The Secret Soldier (John Wells Series Book 5)

The Secret Soldier is a excellent read. It keeps your interest until you can't put it down. It came in a timely manner and just as advertised. Definetly a keeper. I will and have ordered more of Alex Berenson.

John Wells, who has resigned from the CIA, receives a commission form the King of Saudi Arabia, to act a a mercenary and track down a band of terrorists who threaten to undermine the peace and stability of the Kingdom through a series of well-planned orchestrated attacks. these attacks include the assassination of King Abdullah's granddaughter, Princess Alia. John accepts the assignment when he understands that a destabilized Saudi Arabia is not in the best interest of the United states.

Enlisting the aid of another merc, John begins the process of tracking down the terrorists but not before the cell leader, embarking upon his own agenda undertakes the most daring plot yet. This involves the kidnapping of the American Ambassador.

As always the author provides great detail in covering all facets of the the characters involved.

I recommend this book.

In The Secret Soldier, John Wells has left the CIA, but he hasn't left the high-stakes world of espionage, where hidden battles determine the fate of nations. The basis of the plot revolves around King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in risk of losing his hold on his family and his people. More specifically, a series of terrorist attacks has put the kingdom on edge. Further, powerful factions are plotting against Abdullah, and his secret police cannot be trusted. So, with nowhere to turn, the aged king asks for Wells' help. Reluctantly, with the secret blessing of his former boss at the CIA, Wells agrees and goes undercover to investigate. Soon Wells, too, is unsure whom to trust in Saudi Arabia or in Washington.

Similar to the first four books in Berenson's John Wells series, The Secret Soldier is entertaining, well-researched, well-plotted and an above average page-turner. That said, on a comparative basis, The Secret Service falls a tad short in terms of dimensionizing 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. Further, unlike most of the others in this series, the plot tends to drag a too much at various times during the middle of the book. Despite these comparative flaws The Secret Soldier is a worthwhile read and one that I think espionage/spy genre readers will enjoy. I'd suggest, however, that before reading The Secret Soldier you go back and read The Faithful Spy and at least one of the other books in the John Wells series to enhance your understanding and appreciation of the characters you will meet in this book.

Alex Berenson gives us another decent John Wells story with just enough intrigue to keep us turning the pages in spite of weaknesses in plot device plausibility and the inclusion of a semi-likable sidekick.

What makes The Secret Soldier, like other John Wells stories, interesting is the fact that the political scenarios are plausible even if the way the story unfolds is less so. As a reader who follows current events, I enjoy these stories because the situations on display resonate with today's bogeymen - militant Islam, the passive aggressive behavior of our allies and, frankly, our own political ineptness at dealing with both. However, Mr Berenson's writing is like the stereotypical Chinese meal - you'll be hungry for something more substantial shortly after finishing the book, as evidenced by the fact that I had trouble recalling his previous work (important, because there were several references to The Midnight House in this book).

It's unclear how close Mr Berenson is to this topic, as he seems to be doing primarily business reporting for the NY Times these days. His experience as an embedded reporter in Iraq has aged, and this reveals itself in an increasingly less-interesting main character.

The Secret Soldier is a good "beach read". If you're a first time Berenson reader, I recommend picking up The Faithful Spy before others as it does a nice job of developing the John Wells backstory that underpins all the other novels.

This book takes awhile to get going...but makes up for it in the second half. I enjoyed learning all about The Kingdom. I've read a lot on Afghanistan and Pakistan...but never on The Kingdom. This book inspired me to read into it more.

The book was great...but I do have some cons. The character introduced in the beginning really has nothing to do with the rest of the story. Also, the first few chapters with Wells and Gaffan in Jamaica have nothing to do with the rest of the story. My theory is Alex wrote the main story and realized it wasn't long enough and had to come up with more material to make it a bigger book. The Jamaica chapters does close a door left open from The Ghost War...though not very well. It would've been better if Alex created a Kindle single specifically devoted to the Jamaica mission. But no biggie. There are errors in every book from every author.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next book in the series The Shadow Patrol. I was happy Alex brought out more about the conflict within Wells and I'm liking the relationship developing with Anne. Keep up the good work Alex. Thank you for your continued support to us troops.

