The Counterfeit Agent: A John Wells Novel, Book 8

For some reason a while back I stopped reading Alex Berenson's books, and after reading "The Counterfeit Agent," I don't recall why that was. This was a realistic, intelligent,and fast-paced thriller, especially for a genre that's increasingly dominated by ridiculous and formulaic plots and bad writing. I was entertained and impressed throughout.John Wells is also a great character. He's not the standard special ops, alpha male bad ass who happily tortures people, breaks laws, and disobeys orders with impunity while having the president on speed dial. He won't hesitate to kill people when necessary, but he generally doesn't turn up a huge body count or get involved in unlikely action scenes. He's more of a spy and investigator than an "operator." This means we actually see Wells gathering intelligence and putting the pieces together in Berenson's complex, multi-layered plot. In this book, Wells is tracking down a disgruntled, former CIA officer who is responsible for orchestrating acts of terrorism and assassination, possibly on behalf of Iran or for a mysterious third party. A parallel-running plot involves the staff of the CIA's Istanbul station dealing with a new Iranian agent providing information on Iran's nuclear program and terrorism operations.Berenson shows a solid knowledge of global politics and spycraft and many other areas. He provides informative background and technical details that fully bring the characters, settings, and situations to life, which reminded me of Frederick Forsyth.The only problem I had with the book is that ending. I've no problem with authors continuing storylines into another book, but each book should still stand on it's own. And this book doesn't really end, it just sort of stops with most of the significant plot threads left completely unresolved.

The modern history of Iran and the US is fraught with conflict. Today, Americans vilify the ayatollahs who have governed Iran since its revolution in 1979. We're all too likely to forget (assuming we ever knew in the first place) that the Iranian Revolution was in large part a consequence of the CIA operation to overthrow the elected prime minister of the country in 1953.Then, a CIA task force led by Theodore Roosevelt's grandson, Kermit Roosevelt Jr., engineered the removal of the secular democrat Mohammad Mossadegh. That enabled Iran's monarch, Shah Reza Pahlevi, to reverse the nationalization of Western oil firms and assert his control of the Iranian people in increasingly brutal ways for nearly three decades. The Iran hostage crisis in the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979 was merely the first of a long string of conflicts between the two countries, some of which involved small-scale open warfare.Alex Berenson's The Counterfeit Agent is one of two novels in his John Wells series that is set against the background of this ongoing high-stakes struggle. In a typically suspenseful tale, Wells takes on a rogue ex-CIA agent to head off war with Iran. Unfortunately, this is the first of two novels, and it ends with a cliffhanger. I enjoyed the book, but I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't unwittingly read the sequel first. The second of the novels, Twelve Days, opens with Iran and the US on the brink of war, exactly as the first had ended.Like all the books in the John Wells series, The Counterfeit Agent rockets from one locale to another. The story unfolds in South Africa, Istanbul, Guatemala City, Hong Kong, Manila, Panama City, and Phuket (Thailand) as well as several locations within the United States. Clearly, Berenson is drawing on his own travels, at least some of them while working as a reporter for the New York Times. The descriptions of the foreign locales reek of authenticity.

Berenson is good. His creation, John Wells, lives a charmed life while suffering anguish, torment, and even torture to complete his current mission. Wells’ angst brings him to the edge of despair but somehow manages to rise to the challenge. I mean, I love that guy. The plots are ripped from today’s headlines, as the flaksters like to say, many threads and subplots. But because he is a master of the genre, Berenson makes it work, and I can’t wait for the next installment. Let’s go!

If you are expecting a novel where the central character is the former CIA agent John Wells then this book will disappoint you. He is not the central character. Rather, the central characters are the familiar protagonists John Wells, Ellis Shaefer and Vinnie Duto. Ellis is still with the CIA but is approaching retirement and is on the outs with the current CIA leadership. Vinnie is no longer with the CIA but rather he is a United States senator and John Wells is his normal doubt filled, commitment phobic former CIA assassin. These three former enemies and at times friends must, again, save the world from terrorism.This is a disappointing story. The plot seems like it was lifted from a Showtime or HBO production where uranium is stolen and evidence is planted that could lead the US into a war with Iran. There is no official government investigation into the potential threat of war between the US and Iran. It seems that any evidence that supports this possibility is taken as gospel and any attempt to prove the evidence false is not taken seriously.(sounds, familiar). It is the trio of Wells, Duto and Shaefer who have to sort it all out and stop the war. Their attempt at stopping this conflict is only partially successful.Ultimately, the real bad guy is not caught leaving it open for the next novel in the John Wells series.For me, this just wasn’t a good novel. A weak plot with shallow characters and the usual corrupt government officials all come together in this very mediocre novel.

John Wells...when started reading these novels, hell and high water was the medium...fast furious deadly...lately its be slow plots and not much fury.Please can we have one finalJohn Well..fire and brimstone!!

I'm a huge fan of the John Wells series. The book was captivating and clearly leaves room for a follow on. I must admit I had been expecting a bit more exploration into his relationship with his family, but I guess that come in succeeding books. I'm taking one star off just because those who like this genre aren't going to find anything dramatically new in this one, but it was still highly entertaining

I found this story tedious to a high degree. How many times does Wells (imprisoned/manacled) get to outwit two idiots who are guarding him, instead of them just whacking and dumping him? The first time he gets beat up it's because he acts like a complete simpleton….and it hardly advances the plot….it's like a porn movie that just sets you up for the next tired action sequence. I found none of the characters particularly likable or believable, and the action lame.

Alex Berenson is a great writer. The story runs along with great twists and cliff hangers at the end of each chapter. Always makes you want the next one to come out as soon as possible.

very good