The Hunters: A Presidential Agent Novel (Presidential Agent Series) [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [MP3 CD]

W.E.B. Griffin (Author), Dick Hill (Reader)

Book Description

Series: Presidential Agent Series | Publication Date: January 2, 2007

The first two novels in W. E. B. Griffin’s exciting new Presidential Agent series, By Order of the President and The Hostage, immediately raced up the bestseller lists. Told in “punchy prose that connects like a right hook” (Chicago Tribune), they were further proof that “Griffin just keeps on getting better” (Booklist). The Hunters picks up right where The Hostage left off. Two brutal murders and millions of missing dollars in the growing UN/Iraq oil-for-food scandal have led Castillo and his team to an estancia in Uruguay, where the man they seek is murdered right before their eyes. Who is responsible? Most likely, the people higher up in the dirty-money chain - those willing to risk anything to keep their secrets from being revealed. They’ve left just enough of a trail, though, for Castillo to pick up the scent, and with carte blanche from the President of the United States to follow it wherever it takes him, he ends up…well, not exactly where he expected…

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Griffin's ponderous third Presidential Agent novel picks up where the previous entry, The Hostage, left off, following U.S. Army Maj. Carlos "Charley" Castillo, a troubleshooter who takes orders directly from the president, as he fumbles about in South America and Europe. Castillo and his crew of specialists are trying to figure out who ordered the murder of American diplomat Jean-Paul Lorimer, who was shot to death in Uruguay while under suspicion of various international misdeeds, including a shady food-for-oil conspiracy in Iraq. Long stretches of dialogue and description come across more as showcases for Griffin's knowledge than as solid narrative, while Castillo and his cohorts never rise beyond their assigned roles. Fans will miss the more captivating heroes of Griffin's Brotherhood of War or the Corps series. Author tour. (Jan.)
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

Presidential agent Charley Castillo returns for another high-concept adventure. In Uruguay, a man is murdered before he can spill the secrets of an elaborate scam aimed at destroying the international reputation of the U.S. Fortunately, the ever-resourceful Castillo seems to have an unlimited number of tricks up his sleeve, and he always manages to keep one step ahead of the game. Though it lacks the punch of some of Griffin's wildly popular military thrillers (the Brotherhood of War series, for example), the Castillo novels offer timely plots and enough firepower to keep the action-adventure crowd happy. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• MP3 CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD; MP3 edition (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 142332353X
• ISBN-13: 978-1423323532
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,198,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( G ) > Griffin, W. E. B.

More About the Author

W.E.B. Griffin is the author of more than thirty epic novels in five series, all of which have been listed on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and other best-seller lists. More than forty million of his books are in print in more than ten languages, including Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian. Mr. Griffin grew up in the suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1946. After basic training, he received counter-intelligence training at Fort Holabird, Maryland. He was assigned to the Army of Occupation in Germany, and ultimately to the staff of then-Major General I.D. White, commander of the U.S. Constabulary. In 1951, Mr. Griffin was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, interrupting his education at Phillips University, Marburg an der Lahn, Germany. In Korea he earned the Combat Infantry Badge as a combat correspondent and later served as acting X Corps (Group) information officer under Lieutenant General White. On his release from active duty in 1953, Mr. Griffin was appointed Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation Test & Support Activity at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Mr. Griffin is a member of the Special Operations Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Army Aviation Association, and the Armor Association. He was the 1991 recipient of the Brigadier General Robert L. Dening Memorial Distinguished Service Award of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, and the August 1999 recipient of the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, presented at the 100th National Convention in Kansas City. He has been vested into the Order of St. George of the U.S. Armor Association, and the Order of St. Andrew of the U.S. Army Aviation Association, and been awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees by Norwich University, the nation's first and oldest private military college, and by Troy State University (Ala.). He was the graduation dinner speaker for the class of 1988 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He has been awarded honorary membership in the Special Forces Association; the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association; the Marine Raiders Association; and the U.S. Army Otter & Caribou Association. He is the co-founder, with historian Colonel Carlo D'Este, of the William E. Colby Seminar on Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic Affairs. Mr. Griffin's novels, known for their historical accuracy, have been praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for their "fierce, stop-for-nothing scenes." "Nothing honors me more than a serviceman, veteran, or cop telling me he enjoys reading my books," Mr. Griffin says. Mr. Griffin divides his time between the Gulf Coast and Buenos Aires.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great series continues with The Hunters, January 4, 2007

By 

ROBIN MCCALL "LTC (Ret.) Robin McCall" (Chula Vista, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hunters (A Presidential Agent Novel) (Hardcover)

This is the 3rd book in the Griffin series that centers around Homeland Security. The only problem with this new WEB Griffin book is that I could not put in down. AT 2:30AM, I finally had to stop for sleep, even though I was only a little more than half done. Mr. Griffin's new book is full speed ahead, from beginning to end, continuing where The Hostage finished, but it seems to move at an even faster pace, which I enjoy.

