The Midnight House (John Wells Series #4)

Thrilling!

Thoroughly engrossing and thrilling! Highly recommend.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not up to Par

The latest installment by Alex Berenson is thrilling but I think he's fallen into the pressure by the publishing company to come out with a book every year (much like Flynn and Thor). I wish the authors would try harder and make the books longer. It just didn't measure up to the first, second or third books. I'll probably try one more time but after that it'll be time to find another 'thriller' author.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Slipping. Slipping.

Berenson's first book was great. Subsequent efforts have been weaker and weaker. This has been his worst book by quite a margin.

Having said all that, this was one hell of a good book. It just wasn't nearly as good as his first book. I hope he can regain the edge he had on his earlier efforts. No matter, I will buy his next book the minute it hits the shelf.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

super spy thriller

Following the New York incident (see The Silent Man), CIA agent John Wells receives some needed R&R. He takes off for rustic New Hampshire with only his dog Tonka as his hiking mate.

However, his respite abruptly ends when his assignments boss Ellis Shafer calls asking him to come back to work as he is needed. An assassin has killed probably five members of the defunct 10 manned Task Force 673, whose mission was to interrogate high-value terrorists; they had no rules except obtain information anyway they can. John searches for the killer with the biggest barriers coming from within as security agency chiefs are willing to allow more Americans to die in order to gain more power.

Shakespeare said "All's well that ends well", but even if he ends the serial killing spree, the espionage operative learns otherwise as Pogo trumps the Bard with "we have met the enemy and he is us". The latest Wells' spy thriller is more a whodunit except for the penis envy testosterone wars between the American spy agencies. Fans will appreciate Alex Berenson's super thriller as his hero may be The Faithful Spy, but others place agency desires over national security.

Harriet Klausner

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A combo Spy/Mystery

This forth offering on John Wells is set in 2008 when actions in Iraq were ongoing. The story is very believable and, while there is some action, it is more of a mystery that Wells and his boss investigates. While not as good as eariler works is still a great read. I enjoy his writing style and was eager to get to the end.

Recommended

I enjoyed this book a lot up until the last 30 pages or so. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting but I felt kind of let down. I've read other books by Alex Berenson and taken as a whole, this was one of my least favorites.

Engaging

Book 4, in the John Wells series

This story is a fictional account about people, their politics on interrogation and the harsh techniques performed on detainees to obtain information.

CIA agent John Wells was on R&R in New Hampshire when his superior Ellis Shafer calls him back to Langley. An assassin has been killing one by one, members of the defunct team of 10 called 'Task Force 673 '. They were based in Poland at a place code name Midnight House and their mission was to interrogate high-value terrorists with whatever means necessary and extract vital Intel from the most dedicated and most radical. Could the killings be a question of pay back at all cost?

With Wells back in the fold, he poses as an Arabic-speaking journalist in Cairo with the ultimate mission to find and interview Alaa Zumari and back at the home front, Shafer works his contacts he has developed over the years. Soon into the investigation they realize members of the 673 are being not only targeted by the enemy but also back at home by high ranking officials who do not want the truth to become public.

This 4th instalment is a tale of moral corruption, cynicism and political manipulation. I find the storyline has a deeper message than the author's previous novels and has a slight philosophical and political overtone. It also covers an interesting topic: the torture of enemy combatants by Americans on foreign soil. The story jumps back and forth in time; it covers the 673 operations in Poland and the present day investigation. The pacing is slow at times with only a few vivid action sequences to provide a good adrenaline rush, however the writer has cleverly incorporated events of the past years with some plot twists to intrigue and challenge us. The story is driven by a large cast of interesting and well-drawn characters and Mr. Berenson has expertly developed his protagonist into multi-dimensional patriot extraordinaire.

'The Midnight House' is very engaging and a mind stimulating read.

An excellent read

The novel's backdrop is timely, and the plot gives the reader an opportunity to consider an issue which is important to all of us. In the process, you also get to enjoy the suspense of a great story.

The Midnight House

Interesting way of looking at the psychological aspects of a warped mind.

Very current book as the typr of "enhanced interrogations" the US is doing comes inder increasing scrutiny

Berenson uses his famous character, John Wells, to scout out a secret interrogation cell called the Midnight House. Several of the now defunct cell's members have recently been murdered, and it is up to Wells and his sidekick, Fisher, to hunt them down and save the remaining members.

