Customer Reviews

The Shadow Patrol (A John Wells Novel)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In The Shadow Patrol, John Wells is again asked to serve as a freelance troubleshooter for the CIA, his former employer. The basis of the plot revolves around Wells going undercover in Afghanistan to investigate if somehow the Taliban has infiltrated the Kabul station. Once there, Wells enters a web of mistrust and uncovers clues that suggest that a drug trafficking operation is in effect that involves the agency, the military and the Taliban. As a result of the operation, American soldiers are dying -- and only Wells stands in the way of those responsible.

Similar to the first five books in Berenson's John Wells series, The Shadow Patrol is entertaining and well-researched. However, relative to the other books, The Shadow Patrol is not quite as well-plotted, nor is it as much of a page-turner. Further on a comparative basis, The Shadow Patrol falls somewhat short in terms of dimensionalizing 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. Additionally, the plot tends to drag too much at various times during the middle of the book.

Despite these comparative flaws The Shadow Patrol is a worthwhile read and one that I think espionage/spy genre readers will enjoy. I'd suggest, however, that before reading The Shadow Patrol new readers to the series begin with The Faithful Spy and at least one of the other John Wells books to enhance their understanding and appreciation of the characters they will meet in this book.

John Wells, Alex Berenson's "Reluctant Spy", is back again in this novel that successfully mixes genres.

Ever since leaving the CIA, Wells has found himself working more as a freelancing troubleshooter than a spy, last time for the Saudi royal family, this time for his old bosses at the Agency.

An agency op in Afghanistan goes badly wrong, leaving several case officers dead and the resident office in an administrative shambles. An army Stryker unit - a platoon-sized outfit of mechanized infantry - is involved in moving drugs from Afghan Taliban suppliers through to the States, with the help of a couple of Delta snipers and another American who seems to have his own agenda.

Wells is called on to go to Afghanistan as an "unofficial" representative of his old CIA boss Vinnie Duto to assess the effectiveness of the resident office as a viable force, and in doing so he stumbles onto the problems arising from the disaster that wiped out so many of the local Agency operatives.

How this evolves, and Well's actions in addressing these problems, form the crux of the story.

Berenson weaves an intricate and involving story here that blends the espionage and military genres masterfully. In many ways this book is evocative of the military novels of Nelson DeMille - particularly "The General's Daughter" - though the crimes at its heart are of a very different nature. The characters are well-realized and three-dimensional; it's well-plotted; and I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable. In other words, what we've come to expect from Berenson.

A very solid four stars; maybe 4 ½.

While the subject of this novel is troubling - drug trafficking by US troops - it never reaches a fever pitch of excitement. Okay, soldiers have been dealing in the black market since WWI albeit not with sixteen kilos of heroin but this is not an earth threatening issue and that's the problem with this novel, the topic is too mundane for a novel. Would be a great expose if it was a true story but it seems highly unlikely the government would dispatch a high powered operative like Wells to deal with this type problem.

Berenson writes with his usual flair, the dialogue is enthralling and the book is nicely paced but it left me feeling like the climax never developed. Espionage novels should deal with huge issues like nuclear weapons, terrorists attacks, biological threats, etc.. This one never gets there and reads like a manuscript that may have been sitting in the drawer for a while and got pulled out so the author could submit something to their publisher on time.

If this was a $1 Kindle book from a first time author, I'd give it four stars and say the author had a future with better developed plot and story lines. Since it's from an established author who has already proven he can write five star novels, it gets only a passing grade.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and can't say enough good things about it.

In a CIA camp perched in the burning desert outside Kabul, Afghanistan, an Arab posing as a double agent, double crosses the Americans. He explodes a suicide bomb, killing many CIA officers.

We learn that there are American soldiers dealing drugs with the Taliban and that Kabul CIA station is a mess.

John Wells has been a CIA problem solver and is asked to travel to Kabul and find what is going on.

Knowing the country and fulent in the language, Wells poses as a Saudi and goes to a Taliban tribe active in the area. His goal is to meet the leader and pry enough information from him to determine if there is a CIA mole.

