for them. They promised he would be paid well and would be serving his country as an asset for the CIA. They needed information on the people he met abroad who might be identified as potential recruits. After his infidelity with Elle, his ability to refuse their offer was quite compromised. Once he started to pass information to Elle, the story “traveled” off in several different directions that often seemed unrelated. The plot thickened as attempts were made on his life, the reasons for which the reader has no idea of, for most of the book, nor supposedly, does Will. He was, however, surprisingly skillful for a rube and seemed better able to take care of himself than expected, as he went from supposedly innocent interactions and assignments to more dangerous ones. He had false passports, was skilled in the martial arts, and he even somehow also knew how to ditch a tail. He was also provided with sophisticated technical equipment to film the potential recruits. By now, I suspect others are beginning to doubt the credibility of this plot.

Will’s and Chloe’s boss at Travelers Magazine, Malcolm, was painted to be somewhat of a letch. He was also having marital problems. The woman who dealt with public relations had an alias. Many of the characters had complicated backgrounds and personal problems. Elle’s boss, who was directing her efforts with Will, appeared to be influential, although he was unidentified and Elle had little knowledge of his actual purpose or resume.
As time passed, the plot grew more and more implausible and complicated. If the intrigue wasn’t so convoluted, I might have found it more exciting. There were just too many ancillary themes, mysteries, tangents, murder and mayhem, sex and drinking, each one threatening to take center stage to unseat another. Since I noticed that many reviews were full of praise, I concluded that “you had to be there” or the print version would be a far better choice.

The Travelers by Chris Pavone is supposed to be this fast-paced and thrilling spy novel but unfortunately, I was bored to tears. I’m a rather fast reader but I struggle to get through this one. The pacing was slow and the chapters were disjointed with periodic flashbacks that I became confused. On top of that these characters felt one-dimensional and flat. By the halfway point I didn’t care if they lived or die. But let me start from the beginning.

Will Rhodes, the main character in The Travelers is a travel writer whose life on the outside looks perfect and all-American. To many this would be relationship goals but behind the façade it’s pretty much boring with a seemingly crumbling marriage that’s hanging on by the thread. So like any man going through a mid-life crisis, Will hops on the opportunity of a lifetime because some hot sexy, beautiful woman gives him an out.

Like with all too good to be true things, Will suddenly finds himself in the middle of espionage and intrigued. Too bad it didn’t keep me interested. I was hoping for a Mr. and Mrs. Smith type vibe while reading but it never picked up for me. While the concept sounded great this book certainly lacked in execution. I mean an average Joe turned spy is a damn great idea. I’m just sad I didn’t enjoy this read the way the author intended for me to.

Still if quasi-spy thrillers are your thing I highly recommend The Travelers. I’m obviously in the minority with this book because many have enjoyed it.

I received this from Blogging for Books for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Will Rhodes writes for a travel magazine called The Travelers, having been hired by a newly promoted editor after the former editor mysteriously disappeared. Will’s job is to travel to interesting places, eat good food, and stay up late drinking with strangers. Nice work if you can get it, but he’s burdened with debt, his wife is cranky about his unavailability, and his fidelity is tested by a gorgeous Australian he meets on a trip to France.

While in France, Will stumbles across someone who doesn’t want to be found, setting the plot in motion. We also see glimpses of a nondescript office full of nondescript employees who monitor the movements of designated individuals, Will among them. And we see Will’s boss disappearing into a secret room, so we know he’s something more than a travel editor.

In fact, every key character is living with secrets. Even Will, eventually. The fact that so many interrelated characters are not who they appear to be is improbable, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief because the improbable lives all contribute to the story’s entertainment value. Guessing the exact nature of those secrets, and whether various characters are working at cross-purposes, is part of the fun. Distinguishing good guys from bad guys is no easy task, thanks to a well-designed plot that manages to be intricate without becoming convoluted.

Originality is the story’s strongest asset. I can’t recall reading another spy novel that has a plot quite like this one. Will’s personality is developed with reasonable care, and while there is less fullness to the other characters, they at least come across as real people. Chris Pavone’s prose is better-than-average, the story moves with a good pace, and the atmosphere in the story’s various settings is convincing.

'The Travelers' by Chris Pavone, is probably the least enjoyable book I have read in a very long time. First of all the story lacks credibility. The idea caught me, and I was hoping for a great spy mystery. However half way through the book, of tedious page turning, I realized that this was just going to be one I had to finish in order to review. I picked up at least 10 other stories in this time frame to give me a 'break' from the intense crazy of this plot. An overabundance of characters, and individual story lines, who chop and change, you don't know where you are at any given time. Some authors manage to do this well, however here although Will is the main character here, I lost track of so much that was going on as I read. I thought the concept of a travel writer being able to slip anonymously undercover quite brilliant, however from Will's lack of trustworthiness. I didn't understand also why a magazine, albeit a high profile one would have the seemingly unlimited funds to pay the kind of money it is to wine and dine its employees overseas, and then yes, the reality comes in as Malcolm reveals the truth to the financial woes in this 'internet news' day and age. It takes a long time for that to be acknowledged. The whole idea of the blackmail wasn't credible for me either, I doubt that someone would actually risk what Will goes into out of a misguided idea that a few hours on indiscretion revealed to his wife would be the end of his world. If they had a rock solid relationship that was believable I think I would understand what he is trying to protect. I saw no evidence there was anything of any substance 'to' protect. It just fell flat for me. No understanding of all the little events going on, barely scraping at the surface. There was a huge lost potential in my opinion to delve deep and give the readers a nail biting mystery! Reading this was a chore and I will not pick up another book by this author.

