The Night Ranger

by Alex Berenson Narrated by George Guidall

Overview

John Wells enters new territory, as he goes underground in East Africa to track four kidnapped Americans and the Somali bandits who snatched them, in the tough, thoughtful, the electrifying novel from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author.

Four friends, recent college graduates, travel to Kenya to work at a giant refugee camp for Somalis. Two men, two women, each with their own reasons for being there. But after twelve weeks, they're ready for a break and pile into a Land Cruiser for an adventure.

They get more than they bargained for. Bandits hijack them. They wake up in a hut, hooded, bound, no food or water. Hostages. As a personal favor, John Wells is asked to try to find them, but he does so reluctantly. East Africa isn't his usual playing field. And when he arrives, he finds that the truth behind the kidnappings is far more complex than he imagined.

The clock is ticking. The White House is edging closer to an invasion of Somalia. Wells has a unique ability to go undercover and to make things happen, but if he can't find the hostages soon, they'll be dead-and the US may be in a war it never should have begun.

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2013 - AudioFile

This espionage thriller is a series of returns—Berenson returns with another bestseller; Wells, the retired CIA agent, returns to rescue four kidnap victims in Somalia; and George Guidall returns for the sixth time to narrate. For the listener, these returns combine into a dramatic, fast-paced thriller that's easy to step into without the backstory of the earlier books. Guidall has developed a unique voice for the major characters who are deployed across multiple books. He easily switches between Wells, Shafer—his CIA handler in Washington—the kidnapper called the Magician, and the victims. With pacing perfectly matched to the story, Guidall continues to demonstrate his wide-ranging abilities and, perhaps, entice new listeners to the series. M.L.R. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

The chaos of East Africa and the complex realities of relief efforts in that region form the backdrop for Edgar-winner Berenson’s gripping seventh thriller featuring ex-CIA agent John Wells (after 2012’s The Shadow Patrol). Wells’s estranged son, Evan, who views his father as “a professional vigilante at best, a war criminal at worst,” calls for help after 23-year-old aid worker Gwen Murphy, a friend’s sister, is kidnapped in Kenya. Murphy, who had been working in a refugee camp, was abducted with three colleagues, including the nephew of James Thompson, head of WorldCares/ChildrenFirst, the NGO running the refugee camp. Wells, who agrees to do what he can, taps an ally in the Company for assistance. Meanwhile, Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate based in Somalia, has infiltrated the refugee camps across the border where WorldCares is operating. Taut prose, plausible action, and plenty of plot surprises ensure another winner for this perennial bestseller. Agent: Heather Schroder, ICM. (Feb.)

MARCH 2013 - AudioFile

This espionage thriller is a series of returns—Berenson returns with another bestseller; Wells, the retired CIA agent, returns to rescue four kidnap victims in Somalia; and George Guidall returns for the sixth time to narrate. For the listener, these returns combine into a dramatic, fast-paced thriller that's easy to step into without the backstory of the earlier books. Guidall has developed a unique voice for the major characters who are deployed across multiple books. He easily switches between Wells, Shafer—his CIA handler in Washington—the kidnapper called the Magician, and the victims. With pacing perfectly matched to the story, Guidall continues to demonstrate his wide-ranging abilities and, perhaps, entice new listeners to the series. M.L.R. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

A tense thriller that relies equally on bravery, wit and 21st-century American firepower. A group of U.S. workers for WorldCares/ChildrenFirst are in Kenya to help Somali refugees. One day, they are kidnapped and held for ransom. The victims' families hire John Wells, an ex-CIA agent who converted to Islam in a previous novel. Wells is smart, tough and honorable, but none of that stops him from being one hell of a killer. In his first foray into Africa, he coordinates his efforts with the CIA, though not all his government contacts like or trust him. Meanwhile, the frightened hostages must endure rough treatment by captors who have problems of their own. Berenson's thorough research gives the reader vivid images of Somalia, a hostile, ungovernable land where outlaws and hyenas are near the top of the food chain. In one tense scene, a deadly 6-foot-long mamba slithers over Wells. But the drones terrify and fascinate even more, controlled from air-conditioned comfort back in the United States. What can the operator see and do to a distant enemy before returning to his comfortable home? The worst part is that the technology is believable and probably accurate. The novel also prompts but does not pose the question: How many is it acceptable to kill in order to save how few? A cynic might add "how many Africans" and "how few Americans," although the novel has no racial slant. The enemy might be anyone, anywhere in the world, caught in the sights of an airborne Reaper. Setting aside the troubling trends in warfare, though, Berenson gives readers top-notch, fast-paced excitement in a part of the world unfamiliar to many Americans. John Wells (The Faithful Spy, 2006, etc.) is a worthy hero readers can count on.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172222290
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	02/12/2013
Series:	John Wells Series , #7
Edition description:	Unabridged

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