THE PRISONER, by Alex Berenson

The award-winning John Wells saga continues, this one ranging from newly-elected President Vinnie Duto's Oval Office to a seedy guesthouse in Afghanistan, a terrorist's compound in Raqqa, a Bulgarian rendition prison, and not-so-gay Paris. Although a bit less of a bloodbath than many Wells adventures, a complex plot and new-to-Wells emotional content balances it out nicely. Overall, extremely satisfying and, for me, somehow richer than some Wells more kick-ass assignments.
A series of inexplicable stand-offs and disappearances among ISIS senior staff plus a brief overheard conversation in a Bulgarian prison leads Ellis Schafer and Wells to conclude the CIA has a mole at its highest levels. Duto gives his usual conditional I-don't-know-you approval and Wells, in a risky plan, returns to his old undercover life as a jihadi. But nobody can step in the same river twice. This time he leaves behind a two year-old daughter he adores. But not to worry: underneath the besotted, gentle, smoochy father, the cold and quick killer Wells still lives. Mostly.
A twisted path of rendition and brutal captivity gives Wells tidbits of information that will lead him on a tension-filled path through the streets of Paris to the traitor. The scenes involving the traitor and the path to treachery in fascinating.
Another five for John Wells and his crew! Berenson knows how to deliver a thriller that doesn't read like any of the previous escapades, not an easy task (and one some other best-selling authors haven't quite managed).
P. S.: Will we see more of Coyle? I hope so. He has the feel of a guy who'll stick around.

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