The Saudi government is in trouble. One of the princes of the kingdom is undermining the King in an effort to seize the throne. So, who do the King and his trusted henchmen turn to? Former CIA operative John Wells. This demonstrates the fiction in this incredulous turn of events; as the prince says "You think this pleases us? To ask an American we don't know for help." What else would you do though when your own secret service is compromised?
Once Wells gets his head in the game, he and his partner Brett Gaffan go deep undercover, with literally a king's ransom at their disposal, to race to find out who the secret operatives are, where they are and what diabolical plot they're hatching against the government. From New Hampshire to Montego Bay, South of France to Milan, or Lebanon to Cyprus the pair race against time to discover the truth.
When the leader of the rebel force goes rogue and inflicts pain not only on the king, but on `the American infidels,' the CIA gives it's blessing to send in the secret soldier while government red tape holds up any involvement from a Delta Force unit confined to the embassy grounds. Using the latest satellite technology they are able to pinpoint the location of the missing Ambassador. Since a video of impossible demands has already been broadcast over the airways through Al Jazeera, it is a race against time before a video of his decapitation is shown next, leading to the scenario of an American invasion and the downfall of aging King Abdullah.
Berensen takes his time establishing his characters credentials in an effort to make this a fine stand-alone novel for those not already introduced to his protagonist John Wells. His work is as much a historical and political fact finding tour of the Middle East as is it a spellbinding page turner and espionage thriller, one that his hard to put down.

Rough men stand guard so we can sleep peaceably.
Excellent read in all respects. Alex Berenson gets better with each novel he writes. Main character John Wells is a thinking man's Rambo. A combination of Mitch Rapp, Jack Reacher, and John Corey all rolled into the ultimate black ops "operator". Wells is a very complex man. A very deep cover operative, Wells, at his core, is a deeply honorable man who loves his country and will not hesitate to do extreme violence on those who would attack her. A white male American who is a practicing Muslim and speaks flawless Arabic, he is able to move easily in the violent world of Islamic terrorism. A fearless operator, he does not hesitate to inject himself in the most difficult and extreme situations. This all combines to result in a most fascinating read of stealth, mayhem, intrigue, deceit, lies, and suspense. John Wells is everyman's fantasy hero; yet there is a darkness within his soul that attracts the reader like a moth to a flame. Well done Mr. Berenson for creating an amazing character we can all like, while at the same time being just a little afraid of.
John Wells has left the CIA: But the CIA has not left John Wells. His integrity and philosophical differences with the very highest American Intelligence leadership has forced Wells to become his own man and leave the bureaucratic CIA. As a quasi-independent operator he becomes involved with the highest levels of the Saudi government to find who is attempting to overthrow King Abdullah and bring down the House of Saud. Going underground with fellow independent operator known simply as Gaffan, they use their wiles to slowly discover who the Saudi conspirators and terrorists and are. In the middle of all this intrigue, Wells must also hunt down a CIA traitor in Jamaica. A back-story to the main Saudi intrigue, it allows the reader to better understand just who John Wells really is; complexity to the max, as his latest love interest is also a part of the story if only as an aside. Still, all this adds spice to the intricate Wells character. Action follows action to a dramatic conclusion where tragedy is a part of Wells' heroic struggle. Does Macbeth come to mind?
A very well done suspense thriller with plenty of action, complex characters, and vignettes of excellent analysis of both the Muslim religion and Saudi history. Mr. Berenson does a terrific literary job of weaving all this into a perfectly balanced realistic tale of International intrigue at the highest state levels.
Some graphic violence. No gratuitous sex or language. Although the violence is graphic at times it is germane to the plot and well portrayed.
Character development was absolutely superb. The complexity of the John Wells character carries the story and provides realism that makes everything work. In Wells we have honor meeting reality and I personally enjoyed watching how he resolved the dilemma at times. I also like how Mr. Berenson wove in Wells' love interest to soften the hardness of John Wells. It provides the reader with additional insight into the complexity of John Wells. I hope Mr. Berenson develops the Gaffan character as he could be a treasure trove of human interest. I also enjoyed the sub-story involving the CIA traitor Keith Robinson and his wife Janice. It provided additional insight into the amazing Wells' character.
Strong Recommend. Well done in all respects. If you like special operations suspense thrillers you will definitely like this novel. Kudos Mr. Berenson: I am eagerly looking forward to the next John Wells installment.

