Terrorism in the U.S., a politician using fear of Muslims to gather popular support and Russian meddling. Sound familiar? Outside a Dallas arena, 300 people are killed and blame is placed on three Muslim men firing weapons into the crowd, and detonating a powerful bomb made of C-4. Vinny Duto, President and former head of the CIA, calls in John Wells and sends him to South America to follow a lead, with a new handler. Wells' long-time friend, Ellis Shafer, decides something is wrong with the Dallas investigation, and they separately find the same culprit. Meanwhile, a retired sniper is manipulated by a woman into shooting two high profile church leaders, who have openly criticized Muslim beliefs, and then have him target a rising politician. On the other hand, I did not care for Wells' decision to walk away from Shafer, and his continued waffling about whether family or country comes first. ( )

A pretty good book, although ultimately predictable for fans of the suspense/thriller genre. I'm not a big fan of the series type of books that feature the same hero cop/private investigator. I much more enjoy and appreciate books where the author develops a "one-time" problem solver, but maybe that's just me.... ( )

John Well returns from the Mid-East to search for terrorist mass killers and killers of prominent citizens - including Presidential candidate.
See gmartz for an accurate review ( )

Alex Berenson delivers yet another John Wells extravaganza in 'The Deceivers'. In this one, the indestructible Wells manages to make it through relatively unscathed physically, which is sort of unique in the series. His supporting cast, not so much.

The Deceivers is an account of a 'false flag' operation by the Russians to essentially plant a spy at the highest level (I mean, THE HIGHEST) of the US government. The plot revolves around a terrorist attack in Dallas that was intricately planned by the Russians to blame on Moslems and a series of sniper attacks on American religious leaders. Now-President Duto, who we've watched on his unchecked climb to the top of the country's political pile, calls his old 'buddy', John Wells to track down an iffy lead he'd received from South America, and the race is on.

As with all of the books in this great series, the writing is excellent, the pacing breathtaking, the dialogue believable, and the plot well-designed. The only thing I can really fault Berenson on, and this is really nit-picky for a book of this genre, is that lots of shortcuts, assumptions, and action sequences turn in the good guys' favor. There's a tight timeframe to identify, locate, and eliminate the perps, and if just one of the lucky breaks Wells and his guys got didn't happen, the end wouldn't have turned out so well. That's what makes Wells such a great character, right?

If you're a Wells fan (and who isn't?), you'll really enjoy The Deceivers. Well done and, sadly, somewhat believable in the context of what's happening today in this country. ( )

This book starts out very interestingly as a bad group of people are going around posing as FBI and getting weapons, etc. to Muslims. These Muslims who currently live here, are only posting and ranting on Facebook. These people would not actually go and do what being was done if it wasn't for being supplied with the tools. They would go on carrying their rants to all who would hear. Until one day. . .

There is lots of crazy action going on in this book and I enjoyed it immensely. I sped right through in way wanting to put this book down. Alas, life around me does have to pull me back from now and then to reality. So, unfortunately, I was not able to read it in one sitting, but I still found it a very good read.

The scary part I felt while reading this book, this could actually happen. There could be some wannabe who would do anything to get to the top. A top, that in their egotistical minds, that was well deserved and should be given.

Huge thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. ( )