I like the John Wells series and this one is a great work. It raises the question about how sleeper agents operate and we get to see some of their inner conflicts -- at least what we can imagine as their conflicts, having not known anyone personally -- and the circumstances and eventual consequences of being someone that you aren't over a long period of time. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait until the next in the series.

The summary sounded great, and I requested the novel. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. It sounds like Berenson has quite a following and will most likely be very successful!

I know there's a large contingent out that really enjoys these novels but unfortunately I just found it not my cup of tea. Highly recommend, however, to those looking for action and a topical adventure story.

Fast paced action. Held my interest. Well written. Seemed authentic.

Another great story built around John Wells. It's always interesting to see how the idea for a story develops and turns into a really great read. This is a very good book; built around the world and recent events and the threat of Islamic terrorism. John has been developing a soul and recognizes that his previous life is coming to an end. It will be interesting to see how it proceeds.

I highly recommend the book. Relevant, well written, and moves forward quickly.

Alex Berenson's John Wells series just keeps getting better and better. "The Prisoner" is pulled right from today's headlines and the novel had me turning the pages. The last three novels had an overlapping plot that comprised a loose trilogy. The Prisoner" resolves the story nicely in a single book.

Berenson has written a whole series of espionage thrillers featuring John Wells, a CIA operative fighting al Qaeda. I was unaware of this when I requested a DRC from Net Galley and Putnam Penguin, but I find it stands up quite nicely as a stand-alone novel. Would I have enjoyed it even more if I’d read the others first? We will never know. However, if you’d like to read this tightly woven thriller either in sequence or singly, it will be available January 31, 2017.

To enjoy an espionage thriller, one has to buy the premise, namely that the CIA is a heroic organization, or at least has a segment of good guys that are fighting terrorism to keep innocent civilians safe. This is a premise I buy cheerfully for the sake of a good yarn; I do it when I read crime fiction in which the cops are morally righteous, or at least more good than bad, so why not here. In exchange, I got to enjoy an intense, interesting thriller that is different from a lot of the other fiction I read, and novelty is a meaningful selling point when one spends several hours daily with one’s nose in a book.

This is a literate read. In a world of dumbed-down fiction that plays to the lowest common denominator, I have come to value writers that have a strong vocabulary and aren’t afraid to use it. I also learned some things about the Middle East and how the USA operates there, including a few new specialized terms and some information about the cultures featured in that part of the world. Of course, this is fiction and it could also be true that Berenson made it all up, but his past includes work as a war correspondent in Iraq, and so perhaps this is what gives the setting its authenticity.

Our premise is that there is a mole at a high level inside of the CIA. John Wells has been feeling the itch to travel, impatient with his wife’s demand for more family time and suffocated by the dull sameness of everyday life in the States. He volunteers to return to the Mid-East and pose as an al Qaeda recruit so that he can be tossed into a Bulgarian prison and cozy up to the high-up operative that is interned there.

I blanched slightly at this; I have read a couple of former CIA employees’ memoirs, and I had to swallow hard to pretend that this guy would actually do this thing. But when we read thrillers, whether it’s crime, mystery, or a spy story, we don’t really want to read about tedium and paper pushing; we want excitement. Once I bought the premise, I was wedded to the narrative.

The other key characters here are Shafer, the CIA officer Wells reports to and who is also hunting for the mole; and the mole, whose name I can’t tell you without ruining the book. At first I thought I was seeing shallow characterization, but Wells’ character is developed in a way that is so subtle that the reader may not realize it’s occurred. Gradually we come to know who Wells is, how he thinks, how he will respond. On the other hand, our mole is a loser and remains a caricature throughout.
Every significant character here is male, but from what little I know, that’s consistent with the CIA, especially among the highest officers, a glass ceiling that’s hard to crack, so Berenson is merely reflecting US intelligence as it actually is.

The plot’s arc is a little different than one might usually expect. The hook at the start is arresting, and I expected it to perhaps ratchet up, up, up from there. Instead, the pace flagged once we were about 15 percent of the way in, and then gradually began to ascend again. By the time I was 70 percent of the way in, I understood that the next time I picked it up, I would have to finish it.

When we hit the climax, set in France, I threw off the quilt and sat up. The pulse-pounding denouement was inconsistent with lying supine and I read the last 15 percent of the book sitting up and leaning forward.

This story is guaranteed to spike your adrenaline and chase away the winter blahs. Recommended to those that enjoy espionage thrillers.

Expecting the usual intriguing murder/thriller from the author I was not pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be an international political espionage thriller which I normally find full and plodding. In Berensen's voice of truth in dialogue, in-depth characters and involved yet clear plot, I enjoyed my first such novel since Clancy. I became involved to the point of having a ricin nightmare. Concise and possible in today's climate

I've always enjoyed his books and this one was no different. I highly recommend it.

"The Prisoner" is an excellent entry in the John Wells saga. Mr. Berenson provides a lot of well-researched background elements and a good number of twists. The focus is very timely, and I really did feel a sense of uncertainty and foreboding as the story approached its climax. A very thoughtful thriller all the way through.

Alex Berenson is one of the greatest authors of our time. This book is fantastic!