Carlos Castillo continues to build his team with the best people he can find, from the various intelligence agencies, as well as the military. I love this aspect of his books, because it is so much like true life, where people progress in their careers, or die, and new people join the team.

The hunt for the bad guys crosses many international boundaries, proving that today's intelligence operatives need to be multi-lingual and very intelligent. An agent who only speaks English is no longer an effective agent against international terrorists. Hungarian, Russian, German, Spanish and English were the languages of choice for most of this operation. You have to read to the end, to find out who all the good guys and bad guys really are. Carlos Castillo and his growing band of experts move from country to country, progressing through firefights that reveal bad guys at the highest levels.

As with any Griffin book, the winners are the people who have both the intellignece to analyze complex data, and the strength of character to act on it. In addition to people with military and intelligence skills , Castillo's team now has: a financial analyst (with the financial and computer expertise to track billions of dollars through the labyrinth of secret international bank accounts); a newspaperman (with the instincts and contacts to uncover bad guys at the highest levels); and Max (who can actually smell bad guys).

For me, this book was as exciting and fast moving as Mr. Griffin's books on WWII, Korea and Vietnam, with so much action that you feel like you are in the middle of a declared war.

This new series continues to highlight Griffin's contacts with, and knowledge of, the modern military and intelligence communities. Although he points out some infighting between government agencies, he also points out that there are good people in every agency, and if they work together, they can stop the bad guys. The book deals with heroes from Homeland Security, the Diplomatic Corps, the FBI, the CIA, Special Forces, and other US military units, as well as like-minded patriots in Argentina, Germany and Uruguay.

WEB Griffin is truly the dean of American military story tellers, and this book reveals his understanding of the complex relationship that exists between varous intelligence organizations, as well as the military.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars W.E.B Griffin strikes again . . . and it's a happy time, January 11, 2007

By 

Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Hunters (A Presidential Agent Novel) (Hardcover)

W.E.B. Griffin released a book last year called "The Saboteurs," which was co-authored with his son. It was horrible. Having read and enjoyed all of Griffin's other books, except for his police series, it was a major disappointment and the first time I had ever given a negative review of a Griffin book.

Happily, Griffin's name alone appears on "The Hunters" and the story has many Griffin trademarks.

Charley Castillo is made chief of the Office of Organizational Analysis, which is created by a Presidential Finding; a secret order from the President. With a few handpicked colleagues - and quite a collection they are - Castillo tries to solve the murder of an American consular official, the attempted murder of an old family friend, a newspaper publisher in Europe and unravel the secrets of the Oil-for-Food scandal.

This is classic Griffin. Characters whizzing in and out. There's Aleksandr Pevsner, a shadowy Russian ex-patriate. A bunch of folks from the FBI, Secret Service, NSA, Special Forces, Delta Team play out their roles, as well as Castillo's grandmother and cousin.

The action flies fast and furious on every page as Castillo makes up his own rules, ignores the law, does battle with the National Director of Intelligence. On his side, of course, he has the President.

I'm not about to spoil the pleasure of a Griffin novel by discussing the plot line. Aone of the pleasures of reading Griffin is that every page delivers a new twist - and I am not about to ruin anything.

Griffin does tend to talk too much in this novel; many points are repeated over and over without purpose. A small criticism. Maybe they changed editors on him or something.

In any event, if you like Griffin, then you want to read "The Hunters". Be prepared to set an evening or two aside because once you start, you aren't going to want to put it down until you are finished.

Jerry

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Much Detail, Not Enough Action, January 23, 2007

By 

Thomas E. Maseth (Catonsville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hunters (A Presidential Agent Novel) (Hardcover)

I just completed W.E.B. Griffin's latest book in his Presidential Agent series and man it is long! The Hunters begins where the last book, The Hostage ended. Charley and company are tracking down the baddies involved in the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. An interesting idea that does not realize its full potential. The characters of Charley Castillo, Col Jake Torine, and others are well drawn. But the various meetings and travel detail were at the expense of far less action scenes than there could have been. If there had been more action, it would have been a better book.

I enjoyed the first Presidential Agent book, By Order of the President. I have become a fan of Griffin's excellent Badge of Honor series in the past few years as well. However, the only reason I finished The Hunters was my own stubborness. I will think twice before spending (wasting?) the time to read the next adventure of Charley and company.