It's time once again to enter the isolation reading room. Alex Berenson's fifth John Wells novel has been published, and it demands your immediate and focused attention. Berenson's writing, plotting and characterization are darkly brilliant and instructional, an incidental manual, as it were, on the topic of spy tradecraft. He also makes an effort, as few do, to get the history of Islam, and the differences that roil within the religion, correct without losing objectivity. The book would be worth reading just for the few pages that present this, but there is much more here that is worth your while --- from the tight plotting to the true-to-life action to the believable characterization.

THE SECRET SOLDIER begins with Wells having left the CIA in disgust. But the world of espionage has not left him. So it is that Wells is drawn back into the world of spycraft from an unanticipated direction. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is losing his hold on life, and with it the tenuous grasp he maintains upon his kingdom. A series of terrorist attacks, carried out by other than the usual suspects, leads back to his front door, and Abdullah believes that the instigators are part of his own royal family with ties to the radical fringes of Islam. Abdullah, through an unexpected intermediary, reaches out to Wells for help. Wells reluctantly agrees, drawn not only by the potential danger to the United States but also to his own Islamic faith.

Wells's investigation leads him into places he never expected. There is indeed a plot, but it involves more than the line of succession to the Saudi Arabian monarchy. What had started as a treacherous jockeying for position of power is turning into a scheme to bring about a dangerous --- and final --- conflagration between America and Islam. The CIA is there to help, but only up to a point, and soon Wells is not sure if he can even trust his erstwhile employer, upon whose head the crown of rule rests more uneasily by the day. When a direct attack is made upon the American presence in the region, it is only Wells, aided ably by Gaffan, his stolid and occasionally difficult protégé, who stands between a runaway plan and worldwide chaos. And Wells, while never too little, may be too late.

The brilliance of Berenson's work is his ability to make Wells's accomplishments credible. This is particularly true here, where Wells does with the equivalent of spit and sealing wax what the might and majesty of two governments are unable to accomplish, and without any MacGyver sort of derring-do. But what is extraordinary is that Berenson manages yet again to create a work that seems to have benefited from an advance peek at next week's headlines. I started to read THE SECRET SOLDIER just as unrest boiled over in Egypt. Yes, yes, I know --- different country, different form of government. All of the same players, though, were in place and present, and for the same reasons.

If you want to understand what is going on there, you need the backdrop of history, and there are few who present it quite as well as Berenson. Not to be missed.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

A good journalist might attempt to make clear sense of the causes and effects of real people, places, and circumstances mingling in a real time or place. A good fiction writer might create some of those things. Alex Berenson nicely does both in the Secret Soldier, his fifth John Wells thriller.
John Wells is a former CIA operative who is trying to be retired in New Hampshire, but still has the reputation, contacts, skills, and motivation that conspire to keep him in the field, if not in the traditional chain of command. We quickly learn that he became a committed, as opposed to fanatical, Muslim while undercover in Afghanistan. He also became distrustful of, and distrusted by some of his superiors; recognized as a hero by others, beaten, tortured, shot...all referenced to the previous four novels which I will absolutely be reading soon.
In The Secret Soldier, Berenson lays out a number of moving parts that lead Wells and Saudi King Abdullah to a clandestine meeting and a tenuous mercenary alliance in which Wells will try to help the King root out his own trouble in Denmark, or...the desert. There are terrorist attacks; duplicitous Princes, princelings, insurgents, agency chiefs (American and foreign); and also less conniving, even sincere players. As in the real world Berenson's characters are not black and white, and their motives are complex and multi-faceted. Even our mercenary is not in it for the money. The action is fast and believable and, if not quite ripped from the headlines, perhaps we can imagine what headlines the story helped to prevent. At the risk of spoiling anything let me point out that this book was printed before January 2011.
The Secret Soldier leaves enough on the table that when I finish the first four John Wells novels I will anxiously await the next one. There are threads dangling that I hope Berenson will pick up and weave further.

Oh my. What an unfortunate effort.
Enough. No mas. Please, I'm beggiing you Mr.Berenson.
It IS time to leave the John Wells party. When disbelief cannot be suspended or
sustained any longer and the reader feels as if they are being mocked; it is time
to walk away with whatever riches you have gained; before you pee the reader off too much.
The Secret Soldier is a prime example of what happens when a singers voice goes, or a writer's
MOJO spslits.

Update: 12/20/2011
In the spirit of the fairness, and establishing a secong glance mode for those works I have tagged
with a poor or worse review, I tried this Berenson book again.
Again I was repelled. Sadly I was not wrong the first time.
How unfortunate.