I read and honestly reviewed this book in return for a copy from 'Blogging for Books'.

Review:
The Travelers by Chris Pavone is a suspenseful spy thriller. The author has created a tangled web of deceit and intrigue in which it is frequently hard to figure out who is the spider and who is the fly.

The intriguing story covers the globe from New York to Argentina to Capri to Iceland with many more stops along the way. The well-paced plot is about a spy ring or two, one of which may or may not be sanctioned by a government. I loved the premise of a travel magazine being the cover for a spy ring. It’s a clever and realistic idea. The Travelers reminded me of old television programs like Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy and Mission Impossible.

The story is told in short chapter bursts that quickly transition from one character and scene to another. Some of the characters, such as Will and Malcom, are fairly well developed and their part in the story is clearly established, while other characters remain nameless and mysterious in their initial scenes. This does add to the intrigue and suspense. Some of those enigmatic characters are not too hard to figure out, and others’ motives are never fully explained.

There were times I thought Pavone put in too much detail and other times where I was left lost in one of the story lines. By the end, Pavone pulls the various threads together, and the main character, Will, becomes less of a dupe. The tension builds to an explosive culmination where all is revealed to Will and the reader. The Travelers is a fun escape for anyone but especially for conspiracy theory fans.

Meet Will Rhodes – he’s living the dream as a journalist for the travel magazine Travelers, venturing to far-off places, being plied with free food and wine at exclusive restaurants, rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful. So what if the pay isn’t great and he’s deeply in debt, that he and his wife hardly see one another, he’s made it, right?

One night, in Argentina on an assignment, Will finds himself seduced by a beautiful blonde and pulled unwillingly into the world of international intrigue. Blackmailed into working for the blonde CIA agent (whoops), Will is forced to use his position as world traveler and professional schmoozer to gather intelligence on foreign nationals and American expats. As he gets pulled deeper and deeper down into the cesspool of espionage, it becomes clear the the web around him touches almost every aspect of his professional and personal life. Who can be trusted when everyone you know may be lying to you?

The cover text calls this book “Hitchcockian,” and they’re not far wrong. For the younger reader, I’d say this book trends somewhere between the television shows Alias and Archer. Pavine is great at keeping the tension going, the reader is fed just enough tidbits about the machinations going on in the background to foster a sense of paranoia about each and every character, and each and every interaction. At the same time, the tone of the book is darkly sarcastic and humorous, both eerily plausible and unexpectedly funny. The story does drag on in places, tightening up of a few things would have brought about a more streamlined book, but in all, this is an entertaining and fast-paced read.

I’d recommend this to fans of action movies and international thrillers. If you like your James Bond to include just a hint of Sterling Archer, this may be the book for you.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

The Travelers by Chris Pavone is a highly recommended twisty espionage/spy laced plot that is one big adrenaline rush.

Will Rhodes is a travel writer for a well-known, long established magazine, Travelers. He is recently married to Chloe, who used to write for Travelers, and they are trying to fix up a dilapidated house that they inherited from her father. From all appearances they are like many other struggling young couples - with the exception of Will's job that sends him traveling all over the world.

During one assignment he meets a gorgeous woman, Elle, who claims to be a travel writer from Australia. She seduces him and, despite his protests that he is a married man, he succumbs to her wiles. Bad choice. Elle goes on to use his infidelity as a way to recruit him to do some undercover espionage work for her. She claims she's with the CIA and he was a purposeful choice because: "You travel around the world, in and out of embassies and palaces and exclusive events, with press credentials. With the impunity that comes from an ironclad legend. How many people in the world have similar access and cover, do you think? A couple dozen?"

Will's assignments become increasingly fraught with danger and he's struggling with the lies he is telling Chloe, as well as his boss, Malcolm Somers. But Malcolm and Chloe seem to have a few secrets of their own. Additionally, surprise surprise, it doesn't appear that Elle is being totally honest with Will.

Pavone provides plenty of incentive to keep flipping the pages in this fast-paced, action-packed thriller. There are enough twists and turns and globe-trotting to keep you glued to the pages to see what happens next. Of course, you may wonder, as I did, why Will seemed to be so thick-headed and missed the clues that were right in front of him. This is another novel about secrets wrapped up in secrets, like the much loved Expats (which I liked better than The Travelers in a book-to-book comparison).

The plot is complex and there are several characters you'll need to follow at the beginning. I'd suggest just going with the flow and things will become clear later on - but then other things will become more complex. Pavone does an excellent job setting up the plot and moving this novel along at a furious but smooth pace. The quality of the writing is great There are parts where you will need to suspend disbelief and, honestly, you may not like any of the characters in The Travelers, but it will provide exhilarating escapism with enough twists and reveals to keep you glued to the pages.

This is a perfect stuck-over-night-at-the-airport book, but you will find yourself keeping an eye on your fellow travelers.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House for review purposes.

[...]

Traveling and experiencing what the world has to offer. It's a lovely prospect, which can be either more or less enjoyable when it's part of your job, depending on what you do and your perspective. In Chris Pavone's The Travelers, writing for a travel magazine is a little more complicated than it might seem on the surface.

