Kingdom Come [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Jim Hougan (Author), Dick Hill (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

Jack Dunphy has operated as a CIA agent "without official cover" in London as a businessman who establishes commercial covers and banking facilities for people with large amounts of money that needs hiding. He does his spying on the side. Suddenly someone he has had under surveillance is mudered. He is told his cover is about to be blown, made to proceed directly to Heathrow and home to Langley. There he is dumped in a desk job that seems calculated to make him quit. Instead he begins to suspect an incredible conspiracy within the CIA and starts to uncover it. In danger of his life he goes on the run, not just to save himself (and his girlfriend) but to uncover the truth.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Jack Dunphy is a CIA agent operating in London, and when someone he's had under surveillance is murdered in a savage, seemingly ritualized killing, the Agency "disappears" him from Her Majesty's territory and assigns him to a headquarters job that's the equivalent of walking a Staten Island beat. Bored into somnolence shuffling files requested by the public under the Freedom of Information Act, Dunphy suspects that his bosses are trying to get him to quit, so he uses his top secret clearance to find out why. In the process, he uncovers evidence that points to a centuries-old conspiracy whose purpose has been aided and abetted by the CIA since its beginning. When his colleague and roommate is brutally murdered in what was either a warning to him or a case of mistaken identity, Dunphy decamps for the continent; with Clementine, his English girlfriend, he tracks a secret society to its Swiss headquarters and pulls off a daring raid that nets him evidence of the Agency's long-standing role in an effort to change the course of history. While it has millennial overtones, this fast-paced and provocative thriller has no Y2K "sell by" date; what it does have is an intriguing explanation for contemporary mysteries like Roswell, UFOs, crop circles, and other paranormal happenings. Jack Dunphy is an enterprising and charming spy with a solid future as a series hero. Fans of Ian Fleming will find him a likely successor to James Bond, and doubtless Hollywood will as well. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran journalist and spy-craft expert Hougan (Spooks; Secret Agenda) puts his inside knowledge to fictional use in this intelligent and pulse-pounding debut thriller about a CIA agent who pokes his stick under one too many rocks. John Dunphy, working undercover in London, finds his career in tatters after a college professor he had under surveillance is viciously murdered. Though the murder was neither his doing nor his fault, Dunphy is called back to D.C., interrogated for days and finally relegated to a desk job processing the agency's vast backlog of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Since nobody at the CIA will tell Dunphy why he has been handled so harshly, Dunphy devises a way to find out. Using a fake name, he makes FOIA requests about everyone and anything having to do with his demotion, then routes the requests to himself for investigation. What he learns makes him a marked man. A secret society of world leaders, Dunphy discovers, has shaped history for hundreds of years, and now has its home base at the CIA. Now a marked man, Dunphy and his beautiful sidekick, Clementine, rush from one European capital to another, staying just ahead of their pursuers. With each stop, they gather more disturbing details about the secret network, which dates to medieval France and now controls world politics, economics and even the arts. (Historical figures who enter Hougan's story include famed spymasters Allen Dulles and James Jesus Angleton and poet Ezra Pound.) A former Washington editor for Harper's, Hougan demonstrates fine command of his material. His familiarity with the ways of spies, amply shown in his nonfiction, permeates his novel. Better yet, his writing is punchy and spare, his characterizations lively. Hougan slips only at the end: his finale seeks to defy convention, but may just leave readers fumbling for answers. Audio rights to Brilliance. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio Unabridged; Unabridged edition (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156740488X
• ISBN-13: 978-1567404883
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.2 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,143,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great conspiracy thriller, December 28, 1999

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kingdom Come (Hardcover)

CIA operative Jack Dunphy works in London laundering money for individuals who cannot afford to use the legal methods to move money. He does other assignments for the agency. Currently, he is wire tapping the phone of Professor Leo Schindolof, an expert in Jungian philosophy. When the professor is mutilated and the tap discovered, Jack is ordered home. Upon arrival, he is debriefed and assigned a tedious desk job.

Jack believes his unofficial demotion is designed to force him into resigning. He has no idea why his superiors want him to leave the agency except perhaps the link to the deceased professor. He begins some discreet checking, but his activities are noticed. Soon, attempts are made on Jackâs life. As he gets closer to uncovering the truth about an internationally powerful cartel, his chances of survival geometrically drop by the hour.

Conspiracy buffs will name the publishing date of KINGDOM COME as a national holiday. Jim Hougan answers the questions about the paranormal and extraterrestrial forces at work in today's world. The global conspiracy has religious undertones, headed by a wealthy organization that hides in plain sight. Readers will cheer on the likable lead protagonist who is an every person fighting a Quixote-like quest that has no boundaries. Though the tale is filled with many surprises, Mr. Hougan never loses sight of his main theme: the truth is right here not out there.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kingom Come -- A Novel of Conspiracy by Jim Hougan, January 26, 2000

By 

J. A Pasha "JAA" (Virginia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Kingdom Come (Hardcover)

Jim Hougan has written a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Full of action, plot twists, and adventure, the reader follows the harrowing exploits of Jack Dunphy as he eludes CIA operatives, Corsican mobsters, and members of a secret religious society. This novel is not for the intellectually weak; the plot includes references to Carl Jung, Allen Dulles, the Apocrypha, and religious history dating from the time of Christ. Hougan has also included elements reminiscent of the Twilight Zone involving the US military and the CIA (conspiracy buffs will enjoy this). All in all, "Kingdom Come" is a treat, best enjoyed at one sitting. If you like science fiction, conspiracy, travel through Europe, and a bit of romance then this novel is for you. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kingdom Come: A Must Read, January 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Kingdom Come (Hardcover)

This thriller by Jim Hougan is a must read-but be prepared to burn the midnight oil as it is difficult to put down and has your mind turning even as you sleep. Likeable charachters, interesting locales, a terrific plot, and a wonderfully handled unfolding of this tremendously intriguing thriller all add up to a winner of a novel. Simply terrific.