I read thrillers for the action and read the same authors for both story and characters I like.... this is my first Alex Berenson/John Wells novel. I almost didn't read it because it looks so much like another Islamic terrorist story. I'm glad I did.

The John Wells character has some depth and interesting characters around him. He is not the ultimate of anything, and makes mistakes.

One of the interesting parts of the story was all the history on the Saud family and how Saudi Arabia runs with this family in charge. I don't know if the author got all of it right, but it sure authenticated the story and highlights how we (the U.S.) can continue to make all the mistakes we have in this part of the world, despite projecting the most powerful fighting forces and technology in the world today!

Good story. Alex and John are the newest additions to my "read" list. Give them a chance!

Pretty standard stuff for an international thriller. Troubled ex-CIA agent John Wells is your usual two-fisted hero in the Bolt Studly mold, who gets called in to set things right in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by no less than King Abdullah himself. There’s some interesting stuff about the House of Saud and how they came to power, and the villain is suitably scary and believable. There’s a long stretch in the beginning where Wells and his sidekick are chasing a renegade CIA agent turned drug dealer which I kept waiting to connect with the rest of the book, but which never really does. Still, it was entertaining, and good for a beach read.

Judged solely by itself, this is an average story about a former high value covert intelligence operative who parts ways with the clandestine service, only to be inevitably brought back and even aided by former colleagues. Judged in comparison with previous installments it's well below average. The story wanders from tracking down an agency turncoat in the Caribbean to working for the Saudi royalty without much connection between the two. Excessive recap of past events in a continuing series like this can be tiresome. However, in this case there are references to angst brought about by the traumatic events in Midnight House without any real context. Even having read Midnight House I could have used a little bit of a refresher. If the next book doesn't get back on track this will become a series I used to read.

After the misstep of "The Midnight House", Alex Berenson swerves back on track with his latest novel featuring John Wells, the "faithful spy" who came in from the cold after serving for many years undercover in the Middle East while penetrating jihadi organizations for the CIA.

Wells no longer works for the Agency after the events of "Midnight House", and has gone off on his own. But a series of deadly attacks by Islamic fanatics has taken place in several locations, and the direction for these attacks seems to be originating from the ruling family of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi king realizes the implications of this development, and its potential impact on Saudi-American relations. But he doesn't know whom he can trust in his own government and family, and he can't turn to the American government for help because of the resultant unrest and furor this could cause in his own country, which is already divided over religious and royal succession issues.

He enlists Wells on a freelance basis to try to investigate and neutralize the organization carrying out these terrorist acts. But the job is tougher than what Wells is used to, as he's operating on his own without the backing or the resources of the US government to which he's accustomed, and the aid the Saudi king can provide is also limited by the king's having to deal with the political intrigues surrounding himself.

That makes this mission the toughest one yet for Wells to accomplish, and also makes for an intricate, complex, exciting and thoroughly engrossing novel, luckily for us.

Berenson has an almost unequaled grasp of, and ability to convey, the intricacies and complexities of the Middle Eastern Islamic culture. I know; I spent five years in Iran and went to high school there, and my mother's an Armenian originally from Iran. 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.

I strongly recommend this book.

It all started with Jason Bourne and then came Mitch Rapp, Jack Reacher, Scot Harvath, amongst others, and ... John Wells. It is amazing there are any terrorists left on the planet with these super capable military and intelligence operatives. Many of these outings are no better than comic books but Berenson's series has been superior. He at least tries to add texture and balance to his outings (observations on Islam and Saudi Arabia are interesting but readers should consult nonfiction sources to really form opinions). In The Secret Soldier, the format reminded me of a Tom Clancy...it has Wells as almost as a supporting player as a number of plot lines unfold. What is missing is the intrigue and motivation of Wells himself ... it was fascinating in the first couple of outings.

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.
As for "The Secret Soldier", it's simply further evidence of just how good an author Alex Berenson is. The storyline centres around a future regime change in Saudi Arabia, with internal rivalry within the House of Saud the catalyst for terrorist attacks against the family of the ruling monarch. Enter John Wells (now retired from the CIA), recruited at the behest of the ailing King Abdullah & his brother Miteb, to stop the attacks and expose the plotters. Meanwhile, the powers that be in Washington have their own agenda, one that focuses on America's interests first, rather than what's the best for Saudi Arabia. This is vintage Berenson and he does it so-o-o well! My advice? Go out & buy a copy, put your feet up, and enjoy! And if you start it in the evening, don't expect to get to bed that night.