The suspense builds as we read the story wondering if Wells will succeed and if there is a mole, to stop that person before they might succeed in any plot they were planning.

The author offers more than just an action packed novel. There is a discussion of how an American who has converted to Islam could still have his primary loyalty to the United States. This reader has to wonder how often this comes up in Afghanistan.

Berenson paints a realistic picture of what I would imagine Kabul would be like with the desert area surrounded by mountains and populated by various warring tribes. The author also describes the Pashtun hatred for Arabs and their dislike of Americans.

It's a sad commentary when we see the idealistic soldiers who come to this part of Afghanistan with the goal of keeping America safe. Unfortunately, some of these soldiers become involved in heroine and have their lives ruined. It reminds this reader of what happened to many of the young solders in Viet Nam.

The situations talked about in this political thriller are so topical it makes it really hit home. I have not read any novels by Alex Berenson before and I definitely enjoyed this one. Even though his John Wells character appears in previous novels the author handled those past situations so well they were never a problem with me understanding what was happening now, in this book.

Wells is no longer actively connected with the CIA, but when he is called in to go to Afghanistan to find out why a CIA office there is having such difficulties he agrees to take on the mission, partially because it also involves trying to track down the possibility of American soldiers involved in a heroin drug ring. As with all novels involving American clandestine operations there are multiple layers of what the bureaucrats publicly declare the mission to be and what the hidden agenda might be. I liked the way this author kept so many plot threads going at the same time and yet kept them all connected to the main character and the main story by giving them all equal importance. I also found it very refreshing that Wells wasn't a twenty year old anti-social misfit but an older man who was still able to perform his job well. The men who make up the group who call themselves the shadow patrol are frightening examples of how good intentions can go horribly wrong.

Were there some instances when coincidence seemed to play an unusually fortunate role? Well, yes, but after all, this is a fiction novel and if not for the coincidences it would be much too close to real life where things take forever to come to fruition. We don't want to read a boring book so we give the author permission to stretch realism far beyond the norm. I like the character of John Wells and am interested now in reading earlier novels to find out how he reached this point in his life. An American agent working in the Middle East who is a Muslim was quite an unusual situation and I want to see how that evolved. Now I have some additional books to add to my reading list.

I read a couple of really good spy novels a year and this was one of them I've read his earlier ones as well and they are all very good. The very best is the first one where he has to save Times Square in New York City from going up in a big bomb blast. Thereafter people refer to him as Times Square Wells. By now though the memory of his heroism has faded and he is now able to move around as a spy as he once did. This mission involves going to Afghanistan and figuring out which CIA agent is a mole at their station.

The best part of the book is Wells moving all over Afghanistan to figure out who is the mole. We see just about every vantage point of the war via these treks. I feel as if I have been there. However, I am really glad I have been only an armchair traveler because it is incredibly dangerous there no matter where you are. We also get to learn about the huge cities in that part of the world too as Wells must sneak in and out of some of them as well.

I was also intrigued by how Wells' superior officer, Shafer, used Facebook to start penetrating the people who are working with the mole. There is HUGE use of the internet by American soldiers in Afghanistan. For some it is a good thing while for others it is very bad as they can easily discover what their spouse is doing in their absence (again we turn to Facebook). The spouses even fight over the internet, one in the USA and the other in Afghanistan! I found this all fascinating as well.

The problem of who is the mole isn't much of a problem as far as I was concerned. I figured that out very quickly. There was no one else with a motive, for one, which really narrows the field. So that is the weakest part of the book. I can't believe that other readers won't figure it out as quickly as I did. The person is all but wearing a sign saying IT'S ME.

If you like spy novels, you should like this one.

This book was the least interesting of the series. The sub-plots didn't fit together well. During most of the book I lost track of how the antagonist even fit into the story. It just all seemed too forced. I never felt my heart rate pick up, or really wondering about the resolution of the problem. I sort of didn't care if the bad guys won. All the preceding books were excellent..I was disappointed in this one.

John Wells returns in The Shadow Patrol, and Alex Berenson has delivered another great thriller. Berenson's knowledge of the Middle East and Afghanistan adds a level of grittiness and reality to the story for a depth that isn't always there in other thrillers.