Will Rhodes writes for a magazine called Travelers and gets to travel around the world to gather information, experiences, and photos for his articles. During his travels, he meets a beautiful woman who causes him to compromise the fidelity of his marriage, spurring him into action to keep a secret larger than simply being unfaithful to his wife. Secrets build as Will continues to travel for the magazine and gather intelligence on the people he's already meeting for work, at the request of a woman who he thinks might be working for the CIA. Getting drawn into a larger plot of international intrigue, Will's choices determine the outcomes of many people's lives.

While there's undoubtedly an intricacy in writing a complex and compelling spy story, I found it rather frustrating to have the concept of spying so obliquely hinted at - to the point that it was blatantly obvious - throughout the narrative but not having it confirmed until the very end. There were a lot of various smaller story lines that worked toward the climax of the larger story, but it was a lot to juggle the various interludes of seemingly lesser important people; the execution of such an intricate matter of multiple people's stories was lacking in its suspenseful finesse and had me waiting for the ultimate point to be made instead of thoroughly being immersed in and enjoying the story.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

The Travelers by Chris Pavone is a highly recommended twisty espionage/spy laced plot that is one big adrenaline rush.

Will Rhodes is a travel writer for a well-known, long established magazine, Travelers. He is recently married to Chloe, who used to write for Travelers, and they are trying to fix up a dilapidated house that they inherited from her father. From all appearances they are like many other struggling young couples - with the exception of Will's job that sends him traveling all over the world.

During one assignment he meets a gorgeous woman, Elle, who claims to be a travel writer from Australia. She seduces him and, despite his protests that he is a married man, he succumbs to her wiles. Bad choice. Elle goes on to use his infidelity as a way to recruit him to do some undercover espionage work for her. She claims she's with the CIA and he was a purposeful choice because: "You travel around the world, in and out of embassies and palaces and exclusive events, with press credentials. With the impunity that comes from an ironclad legend. How many people in the world have similar access and cover, do you think? A couple dozen?"

Will's assignments become increasingly fraught with danger and he's struggling with the lies he is telling Chloe, as well as his boss, Malcolm Somers. But Malcolm and Chloe seem to have a few secrets of their own. Additionally, surprise surprise, it doesn't appear that Elle is being totally honest with Will.

Pavone provides plenty of incentive to keep flipping the pages in this fast-paced, action-packed thriller. There are enough twists and turns and globe-trotting to keep you glued to the pages to see what happens next. Of course, you may wonder, as I did, why Will seemed to be so thick-headed and missed the clues that were right in front of him. This is another novel about secrets wrapped up in secrets, like the much loved Expats (which I liked better than The Travelers in a book-to-book comparison).

The plot is complex and there are several characters you'll need to follow at the beginning. I'd suggest just going with the flow and things will become clear later on - but then other things will become more complex. Pavone does an excellent job setting up the plot and moving this novel along at a furious but smooth pace. The quality of the writing is great There are parts where you will need to suspend disbelief and, honestly, you may not like any of the characters in The Travelers, but it will provide exhilarating escapism with enough twists and reveals to keep you glued to the pages.

This is a perfect stuck-over-night-at-the-airport book, but you will find yourself keeping an eye on your fellow travelers.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House for review purposes.

[...]

Will Rhodes is a travel writer who has really been ramping up the travel part lately. His wife used to work for the same magazine that he does, but to limit competition between them, she left to be an editor at another magazine. They move through the motions of marriage, but since they haven’t been able to get pregnant, things have started to dissolve lately and Will is not sure why. When he is at a conference in Europe, he meets a young Australian freelance writer who really hits it off with him. He is very drawn to her, but manages to stay faithful to his wife. Later while in South America, he meets her again and things end up going a little too far. Only then does Will realize that he has been played. The young woman is actually an American secret agent who is now using their videoed affair as blackmail to recruit him into the CIA. After all, he already has the perfect cover to move around without arising suspicions. But can Will actually do this? Is it worth it for his marriage? And is it really legit?

This seemed like a really interesting concept story. A travel writer turned into a spy sounds like a great idea. I mean, sure it’s been done before, but a good story is just that, a good story. Unfortunately, that is not how this one felt. The story was very disjointed in my opinion and just never really got traction. The prologue hooked me in, but then it was just like the line couldn’t reel me in. There were a lot of characters to set up and you spend half your reading time trying to figure out who this is referring to, maybe it’s her, maybe it’s him, maybe it’s someone who hasn’t even been introduced yet. Which got a little frustrating overall, but it is what it is. There was also a lot of strong language throughout the book which could have been handled a lot differently. Should you decide to read it, I would recommend it for mature audiences.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Traveling and experiencing what the world has to offer. It's a lovely prospect, which can be either more or less enjoyable when it's part of your job, depending on what you do and your perspective. In Chris Pavone's The Travelers, writing for a travel magazine is a little more complicated than it might seem on the surface.

Will Rhodes writes for a magazine called Travelers and gets to travel around the world to gather information, experiences, and photos for his articles. During his travels, he meets a beautiful woman who causes him to compromise the fidelity of his marriage, spurring him into action to keep a secret larger than simply being unfaithful to his wife. Secrets build as Will continues to travel for the magazine and gather intelligence on the people he's already meeting for work, at the request of a woman who he thinks might be working for the CIA. Getting drawn into a larger plot of international intrigue, Will's choices determine the outcomes of many people's lives.

