Wednesday, November 11, 2020

November 11, 2020 - Staff Reviews



The Deceivers

By Alex Berenson

Release Date: February 6, 2018

Ebook Available from WV Reads!


3.5 Stars - Satisfying final (so far) entry in the John Wells series. New settings and new friends and enemies for Wells keeps things interesting. The plot was skillfully mapped out in spite of many false leads, lying bad guys, and shady spy games. 

Wells has always been a mostly solo character but his personality shines with more interaction. He and his gruff boss Shaffer had chats that never failed to be bright spots in the stories. But this book opened up Wells a little more than he ever has yet. Duto and Shaffer are still here, but Shaffer gets to practically have his own adventure. John's new team involves a new boss who is also likable and the standout trainee Coil. Admittedly, I hoped the marine we reappear after The Prisoner because he makes an impression.

A lot about this entry was refreshing. The bad guys and girls Wells and his motley crew are tracking this time are different. And the way villians are ALSO getting played was entertaining. Wells and Coil go to South American in another new locale for this series. It started off set mostly in the Middle East and facing terrorist cells there. This one has Colombian drug lords, Russian spies, and homegrown threats. Also I liked that Wells did not have to spend as much time in his own head. Deep cover work is of course a lonely occupation by nature and forces a person to become someone else. I thought it was a good thing Wells finally got to have a family back home. He's a tough guy but he needs happy times too. And I really enjoyed Wells just getting to be himself in this one as he chased leads, took down bad guys, and of course saved America.

(NS)

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