In Shadow Patrol, John Wells must look for a mole in the CIA's operations in Afghanistan. A drug trafficking conspiracy involving the military, the CIA and the Taliban leave Wells once again uncertain who he can rely on. Hidden agendas lie under the motives on all sides, and lives will continue to be lost unless Wells can uncover the secrets.

John Wells is one of the most complex and interesting characters around. He struggles with his decisions and the morals of his actions. As in real life, nothing is ever black and white and things rarely neatly resolve themselves. He is smart, skilled, and athletic, but he is not perfect. He has limitations and he makes mistakes. Plans don't always work out perfectly, and there are consequences when they don't.

The complex characters and detailed descriptions of the locales and operations involved make this book a cut above most thrillers and spy novels. The pacing isn't breakneck, but it is steady and keeps the pages turning. There is real tension in the action sequences that keep you guessing how things will turn out. You may or may not be able to guess some of the secrets, but even if you do, the journey to get to them is rewarding in itself.

Alex Berenson has become a must read author, and John Wells an iconic character. I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of The Shadow Patrol, and it has cemented Berenson's well-deserved reputation. Highly recommended for any fan of thrillers and spy novels.

This is the sixth book in the John Wells series. The earlier books are The Faithful Spy, The Ghost War, The Silent Man, The Midnight House, and The Secret Soldier. It probably helps to have read the earlier books in the series, but the story in this book isn't the continuation of the earlier books so it isn't critical. Before I started this book, I thought I had read one of the earlier books but as I got into it, I realized this was all new to me. There are references to the character's actions in earlier books and I'm sure I would have a better sense of his relationship with his old boss at the CIA and other characters if I had read all the earlier books, but the story was enjoyable even without having read the earlier books.

John Wells is in some ways the typical action thriller hero and in other ways, very surprising. He is the super skilled lone wolf who has a hard time maintaining relationships with women because of his work that often populate the ranks of action thriller heroes. Like the typical spy thriller hero, he kills multiple bad guys who get in his way. But the characteristic that really surprised me is that the character converted to Islam at some point in his earlier activities in Iraq/Afghanistan. I wasn't expecting that at all; this type of character is not often religious at all and to have him be a convert to the same religion as the people he is working against was most unexpected.

In this book, Wells is an independent contractor asked by the CIA to look for a bad apple in the Kabul station. Although there is plenty of action, Wells doesn't do all the work physically. He interviews people and encourages people who know something to talk to him so it is part action part mystery solving. The book is written from a point of view that allows the reader to see into the thoughts and actions of not only Wells but also several of his main adversaries to see the different motivations for their actions.

I really enjoyed this book -- it was a fast read and the pace kept me entertained enough that I didn't skip ahead to the end to see what happened. Now I want to go back and read the earlier books to understand how the main character became the man he is in this book.

I almost feel that I've been on a terrifying visit to see the war/occupation in Afghanistan, -- well at least hearing a close friend tell me this gripping story after he has, this book has such an on-the-ground feel to it - and reading accounts of war or heroin drug rings are not my usual genre. Having not read any of the previous John Wells/former CIA agent -centered thrillers it took me only five pages in to look him up and promise myself that I was going to get the earlier books when done. His apparently unrelated plot threads come together to uncover a story of corruption that stretches back to the U.S. and is as sickening as it seems plausible.

Without giving away too much let me say that the scenario of drugs, duplicity and careless killing and other damage seems all too real. If you enjoy intelligent thriller mysteries that also enable you to learn "ripped from the headlines" current events in this fasting shifting world then you, too, may love Berenson's books - -especially if it helps your sort out the players, motives and hidden agendas in the Middle East. Wells has many of the classic central character traits, indomitable, risk-taking, messy personal life yet longing to do right by the right woman, worn and inquisitive.

The level of detail about the weaponry, drube, vehicles, landscape, cover-ups and way of life for soldiers - those who venture outside the wire and those who do not - makes this unfolding fictional story seem like ir really happened and, methinks, many parts of it actually have.