Alex Berenson reprises John Wells for a new adventure in his latest novel, The Secret Soldier. The melancholy hero of the earlier novels no longer works for the CIA, and the freelance assignment he accepts in this thriller comes from elderly King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who can feel the tension of a family feud leading to disaster for his country. The plot lines are drawn from the current news, and the tension delivers the excitement that readers of thrillers crave. While the action is often predictable, Berensen still delivers enough pages of adrenaline-pumping action to make reading this thriller fun, while not requiring any thinking.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

Pretty standard stuff for an international thriller. Troubled ex-CIA agent John Wells is your usual two-fisted hero in the Bolt Studly mold, who gets called in to set things right in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by no less than King Abdullah himself. There’s some interesting stuff about the House of Saud and how they came to power, and the villain is suitably scary and believable. There’s a long stretch in the beginning where Wells and his sidekick are chasing a renegade CIA agent turned drug dealer which I kept waiting to connect with the rest of the book, but which never really does. Still, it was entertaining, and good for a beach read.

Judged solely by itself, this is an average story about a former high value covert intelligence operative who parts ways with the clandestine service, only to be inevitably brought back and even aided by former colleagues. Judged in comparison with previous installments it's well below average. The story wanders from tracking down an agency turncoat in the Caribbean to working for the Saudi royalty without much connection between the two. Excessive recap of past events in a continuing series like this can be tiresome. However, in this case there are references to angst brought about by the traumatic events in Midnight House without any real context. Even having read Midnight House I could have used a little bit of a refresher. If the next book doesn't get back on track this will become a series I used to read.

After the misstep of "The Midnight House", Alex Berenson swerves back on track with his latest novel featuring John Wells, the "faithful spy" who came in from the cold after serving for many years undercover in the Middle East while penetrating jihadi organizations for the CIA.

Wells no longer works for the Agency after the events of "Midnight House", and has gone off on his own. But a series of deadly attacks by Islamic fanatics has taken place in several locations, and the direction for these attacks seems to be originating from the ruling family of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi king realizes the implications of this development, and its potential impact on Saudi-American relations. But he doesn't know whom he can trust in his own government and family, and he can't turn to the American government for help because of the resultant unrest and furor this could cause in his own country, which is already divided over religious and royal succession issues.

He enlists Wells on a freelance basis to try to investigate and neutralize the organization carrying out these terrorist acts. But the job is tougher than what Wells is used to, as he's operating on his own without the backing or the resources of the US government to which he's accustomed, and the aid the Saudi king can provide is also limited by the king's having to deal with the political intrigues surrounding himself.

That makes this mission the toughest one yet for Wells to accomplish, and also makes for an intricate, complex, exciting and thoroughly engrossing novel, luckily for us.

Berenson has an almost unequaled grasp of, and ability to convey, the intricacies and complexities of the Middle Eastern Islamic culture. I know; I spent five years in Iran and went to high school there, and my mother's an Armenian originally from Iran. 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.

I strongly recommend this book.

It all started with Jason Bourne and then came Mitch Rapp, Jack Reacher, Scot Harvath, amongst others, and ... John Wells. It is amazing there are any terrorists left on the planet with these super capable military and intelligence operatives. Many of these outings are no better than comic books but Berenson's series has been superior. He at least tries to add texture and balance to his outings (observations on Islam and Saudi Arabia are interesting but readers should consult nonfiction sources to really form opinions). In The Secret Soldier, the format reminded me of a Tom Clancy...it has Wells as almost as a supporting player as a number of plot lines unfold. What is missing is the intrigue and motivation of Wells himself ... it was fascinating in the first couple of outings.

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.
As for "The Secret Soldier", it's simply further evidence of just how good an author Alex Berenson is. The storyline centres around a future regime change in Saudi Arabia, with internal rivalry within the House of Saud the catalyst for terrorist attacks against the family of the ruling monarch. Enter John Wells (now retired from the CIA), recruited at the behest of the ailing King Abdullah & his brother Miteb, to stop the attacks and expose the plotters. Meanwhile, the powers that be in Washington have their own agenda, one that focuses on America's interests first, rather than what's the best for Saudi Arabia. This is vintage Berenson and he does it so-o-o well! My advice? Go out & buy a copy, put your feet up, and enjoy! And if you start it in the evening, don't expect to get to bed that night.