While there's undoubtedly an intricacy in writing a complex and compelling spy story, I found it rather frustrating to have the concept of spying so obliquely hinted at - to the point that it was blatantly obvious - throughout the narrative but not having it confirmed until the very end. There were a lot of various smaller story lines that worked toward the climax of the larger story, but it was a lot to juggle the various interludes of seemingly lesser important people; the execution of such an intricate matter of multiple people's stories was lacking in its suspenseful finesse and had me waiting for the ultimate point to be made instead of thoroughly being immersed in and enjoying the story.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

I definitely recommend this book but with a cautionary note. Do not imbibe any stimulants before or during the act of reading this book. You definitely won't need any.

When I see the name Chris Pavone, I know that I am in for one heck of a journey and this one did not disappoint. I did keep getting confused with all the characters at the beginning. I'm not sure if it was just me since I didn't read it all in one sitting or what. However, once I did get to sit and read it without distraction, I still got a little confused. But once I figured out who was who, I was off to the races.

I feel The Accident was just a touch better, but that by no means belittles this book. This one was a great read, but I had a good idea of one of the killers way too early in the book. Of course, I didn't know for sure, so I kept on reading. You never know, I could be wrong. There were still lots of questions in my mind and I needed them answered. I found it was still a great read with a huge WHAT??? ending. Now that, I did not see coming. It was definitely a mind blower.

Thanks to Crown Publishing for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Domestic Espionage. I haven’t seen the show, but, I imagine that Chris Pavone must be a fan of The Americans which, based on the references I have come across, is highly regarded as an intelligent niche show. Presuming the artistic integrity of The Americans, The Travelers is a watered-down version of Pavone’s favorite binge show. The story starts out with some promise, when the main character, Will Rhodes, wakes up to a stranger in his room, after a guilt-ridden assignation with a beautiful woman in Argentina. Upon fleeing his luxe hotel, Rhodes is surprised to be knocked cold by the same beautiful woman. After the initial entree, the novel’s slog begins. Even well done espionage requires the reader abandon some credibility, to escape into the story. However, The Travelers abandons all credibility. The most egregious example is that none of the characters seem to know each other. I accept the concept "do we really know each other" is of the purported themes of the book, but, the characters don’t seem to know each other on even the most superficial level. When one spouse has spent their entire adult life living a second life employed by a shadowy international network, that same spouse may pick up on the other’s spouse’s recruitment by another shadowy international network. For me, the main failed conceit is none of the characters, even the married ones and best friends, operate not only like they have only the most shallow of relationships, but as if they have never previously met. Without the establishment of those relationships, the larger conceits are difficult to follow, and more difficult to believe. Often times, the novel devolves into expository dialogue, where the characters are explaining to each other what they are doing in the plot, why they are doing the things they are doing, while exploring what their motivations may be. Although there are some exotic international locales, I did not find a flavor for any of them. After the first 100 pages, it was challenge to get through. I was disappointed. I thought Pavone’s Expats looked promising, but will likely let some distance grow before trying that one.

The Travelers by Chris Pavone is the third book of his, the previous two being The Accident and The Expats, each exception books and The Travelers easily met my high expectations for Pavone’s work as a suspense/spy/thriller writer. The Travelers is fast paced, well thought out, with diverse characters as well as being fabulously descriptive. Pavone’s books are all different, so there is no correct order I which to read them in. The Travelers grabs the reader from the beginning and adds a lot more twists and turns than his previous works. This is my favorite of his books thus far, however I do adore spy thrillers and Pavone is quite a master when it comes to creating complex stories with a lot of characters. The main character, Will Rhodes, is on assignment abroad for the magazine he works for, when one bad decision leads to Will’s becoming a rather reluctant spy. There is so much to write about this story, however, the synopsis, in my opinion, gives too much away and I want readers to be surprised and enjoy the twists and turns the book takes. For fans of spy thrillers with complex storylines and characters, The Travelers may be the book for you. I cannot wait for Pavone’s next book.

This was an interesting book. I thought that the characters were complex and the relationships were complicated by lies, some long term and some short term. The plot moved along briskly and most of the threads were resolved, with one left open for another book. It was not a cliffhanger ending.
Characters:
Will Rhodes, a travel magazine writer, who is living in a half finished house missing doors and some walls, because he wants everything to be perfect. He is in debt and cannot afford perfect. He and his wife, Chloe, are growing apart.
Chloe has what seems like a minor role in the beginning, but becomes more important as the plot proceeds.
Malcom Taylor, Will's boss and a key person in the conspiracy that Will is drawn into.
Elle, a mercenary spy who seduces Will. She and her boss have video of Will having sex with her. She gives Will a choice: Do what we ask, or your wife finds out.
There are other players who interact and Will is torn between two groups, both of whom claim to be CIA.
I enjoyed reading it and recommend it if you like spy novels. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I received this book from LibraryThing.

