So throughout June I’ve been reading three books, The Last Great Senate by Ira Shapiro, Even Steven by John Gilstrap,  The Shadow Patrol by Alex Berenson. I finally finished Book 16 for the year and it was ta-da The Shadow Patrolby Alex Berenson. The Shadow Patrol is the sixth book in the John Wells series. Now I usually zip right through Berenson’s books, but this one, not so much. Before I wrote this review, I went to Goodreads.com thinking that I’d be reading some not so complimentary reviews. However, when I got there I found out that most people loved the book! Here’s what Publisher’s Weekly said about The Shadow Patrol:

 It’s this riveting duel between good and evil that will keep readers blazing through the pages, while several other more mundane plot lines get lost in the background. More

What do I know! As I read the book, I really kept waiting for the hook to catch me and reel me in. Sadly,  for me it never came. To me the book seemed like a thriller without the thrill! It just seemed that a lot of the book was focused on setting up the story and not on real action.

The story is set in Afghanistan and Wells returns to the place where it all started for him. He is called out of retirement to help find a mole in the CIA  bureau. The bureau is still reeling from a double agent returning from a meeting with al Queda who turns suicide bomber and decimated the bureau. Meanwhile, a major drug trafficking operation is being run in the northern provinces with members of the military dealing with the Talibs. So John steps into this mess and with the help of his boss Ellis Shafer has to unravel the threads that hold the operation together and ultimately leads back to the mole!

Bottom Line

Now with all that said, I did find the book overall a good read. I just thought it was not up to what I’ve come to expect from Berenson.  I still like the character of John Wells and will read more of the books! Now, if you never read a book in the series, maybe you’d be like the folks at Goodreads.com and love the book. But I recommend that you start out with one of Berenson’s earlier books.

Now it’s back to the other reads for the month. Oh wait, I have the new James Rollins novel Blood Line sitting here. Sorry Mr. Shapiro and Mr. Gilstrap. I think I’ll start Mr. Rollins’ book now!!

Related articles

• Alex Berenson interview with Slate: Fact and Fiction in his John Wells spy series(waronterrornews.typepad.com)

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Ok, quick quiz , Who is the current King of Saudi Arabia? Who is his son? Brother? Dis everyone get it right! I wouldn’t have! But they are all main characters in Alex Berenson‘s new John Wells adventure The Secret Soldier. This is book 12 for the year, (boy am I way behind!) and the fifth in the Wells series. After several terrorist attacks in the Kingdom, King Abdullah contacts new ex-CIA operative John Wells to determine if his brother Saed and Saed’s son were involved in the attacks. Saed thinks that he is the rightful heir to the throne, while Abdullah wants his son Khalid to succeed him, and Saed is none to pleased with that.   Soon Wells is immersed in a mission not only to make the determination, but also to save US and Saudi relations!!

I enjoy the character of John Wells and have liked all of the previous adventures. I thought that this book started a little disjointed and slow but once it got rolling there was no stopping the action until the last page was turned!

It’s funny!  I wrote a couple weeks ago, that I picked up Vince Flynn’s Constent to Kill a Mitch Rapp adventure and Saed was also a character in that book! Because I was confusing the plots I stopped reading that book, but now that I’m finished I’ll go back and complete that adventure!

Oh, one more question do you know where the largest clock in the world is??

Here’s a picture of it! It sits atop the  Abraj-al-Bait hotel in a Saudi Arabia city! But you’ll have to read the book to find out where and how it ties into the storyline!!

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So, four weeks plus later and two books read in between, I finally finished Alex Berenson‘s The Midnight House. The Midnight House is the fourth book in the John Wells series and I loved the first three. The story lines were good and John Wells was a well developed character who I liked. So I had high expectations when I picked up this book, unfortunately, the book fell short of those expectations. It’s not that the book was bad, it’s just that there really was no hook that brought me into the story and made me want to keep reading.

The novel revolves around interrogation unit 673 that operated in Poland at what they called The Midnight House. After their operation ended, the majority of the soldiers have been killed and John Wells is called in to find out the whys and wherefores. The story goes back and forth in time to tell the story of what happened at the Midnight House and at times that seemed awkward and confusing. The last one hundred or so pages were better than the first two hundred some and overall the ending was satisfying. But the story lacked any personal development in Wells’ character, though some things were touched on. Overall this book rates a 2 out of 5 stars for me. Maybe it would be more enjoyable for first time readers of the series. Those with no expectations. But will I be waiting for the next John Wells book, yes I will,  because Berenson may just knock one out of the park next time!

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