Even [With Earbuds] [Preloaded Digital Audio Player]

Andrew Grant (Author), John Lee (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2009

He’s one of the best undercover agents in the world. A seasoned operative for British intelligence. But when he finds a body in the streets of New York, David Trevellyan is a prime suspect. Arrested by the NYPD, interrogated by the FBI, Trevellyan swears he had nothing to do with it. But no one believes him—especially when the victim turns out to be a federal agent. Now his country won’t help him. His contacts can’t save him. But that won’t stop a man like Trevellyan. Whoever set him up is going down. Even if it kills him…

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Jason Bourne fans will welcome Grant's thrill-packed debut, which introduces Lt. Cdr. David Trevellyan, of Royal Navy Intelligence. Near the end of a mission in New York City, Trevellyan's chance discovery late one night of a bum in an alley with six neatly arranged bullet holes in his chest makes the secret operative the NYPD's prime suspect in the man's murder. After the FBI takes over the case, Trevellyan learns the victim was an undercover agent for the bureau, the sixth to die in a series of killings. Disavowed by his British bosses, Trevellyan realizes he has to fend for himself in what is clearly some sort of frameup. A villainess with a taste for genital mutilation lends a James Bondian touch, but Grant, bestseller Lee Child's younger brother, never strikes a false note in a plot that could have gone over-the-top in lesser hands. Effortlessly filling in bits of his protagonist's backstory during breathing spaces between action scenes, Grant closes on a nicely dark note. Author tour. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The thriller genre has a compelling new hero, the creation of Andrew Grant, the younger brother of Lee Child. While on assignment in New York, Royal Navy secret agent David Trevellyan discovers a dead body in an alley. When he is thrown in jail for the man’s murder, he quickly realizes he was set up to be the fall guy. Left hanging by his superiors in the UK, Trevellyan must outwit the NYPD, the FBI, and the group responsible for the killing if he is to clear his name. Of course, the murder turns out to be far more than the simple death of a vagrant. There is some no-holds-barred violence here—a couple scenes require avoiding food before, during, and immediately after reading—but the intensity of the narrative will keep even the timid furiously turning pages. Trevellyan is likely to be compared to his brother’s hero, Jack Reacher, or even to James Bond, and while there is a bit of hyperbole in such claims, there can be no doubt that we have a new guy on the block who requires attention. --Jeff Ayers --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Preloaded Digital Audio Player
• Publisher: Playaway (June 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433279649
• ISBN-13: 978-1433279645
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Andrew Grant was born in Birmingham, England in May 1968. He went to school in St Albans, Hertfordshire and later attended the University of Sheffield where he studied English Literature and Drama. After graduation Andrew set up and ran a small independent theatre company which showcased a range of original material to local, regional and national audiences. Following a critically successful but financially challenging appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Andrew moved into the telecommunications industry as a 'temporary' solution to a short-term cash crisis. Fifteen years later, after carrying out a variety of roles including several which were covered by the UK's Official Secrets Act, Andrew became the victim / beneficiary of a widespread redundancy programme. Freed once again from the straight jacket of corporate life, he took the opportunity to answer the question, what if ... ?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "People can never resist the sight of a body. I should know.", May 12, 2009

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Even (Hardcover)

This kind of crime story is like a chess game, a formalized drama that can only be appreciated as it unfolds, elaborate layer after layer. Each move has more significance than first appears, only the beginning of an intricate design, a finely crafted thriller. It begins innocently enough when David Trevellyan discovers the body of a murdered homeless man in a New York alley. A member of the Royal Navy, David has undergone extensive training in all phases of espionage and spy craft, a finely-tuned machine dominated by logic and speedy reactions to threat.