The travelers was my first read for Chris Pavone. I’ve been hearing a lot about his books especially The Expats. It was when I read Stephen King’s praise for his book, The Expats, that I was very intrigued to start reading for him. When I found that Chris Pavone had a new book on NetGalley, The Travelers, I was very excited to request it and started reading it once I received it.
In The Travelers, you find yourself in the middle of a very high paced international espionage thriller. The book has a very good start that got me at the edge of my seat. As I read further, Will Rhodes, the main character of the thriller is a travel writer for Travelers magazine. What starts as a simple work assignment in Argentina gets him entangled in a web of breath taking events. No one can be trusted and nothing is as simple as it looks. As I don’t want to spoil the plot for you, I will not be revealing anything as you have to read it yourself.
To start with, I have to admit this is a good book. So why the 3 stars? As good as it is, the book wasn’t for me. I couldn’t really enjoy the book and get immersed. I thought if I read further I will get immersed. However, the further I read the more I got distracted and confused by the characters. Too many characters. So many times I had to go back and look up some names and some events. Thanks to kindle this mission was much easier as I could use the search option! But really, the characters were so many that I lost track. I felt like I was an intruder spying on the characters and trying to know things that were supposed to be unknown or something! Being me, the girl who never leaves a book unfinished, I had to stick till the end.
However, that said, I would still love to read more books by Chris Pavone especially The Expat. The Expat has been highly praised by Stephen King. It has also got very good reviews. As a fan of Stephen King, I trust his choices. So, I will give it another try.
Finally, if you are into pulse-racing espionage thrillers, you will enjoy this book.

** Special thanks to NetGalley & Crown Publishing for supplying my copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. **

Will Rhodes is a travel writer who has circled the globe. Financially, he barely stays afloat, and it’s one of the many strains on his young marriage. That strain, and an exotic foreign landscape, make it easy to accept an offer from a gorgeous woman, but that irresistible offer becomes another that he can’t refuse, and his bad choices pull him into a dangerous world of spies and conspiracy.

The Travelers is marketed as a suspense/thriller, but I have to be honest, I didn’t finish. The prologue started out well enough, with both thrills and suspense, but as the book begins, we go back in time a bit to see how Will got to that point, and it is extremely slow-going.

It’s not that the writing is bad. Pavone is a very good writer. I think my biggest issue with the novel is there was far too much description and detail. For example, there is a detailed description of a man walking down the street. I found no use in this. There are also several short sections where we see minor characters doing work in detail that probably didn’t need to be told to the reader.

At some points, I enjoyed the extra detail. There is one description in particular where Pavone makes a reference to describe how a woman looks with her shopping bags. I smiled at it. It was very vivid, if you know the reference, but that woman was a complete throw-away character. She was there to set a scene, in a way.

Which leads me to the main character, and other major characters. Basically, I didn’t like them. I couldn’t connect with them on any level. Maybe I could have pushed on if I cared about Will, but I didn’t.

This one just wasn’t for me.

Warnings: harsh language and sexual content

I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

There are a lot of characters doing nefarious or apparently nefarious things in this book. I spent much of the book going, is s/he CIA? Is X a mercenary intelligence-gathering operation? Wait, is it the other way around? Or maybe they’re all isolated CIA groups that don’t realize each other is also CIA? Or hey, maybe there are like five different intelligence groups all tripping over each other? Later in the book I was leaning pretty hard on that last possibility, so it is neat to eventually find out who’s who. The twists and turns are dizzying. I did start to feel like the entire population was composed of agents, assets, and case officers, but I think it worked out well enough.

I love Will Rhodes as a character. He’s flawed (see also that whole thing about allowing Elle to seduce him, married man that he is) and he isn’t always likable. He starts out shallow, but the craziness he gets plunged into quickly forces him to re-evaluate himself and change, in some pretty fascinating ways. I also like the relationship between Will and his friend Malcolm. They play off of each other extremely well, making it obvious why they’re friends and enjoy working together. All of the major characterizations had depth, reasons to dislike and like them, etc. Early on it seems like there are a surprising number of people taking an interest in Will, but it does make sense later.

There are great details about how espionage messes with your life. The level of detail is fantastic. There are a few little details that didn’t work. After Will runs off to chase someone down, he calls his wife from a pay phone. Yet somehow Will doesn’t realize that, since he’s in a very low-population place, he just made it extremely easy for someone to track him down. He should have known that; it didn’t make sense for him to forget.

I enjoyed all the crazy ins and outs and ups and downs of this espionage thriller. It isn’t my favorite genre, but I had fun with it.

NOTE: Review book provided free by publisher for review

The Travelers is an incredible novel and most certainly the thriller of the year. This is the third novel by Chris Pavone and his best of incredibly well-written stories of Internationalists that roam this world. They might be business executives, journalists, NGOs or government especially those government employees in the shadows.

In The Travelers the Internationalist is a journalist, Will Rhodes, a travel writer for Travelers Magazine, a magazine whose 70+ years of existence has brought readers stories of places they might want to visit, of people of various cultures, and importantly the food and drink stories which always attract the gourmands.

Chris is sent to France to cover a winemaker’s dinner at a chateau in St-Emilion. This is a beautiful event with numerous dignitaries and some other journalists. When Will is seated, he in pleased to have been placed next the attractive and charming Elle Hardwick, who says she is an Australian journalist for Australian Adventurer magazine.

The fine wines continue to flow and Elle continues to flirt with Will. The trouble, however, is that Will has a wife, Chloe, who is back at their home in New York. A return to their rooms results in a kiss and leads to the point of no return. Will, however, yields to temptation and returns by himself back to his room.