Alex Berenson reprises John Wells for a new adventure in his latest novel, The Secret Soldier. The melancholy hero of the earlier novels no longer works for the CIA, and the freelance assignment he accepts in this thriller comes from elderly King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who can feel the tension of a family feud leading to disaster for his country. The plot lines are drawn from the current news, and the tension delivers the excitement that readers of thrillers crave. While the action is often predictable, Berensen still delivers enough pages of adrenaline-pumping action to make reading this thriller fun, while not requiring any thinking.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

For people who enjoy the Vince Flynn, Clive Cussler, and Tom Clancy international terrorism type books this is great entertainment. The fact that John Wells is a muslim while operating like Mitch Rapp in the Middle East does create a lot of interesting psychological conflicts and even some lack of support from U.S. agencies. Some of the near impossible situations Wells solves like finding the terrorist camp in Lebanon and terrorists in Jeddah when nobody else can does strain the story's credibility but it is fun anyway. This is the third Berenson book I have read and I will be reading the others. Keep up the good work.

The Secret Soldier is a fast-paced, good, international intrigue thriller. It is well-written, and author Alex Berenson places his one-dimensional characters in some exciting post-9/11 situations. The author is a former New York Times reporter, who still writes journalistic pieces. The Secret Soldier rises above many books of its kind by the information the author provides about Saudi Arabia and the CIA. I "read" this book as an audio book. It is easy to follow during stop-and-go listening while traveling, and it makes a good traveling companion. Its best virtue is that it is good entertainment.

This past week Islamic terrorist attempted to blow up a gas field in Algeria and to murder every foreign worker at the facility. All did not go as planned for them, but many innocent people died. I completed reading The Secret Soldier today. The plot did not seem as far-fetched as it might have a month ago. Brensen's story line and the real life plot have too much in common for comfort. The world is a dangerous place with fanatics threatening world peace. Wells is a strong character and Brenson's writing interesting.

The secret soldier is the 4th berenson book I have enjoyed. Spell binding and intriguing to the end. Like Flynn's Mitch Rapp, Greenspan's john wells is equally intriguing. I have read all of Flynn's books; now I am glad to know that berenson has many other books available for me to enjoy! May he live a long life and continue writing these espionage masterpieces and not die an untimely death as did my friend Vince Flynn. [email protected].

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!

It is sometimes unbelievable to me How an Author can be so near what is happenening every day in our world. I am sure everything we are reading as fiction has a more than ninety per cent factor of actual truth. After all just look at this Bengazi mess. Our leadership has stuck their heads in the sand just as in this novel. Until we have read the whole book we then see exactly what is so probable that is going on in this ten year debacle that has been hidden from the American Public. If I were in government and read this Novel I would go cold inside. It may be so called fiction but I will promise you it will make your mind really work. It is a great book I highly enjoyed it and I am sure most action readers would also.

Berenson tries to capture current events in this middle east mystery . The story and plot is good as well as some of the history related. However it misses by being overly detailed and confusing. The ending is a surprise. I will read the next book because I liked Wells, the main character.

Estranged CIA agent John Wells is recruited by the aging king of Saudi Arabia to help him in discovering a possible rogue element that's putting his kingdom at risk with possible confrontation with the US.
Berenson's thrillers always seem to be topical and well researched. This one is no exception. The intricate plotting and the characters are all well done. I, for one, was not a big fan of the ending, which left a little to be desired.
Just an aside: When bad characters torture there victims, I would love to see them die in a similar fashion, but rarely does that happen. Bummer.

Berenson is back on his game in The Secret Soldier, which is an improvement over The Midnight House.

Berenson has done a better job than Tom Clancy of handling the problems of promotion for his hero, but it's a four-star novel, not a five-star, because he just won't be able to equal the drama of the first go around.

Worth noting: Berenson is a thriller writer who takes religion seriously.

This book is the newest in the "John Wells" series. It is another great book by a wonderful author.

If you haven't yet discovered John Wells then do yourself a favor a buy this book. You will soon be wanting to go back and read all the books in order.

Enjoy!

Topical. Well written. Able to get me past some of the belief stretching plot turns and escapes. Absolutely page turning. And with some real fine touches with a hostage and family. As good as it gets in this genre. you will enjoy.