When Trevellyan is arrested for the homeless man's death, it takes him a while to determine that he is a pawn in a scheme he has yet to understand, one that begins with the FBI and the NYPD, but soon expands to a wider theater, including an obscure hospital in Iraq. At the start, Trevellyan is just a British operative trying to get back to London, but by the end, in concert with the FBI, he is on the inside of a high-stakes plot with disastrous ramifications. Along the way, there are an assortment of bureaucrats and agents, a disturbing scene with a female who uses a unique instrument of torture to induce cooperation, various rogues, thugs and bodyguards of varying skills, an impressive array of weapons, drugs, explosives and, of course, a potent terrorist plot.

Younger brother of Lee Child, Grant steps up with this taut, well-written tale that builds with each chapter to the final standoff. The urbane, smooth Englishman stands back from the American agents, albeit usually one step ahead, using his skill set to avoid traps and outwit the masterminds of a clever scheme. Each chapter is prefaced with a few paragraphs of Trevellyan's past, each with a lesson learned. That lesson is further elaborated in the following chapter, yet another level of legerdemain on the part of this author. Comparison to other writers of this genre is unavoidable, but unnecessary. Grant is clearly a pro, with a complicated, fast-paced plot that is riddled with threat, the bad guys- and woman- just as evil as we imagine and oblivious to the horrors they visit upon their victims. This tech-savvy thriller gives considerable food for thought. Old world spy craft gives way to more modern and deadly applications. Trust me. You'll be back for more. Luan Gaines/2009.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Grant can write, but the book fails to deliver, December 2, 2009

By 

Julia Flyte - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Even (Hardcover)

David Trevellyan is a British Navy intelligence officer (his specific role is somewhat vague) who is wrapping up a job in the US when he discovers a recently murdered tramp lying in a dark alleyway. He is swiftly apprehended by the police department who then pass him onto the FBI. The body was actually an undercover FBI agent and Trevellyan is now the FBI's prime suspect.

The book starts well and grabs your attention, but from there it loses its way. The plot is overly complicated with two main strands that are only tenuously linked. So about half way through the book it stops being about one silly plot and starts being about another. Trevellyan ends up working with the FBI on the cases - a development that doesn't feel even remotely believable.

There are parts of this book that are exciting and well written, but they are few between with far too many long conversations and erratic changes in direction. Ultimately I got bored, and also confused by the large cast of sketchily drawn characters. The ending is quite abrupt and with at least one villain still on the loose, sets up the book for a sequel.

Grant starts each chapter with Trevellyan disclosing a little more information about his past or an anecdote from his naval training. While this occasionally feels forced, these sections gave a tantalizing glimpse of the novel that this might have been. His writing style has many similarities to that of his brother (Lee Child), but the novel lacks the punch of the Reacher series.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unreadable, August 14, 2009

By 

Reacher Creature (Rochester) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Even (Hardcover)

People are comparing this book to the Reacher series because the author is Lee Child's brother. If Grant wants to write a book that has the same character as Jack Reacher, then we have to compare the two characters and authors.

The plot is that Grant's character, David, sees a body in an ally, and he goes to check it out. The police come and find him over the body. What David doesn't know is that he's being set up, and he has to figure out who set him up, why, and to clear his name. This plot has been done over and over and over again. Grant brings nothing fresh to the table. Grant has a very dry writing style.

Grant's char of David, seems flat and uninteresting. He could easily clear up the problem, but he doesn't. David seems to have a smart mouth and it makes him seem guilty of the crimes that he's innocent of.

Lee Child's books are fast paced with incredible plots, neat twists, fantastic characters, and hooks the reader in. Even, does none of those things. It's easy to see that Grant tries to copy Child's sense of writing style but falls way short. Grant bogs the reader down with a lot of needless description of everything. It was like I was walking through mud, and it was a chore to read.

At the start of each chapter, we are able to get some words or wisdom that David has learned over the years that sets the tone for the chapter. I found this very annoying.

If you feel the need to read this book, skip it. Pick up and book by Lee Child and read about the character of Jack Reacher, and you won't be sorry.

Lee Child does it right, Andrew Grant does it wrong.