I can’t tell anymore of the story as there are 433 wonderful pages awaiting those that have not read this book. This is a story of intrigue where all that seems normal is not. It becomes a thriller as the momentum builds with surprises after surprises. It takes the reader into cities and locations of splendor and danger. Oh yes, there is danger and blood that is shed.

For my fellow Internationalists reading this short review, it is a must read. And for those of you that enjoy adventure, mystery, suspense, political espionage in a well written novel, well this is exactly what you are looking for.

Chris Pavone's " The Travelers" is a very good novel about the shady , dangerous world of espionage. His "The Expats" was an entertaining and different story, followed by a book that was not so good, as evidenced by the fact that I have forgotten the title. But with "The Travelers" he has given us an entertaining story with a tight, devious plot and complex, human characters.

The plot, briefly, involves Will Rhodes who worksfor a Tavel magazine , " Traveler". Rhodes travels world-wide, putting together local vignettes of au courant destinations for readers looking for new , vibrant and undiscovered venues. He writes about the quaint b-and- b on an Pampas sheep ranches or the hidden gem of of a vineyard run by a world- class chef, etc. He also in the course of his travels, delivers sealed envelopes to branch offices. Why? Because his boss does it the way it always has been done and likes it that way.
Though he is happily married , more or less, he allows himself to be seduced by a beautiful woman travel writer from Australia...except none of her persona is real. She is actually an agent for some other mysterious organization. Work for us, she demands , or you wife finds out of our affair. Work for us and you are safe , plus we will pay you $10,000 a month in addition as a sweetener. From this point onwards, Will Rhodes' life spirals outward and downward. His life, his wife, his safety, even almost his sanity grows out of control.
So many questions. Who is the woman controlling him? Why choose him ? Is the "Travellers " magazine just a magazine, or something else ? How does his boss afford to live in luxury on his salary? If he is just a messenger boy, why are people trying to kill him?
Mr. Pavone handles all this with skillful aplomb. The plot is intricate, but not unbelievable. He does a super job of portraying , or rather, eviscerating the life-style of the upper class with their food and drink fetishes, quiet indiscretions and frail egos. The author must have first-hand knowledge of the locations of the book to describe them so well. And he seems to have some idea the the mechanics of the spy biz.
What he does not do is fill up the book with spy jargon. No breathless descriptions on microsize super Ghz transceivers or weapon porn with paragraphs about comparisons of this or that pistol or sniper rifle and the damage they can do.
The damage done in this book is all about what lying does to people and to the people they love. It is quite worth the reading.
Warnings for those with tender sensibilities: a few mild sex scenes; some violence, especially at the gripping climax.

“The Travelers” by Chris Pavone follows Will Rhodes, a middle-aged travel magazine writer for the journal called “the Travelers,”—spending his time traveling abroad for research purposes, and trying to stay in a marriage that seems to be falling apart. Enter Elle Hardwick—an attractive Australian freelance journalist that Will falls for while on assignment in France, and ends up having a fling with. Only Elle isn’t who she seems. Events are happening at his magazine that he has no knowledge of. And he is blackmailed into working for the CIA, using his career as a travel writer as cover. As Will travels across different countries and ex-pats (different versions of individuals referred to as “the American”) keep popping up, nothing is as it seems. Meanwhile, his boss Malcolm has something up his sleeve in New York.

Overall, I thought it was an interesting read. I enjoy stories set in different countries, and this one had a lot of traveling in it. I also enjoy reading about espionage, and it was a major theme in this storyline as well. The narrative jumps around a lot between Will and all the different characters, rather than staying only on Will, which made it sometimes hard to keep track of everything happening, but I thought it worked well for this particular story. The main character Will, is also sympathetic because he is modeled on an average, middle-aged person (rather than a professional) who seeks some excitement in life but instead ends up in circumstances way above his head, without knowing how he can get out of them. Overall, I thought this was an engaging read.

Chris Pavone's first novel "The Expats" set the stage for his second, and now his third book. The stories involve Americans whose working lives in some way involve residing or traveling overseas. Will Rhodes who is recently married, somewhat insolvent gets a job as a travel writer for the prestigious magazine "The Traveler."
His work is to travel all over the world and write attractive articles about the food in different areas he visits in order to attract a well to do clientele that subscribe to the magazine and are also probable clients for a series of travel agencies that have been set up by the publication.
One night he meets a woman in the wine country of Argentina that attracts him and in spite of his being married starts an affair with him. It seems that she wants to entrap him via a blackmail scheme into accepting an offer he can't refuse. At her orders he travels all over Europe from France to Ireland onto a mega yacht and to an isolated cabin on the rugged cliffs of Iceland. Will is drawn further and further into a web of intrigue with connections to a gigantic global conspiracy.
The people closest to him including his new wife all seem to be involved in the conspiracy Will finds himself immersed in and may prove to be the greatest threats to him. The ending is not telegraphed but becomes the only weak area in a novel that is compelling. It would almost appear as if Mr Pavone just came to a point that he thought would be a logical ending and he proceeded to do just that - end it.