While there was a lot of needless driveling about his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Exley, there wasn't enough of his new friend, a lady he met in his hideaway in the Northeast- but alas, I'm sure another sequel awaits that story.

All in all a good book, not a real page turner, but one that as the book got on you wanted to know what happens.

"Waiting for John to turn the page.....

The story was very interesting, exploring aspects of torture how it affects the prisoner and the 'interrogater'.
For all of the readers who are waiting for John to turn the page in his life, it is done! His personal life has hit a new low, if that was possible.

The Midnight House

John Wells has one hell of a problem; find out why members of a former interrogation team are dead. Could they all be coincidence or murder and part of a terrorist plot? In Alex Berenson's THE MIDNIGHT HOUSE, the author jumps from Well's investigation back to when the team was together doing what it specialized in. As we learn about the members, we also learn how the CIA operates. This is a fast moving mystery/thriller that is character driven.

Another Solid, Yet Different Addition to the John Wells Series

I have been a fan of Alex Berenson since his first novel and this book adds to the depth of the John Wells series. I would guess some fans of his previous novels may not be as happy with The Midnight House, as it is more mystery novel and less spy or counterterrorism thriller. To me that is the strength of the series so far, with each novel taking a different approach, style and tone while maintaining high intensity around a core group of solid characters. Both the first and third novels in the series, The Faithful Spy and The Silent Man, had a pure counterterrorism focus, while the The Ghost War was a more traditional espionage thriller. TMH overlaps into both areas but is first and foremost a mystery novel built around the world of spies.

End result is a pretty solid addition to the series, though one that may disappoint fans expecting something else. Plot is well paced, and Berenson overlaps multiple elements, including past and present, adroitly to move things along. TMH is not the best in the Wells series, but that's a high standard given the outstanding quality of the first three novels. Even so it is a worthwhile read and a nice addition to the series, and Berenson's main character and supporting cast continue to shine in comparison to most in the genre, save only those of Daniel Silva.

Empty House

Having liked Berenson's previous novels made the disappointment in this one all the harder. Perhaps the author had one more book to churn out under his contract, perhaps he was out of steam, but this novel was just a run of the mill story. To give it 4 stars wouldn't be fair to those novels who have earned them.

Pretty Good

It was pretty good, but not up to the previous novels in the series.

not the best

this was not one of the best from this author. hard reading the main person john wells could have been more in the book. i liked his other three much better. got a little off the pathway.

Terrorists interviewed in The Midnight House

You would not want to be in The Midnight House! It is a location where the CIA and other various high security agencies kept their worst terrorists. It is not known except by those that are using it for all types of interrogation including torture of the worst means. Of course it is not known since the United States does not torture those they interrogate! When you read the things that these terrorists performed you might feel The Midnight House is very necessary, like it or not.

This story will take you to many of the areas of the world in which the free world is fighting today to rid the world of the worst terrorists. It takes you on raids and actions including both sides of the war on terror and then takes you in the cells, or whatever you wish to call their walls of imprisonment, to suffer what the prisoners and the interrogators do through time, telling their daily routines while they play mind games with each other.

John Wells had been an agent but needed time off to recover from the rigors of the extreme work these agents perform. John was on a mountain climbing trek when he received a call from his immediate boss, Ellis Schafer requesting that John was desperately needed at work. Reluctantly, John returned to the dangerous grueling work. The agency heads were too secretive about all the things going on in the "prison camps" such as Midnight House was, but needed help finding some terrorists as well as CIA missing agents. Shafer and Wells left after obtaining all the possible information heading for Pakistan, Egypt, and surrounding areas. Wells went into deep cover traveling to and while in the area. Wells was as tough as anyone, mentally or physically, but was he ready for all he would suffer, learn, and observe?

Sometimes in each others company and sometimes not they carried out their mission getting into trouble with local authorities and enemy combatants several times. Their life was hard while they pried into the lives and actions of the agents that were in or had been in the area. Some had disappeared from plain sight. A unit called 673 had secretly been formed for the area and Shafer and Wells were to search for the group, if any were left, and the past members that had disappeared from the face of the earth. Some of the searches led back to Washington, DC and the heads of the involved agencies. How far to go and how far to open cans of worms to their sources?

An excellent spy book as John Well's returns in another one of Alex Berenson's books. Wells ex-love life was a part also. He had a hard time getting Exley out of his mind but she was out of the picture as far as Wells figured. You will not be disappointed as you read and travel to "The Midnight House."

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