The Silent Man

Not only is The Silent Man a fast paced page turner with plenty of twist and turns to keep you guessing, it is a wholly plausible scenario of how vulnerable this nation is to a nuclear attack from terrorists. Berenson really did his research on how to construct a crude nuclear device and creates compelling characters. This is my first Berenson novel but it won't be my last.

The Silent Man is Alex Berensen's third installment in the series featuring CIA agent John Wells. I originally picked up Berensen's initial work, The Faithful Spy, on a whim and have been hooked ever since. Despite the plethora of works out there today that touch on al-Queda and terrorism, Berenson is able to spin a believable and intriguing story that did not feel repetitive. The Wells character, along with fellow-agent Jennifer Exley and the other characters continue to grow across the novels. In this case, Wells and Exley are quickly pulled into tracking down a terrorist plot that shatters their hopes for a saner and less dangerous life together. Start to finish, this work moved along with pace. Berenson effectively uses plot twists and unexpected action to keep the reader engaged and turning the pages. If you have been wondering about whether to take a chance with a new author, give Beresen's works a shot. I recommend, however, that you read the predecessor books in order prior to tackling The Silent Man. While each work could stand on its own, they are clearer better taken in sequence.

Over the last several months, I have read the thee John Wells novels that Alex Berenson has written. In Wells, Alex has created a character that is sure to be in the list of great recurring spy characters. In The Silent Man, John Wells is pitted against terrorists who have acquired two bombs from Russia and are planning to set a bomb off on US soil. Wells, a CIA operative who we meet in the first Alex Berenson novel as having infiltrated Al Qaeda, becomes involved when chasing down a nemesis from the second book. Wells is in a race against time as nuclear destruction is about to be inflicted on the US. The CIA often does not know what to do with Wells, who "goes off the ranch" from time to time. The writing of Berenson is taut and this book and the other Wells books are page turners. Highly recommended reading.

Saving the world is hard. Doing it convincingly book after book must be a huge challenge. This is the third John Wells thriller, and Berenson manages to give us a more convincing hero than in the second installment. The first in the series, The Faithful Spy, was amazing. The second book was a second book. Here Berenson allows Wells to develop believably, still at odds with his American culture, although with nothing said about his faith. (Wells converted to Islam while spending years under cover in Afghanistan. In the second book, he moves into more secular mind-set, and here all we hear about is not eating pork - superficial stuff.) John Wells has a bad case of the super-hero-blues: he feels that he and only he can save the world. I wish he enjoyed it more. While not as dark as parts of the second book, there's a lot of navel-staring angst here. But the quality of the writing carries the reader through the self-indulgent parts. At times the prose is positively lyrical - especially in the passages on the intersections between cultural agendas and place -- in Cairo, in Hamburg, and where Wells thinks about America as he re-enters the country. Berenson does shifting point of view very well. We move from Wells' head to the heads of various plotting men -- plotting willingly and under duress - to the minds of desk-spies. (Berenson has a great talent for depicting the bad guys. They are understandable and even sympathetic without tempting the reader over to their side.) There is a bad moment when the omniscient third shifts from one plotter to another - I spent several chapters being confused in Elmira - but even that resolves.) The mind we don't get inside is Exley's. When I reviewed the second book, I wished that we might hear more from her -- Wells' lover and CIA comrade -- and I'm sad to see that we hear considerably less. She's barely on stage. But that's a matter of personal taste. The novel does a good job of showing the American intelligence services as deeply flawed but basically a force for good. That's a nice relief for US readers who have been battered recently by the latest John Le Carre and the 6th season of Spooks (MI5 over here.) I like the illusion that we live in a benign universe. I'm giving this 5 with the understanding that The Faithful Spy would get 6 stars.

In the DC area CIA Agents John Wells and Jennifer Exley are driving to work when traffic comes to a standstill because of accidents on two bridges. John thinks it is too much of a happenstance and quickly is proven right when three assassins on motorcycles start shooting at them. They kill their attackers, but Exley is critically wounded in the crossfire. When he knows she will live, John goes to Russia to obtain proof that arms dealer Pierre Kowalski put out the hit on him for embarrassing him and marking his face in a duel years ago. The mission fails but Kowalski is deathly afraid that Wells will come after him. In Russia, two nuclear warheads are stolen from the secure Facility in Ozersk and placed on board a freighter heading to Canada where Jihadists wait for the arrival to drive them into the States. They intend to nuke DC on Inauguration Day led by Sayyid Nadiji whose family was killed during the Iraq War and occupation. Kowalski is asked to deliver beryllium to give to a third party who will supply it to those targeting Washington. He tells Wells to maintain the peace between them. John runs with the information, which is the first step in finding and preventing Jihadists from devastating DC. This is an invigorating thriller that will frighten readers as the scenario is plausible with the terrorists capable of the theft, delivery, and destruction on a scale that could make 9/11, London and Madrid seem minor. John is a dedicated agent risking his life to keep the world safe while his beloved Exley wants him out of the deadly field game that he cannot walk away from even if it means losing her. Fans will enjoy the latest spy thriller, as Alex Berenson continues to deliver top rate realistic tales (see THE GHOST WAR and FAITHFUL SPY) on a par with Le Carre and Silva. Harriet Klausner