THE TRAVELERS by Chris Pavone is about Will Rhodes, a successful travel writer who writes for the premier travel magazine, Travelers, who is searching meaning outside of his job. Well he finds it, in the espionage business. Pavone takes the reader all over the world, from London, to Paris, to Argentina, to Iceland, in a high stakes thriller where most people that are stumbled upon are more than they appear to be.
I was drawn into the premise of a travel writer being attractive to those in the spy network. It's a hook that carried me well into the first part of the book. Pavone aptly describes the international destinations our main character, Will, travels to, and I found those places exciting enough a couple of times that I wanted to research them as dream vacation spots for myself. The characters along the way were interesting and fun to meet, particularly Will's boss, Malcolm, who is the pinnacle of there is more to the man than meets the eye.
I found the story in the middle got a little bogged down, I found myself yearning to get moving with the story. About 2/3rds through, the story picked up, with a good build of more and more suspense, and the ending had a good balance of a few twists and still some pleasing predictability.
I would definitely read another Chris Pavone book and those who enjoy spy thrillers will enjoy this one.
Thanks to Crown Publishing, Chris Pavone, and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Fast paced and with twists and turns in the plot, The Travelers is difficult to put down once started. Will Rhodes has the enviable life of being a travel correspondent for the famous magazine, Travelers. His work takes him to Paris, Dublin, Buenos Ares and to cruises on mega yachts, wine tastings in castles and other beautiful places so that he can write about his experiences so that the magazine can sell the idea of what it is like to go on these adventures to its readers. But then a mistake is made and Will's world is turned upside down. What is right is no longer so clear as Will tries to escape from the rabbit hole he finds himself descending.

Chris Pavone has created a page turning thriller full of deceit, spies and deception. And the story seems possible without requiring too many leaps of imagination on the part of the reader other than in the case of some of the decisions that some of the characters make. Will is a flawed, but likeable character who the author develops through the course of the book. There is also some development with some of the other characters, but the development seems to be more to expand Will's story than to promote the other characters.

The story ends with the possibility of the story continuing in another book. I am looking forward to reading the sequel if there is one as well as more by Chris Pavone.

Starts slow but keep going. The characters are cold, no one is who she or he seem to be, except our hapless and naive and at times not very likable or admirable, hero. Poor Will, he really has to keep his wits about him to keep up with the temptress and cunning, Elle, and with his own wife, Chloe.

Many intriguing locations: New York, Paris, Bordeaux, Iceland, the Mediterranean, Stockholm, Dublin and ultimately Scarborough (lol!).

Minimal violence which is a plus for me. The character hopping adds to the suspense because you are always guessing who is legit.

Very craftily crafted with loose links scattered over pages in short sections that let the reader follow each character and watch the chain unfurl.

Accessible. The ending is as expected, a bit trite, a bit romantic and left me perfectly content.

FYI - you can read an excerpt right now at the author's website.

I had been wanting to read Chris Pavone’s novels since the Ex Pat came out. For whatever reason I never did manage to make time for his previous two novels before this one, The Travelers, ended up in the house. I like a thriller, I like espionage and mystery but The Travelers just didn’t do it for me. Maybe it was the main character. I couldn’t emphasize with Will, I couldn’t get in his corner.

Will Rhodes has a very cool job – he’s a travel writer. While he’s working in Argentina he somehow manages to screw up his life by cheating on his wife and then getting blackmailed by the CIA. If he doesn’t do as asked, his wife will know he’s not the ideal husband. Somehow, I think she’s already on track there and would be better off without him anyway. With that information hanging over his head he proceeds to travel around Europe doing what he is told in hopes his life will return to a somewhat normal semblance.

The character is well developed, so well that I could imagine him as a real person and therefore, dislike him. I don’t want to give spoilers but let me say that if / or when Will died, that would be fine with me. See….you can still read this book and not know what happens to the main character. I’m not a spoiler, hate that!

There was quite a bit of action and I know it will sound strange that I would like to read his previous books after this one but yeah….I read good things about The ExPats and The Accident so, I would give this author a try again. As for recommending this book, I just can’t. I’ve already abandoned in the breakroom at work as I don’t need to hang on to this one.

*I won a copy of this book from LibraryThing. All opinions are my own.

Crown Publishing and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Travelers, in exchange for an honest review.

Will Rhodes is a world traveling journalist, working for Travelers Magazine. Specializing in writing about regional vistas and cuisine, he is frequently on the road and away from his wife. A chance meeting changes his life and Will is forced into the world of espionage. Inexperienced and unskilled, Will attracts the wrong kind of attention and places his life in jeopardy. With the situation out of his control, is there anyone who Will can count on?

I am a big fan of thrillers - throw in a little spy action and I cannot put the book down. Since the suspense is the best thing about thrillers in general, I do not want to say too much in this review. With a fast paced plot and well developed characters, The Travelers kept my interest from the first page until the last. With an ending open to possibilities, I would love to see another book featuring Will Rhodes. A likeable character who is intelligent and can make split second decisions, Will is definitely worth getting to know further. I recommend The Travelers to readers who enjoy suspense thrillers with a little espionage thrown in for good measure.

The newest book from New York Times bestselling author, The Travelers by Chris Pavone is a fast pace international spy thriller. Will Rhodes is like most Americans -- newly married at a job where he can barely make ends meet. As each day passes, Will contemplates his life, did he marry the right woman and should he switch career paths? On one of his assignments, he becomes entrance with a fellow travel writer and finds it hard to stop thinking about her. After a series of bad decisions, Will is thrown into one dangerous situation after another. It becomes very clear that he can't trust anyone and everyone has a secret they are willing to kill for.

While, the book was a page turner; I found some parts to be boring. The characters were realistic and fully developed but I can't say I was rooting for any of them. Almost half way thorough the book, you start to realize where the book is handing and the plot becomes predictable. A good read if you are a fan of the genre/author but I wouldn't see myself rereading this book again.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book for my honest opinion**

I wish to thank LibraryThing for the opportunity of receiving an Advance Reader's Copy of this book. I ordinarily do not read international spy thriller type books, so needless to say I was more than pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The pace of the story reminded me of a train. It started a little slow as the cast of characters were being set up; then, like the train it started getting faster and faster until by the end it was barreling down the track at breakneck speed. Throughout the whole story you do not know who anybody really is. You do not know the bad guys from the good guys. The only character that you know for certain to be a good guy is the star, Will Rhodes, and he is running for his life from everybody. Just like Will, you just do not know who is who. This was a excellent thriller, full of lots of suspense. The story was brilliantly written by author Chris Pavone, with fleshed out characters, lots of twists and turns, and lots of adventures that take place all over the world. I certainly will read more by this talented author.

Will Rhodes is a travel journalist for the magazine Travelers. His wife Chloe used to work for the same company but has changed jobs. Their home is a money pit and they are unsuccessful in trying to have a child. While on assignment, he is almost seduced by a beautiful Australian journalist but stops himself. When she appears again, this time in Argentina, he succumbs and is then blackmailed by her and an associate to work for the CIA. He is reluctant at first but doesn't want to ruin his marriage and he needs the money. And since he only as to track down Americans living abroad and interview them, it didn't seem so difficult. But soon communication between he and Chloe breaks down and he begins to wonder if he is truly working for the CIA. This is a fast paced cat and mouse thriller, where the characters are fully developed and it had me wondering who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. As the story goes from country to country and the climatic ending in Iceland, I can say it a very good read.

Will Rhodes is a journalist who works for a travel magazine, named "Travelers". His job involves travelling to various exotic destinations, interviewing locals, attending wine tastings. On assignment in Argentina he meets Elle, an attractive Australian woman, also a travel journalist. Will is happily married but he is also strongly attracted to Elle. However Elle has her own reasons for targeting Will and before long he will be drawn into a complicated double life. What he doesn't know - but will gradually realise - is that almost everyone he knows is also concealing secrets of their own.

This is a cleverly constructed book. It gives you tantalising glimpses of a bigger picture, but keeps you guessing about what's really going on and how it's all going to come together. It moves along at a good pace, taking us from New York to Argentina, Capri to Iceland, Ireland to Paris. It feels almost like a remake of The Bourne Identity, directed by Hitchcock. It's smart and clever and fun.

The Travelers was intense; and even that is an understatement. Throughout the whole book there were layers upon layers of deception, secrets, and lies. Each chapter was more exciting than the last, making it harder and harder to put the book down.

The tense of the writing is one I have not come across before. It's written as if all the events in the book are happening in real time. It took a while to get used to, but after the first couple chapters I stopped noticing.

One thing I loved about The Travelers is how perfectly it was planned out. There was so much happening to so many people in a single moment, yet I had no problems following the story line. It was incredibly written as well; only revealing the necessary information and hinting at facts not yet discovered.

Although it took a while to get into, The Travelers was a great read. It was enthralling and exciting; keeping me on the edge of my seat for its entirety.

I don’t usually gravitate towards spy novels, however, I must admit I was extremely curious to read this book after the buzz I had heard about Chris Pavone’s debut novel The Expats. I’m glad a took a chance and stepped outside my “safety zone” and ventured into the uncharted territory of this genre. I’m going to start by saying what worked for me about this novel, and pretty much everything did. I loved the plot! First and foremost. It was fast-paced and intriguing. The story just flows very naturally. It is intense and a lot of action happens on every page, so you are hardly able to put the book down.The characters were interesting and engaging. I didn’t particularly care for the character of Will, but not by any fault of the author. The book is suspenseful and the ending is not a huge surprise, but all the action in the book more than make-up for it. 5-stars! I highly recommend it.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

The literary equivalent of a jam band. One of those bluesy rock bands that think they’re musical geniuses and that the audience will be thrilled to get an insight into their artistic process. In reality the jam is self-indulgent, goes off on meaningless tangents, never completely comes together, goes on for far too long and has an anti-climactic ending. The Travelers was all of those things in written form.

The Travelers is overly plotted and somehow makes a story about international travel, espionage and clandestine government agencies tedious and clunky. Plotting down to the smallest detail comes off as pretentious, like being told how much smarter and more thoughtful the author is than the rest of us. Really it just showed that you can jump around in time and place, have multiple subplots and still telegraph where the story is going.

All that plot and the main characters are just blah. Neither likable nor particularly unlikable. Perhaps that’s the author’s intent, like a real life spy the characters should not make impressions, should blend into the scenery rather than stand out. If so, well done…boring but well done.

Thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing and the author who provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Chris Pavone has already had big success with his first two novels, THE EXPATS and THE ACCIDENT. His latest effort, THE TRAVELERS, follows the same suspense/thriller formula and is a satisfying read.

This one has an international flair as it features a writer for a travel magazine who becomes ensnarled in a web of international intrigue that takes him across Europe and parts of South America. Drawn into a world of underworld espionage seems to be the only way out for Will Rhodes and it is fun to see a seemingly regular guy turned into an international spy.