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Book Summary and Reviews of The Midnight House by Alex Berenson

The Midnight House by Alex Berenson

The Midnight House

by Alex Berenson

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  • Feb 2010, 400 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Early one morning, a former CIA agent is shot to death in the street. That night, an army vet is gunned down in his doorway. The next day, John Wells gets a phone call. Come to Langley. Now.

The two victims were part of an eleven-member interrogation team that operated out of a secret base in Poland called the Mid­night House. For two years, they put the screws to the toughest jihadis, men thought to have knowledge of imminent threats. The interrogators used whatever means necessary. When they were disbanded in the wake of public controversy, they were given medals for their heroism, Prozac for their nightmares. Now Wells must find out who is killing them. Islamic terrorists are the likeliest explanation, and Wells is uniquely qualified to go undercover after them. But the trail of blood he discovers will lead him and his boss, Ellis Shafer, to a place they wouldn't have imagined-and leave Wells facing the hardest of questions about the men of the Midnight House.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Arguably Berenson's best thriller yet, this outstanding novel stands on the top rung of commercial spy fiction." - Library Journal

"CIA agent John Wells, the hero of bestseller Berenson's exceptional espionage series, retreats to rural New Hampshire in his compelling fourth outing." - Publishers Weekly

"A superbly crafted spy thriller that doubles as a gripping mystery; the reader has no idea who the killer is until Wells figures it out." - Kirkus Reviews

"His characters are either deftly sketched or fully realized. His writing is succinct, with dashes of cynical humor." - Booklist

This information about The Midnight House was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Betty Taylor

Intrigue in Poland
This is the fourth book in a series about John Wells, a CIA agent. This is the first of the series I have read. (I was provided a free copy for review through the First Reads program on GoodReads.com.) As a result of reading this one, I have bought three more in the series. I didn't encounter any problems as a result of not reading the previous books. There were a few blanks that I will get filled in later (i.e., what's the deal with Exeley? What's the story regarding Times Square? )

John Wells is called in to investigate when members of a top secret interrogation team start dying. The story alternates with the present and Wells and his partner working the investigation and back top 2008 and the interrogation of prisoners at the Midnight House in Poland. I was not able to figure out who did the killings and why prior to the reveal. This book gets into some of the ethical issues surrounding the interrogation teams.

Another book is coming out in the series -- "The Counterfeit Agent" -- and I really look forward to reading this one.

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Author Information

Alex Berenson Author Biography

Photo: Sigrid Estrada

Alex Berenson was born in New York in 1973 and grew up in Englewood, N.J. After graduating from Yale University in 1994 with degrees in history and economics, he joined the Denver Post as a reporter. In 1996, he became one of the first employees at TheStreet.com, the groundbreaking financial news website.

In 1999, he joined The New York Times. At the New York Times, he covered everything from the drug industry to Hurricane Katrina; in 2003 and 2004, he served two stints as a correspondent in Iraq, an experience that led him to write The Faithful Spy, his debut novel, which won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel.

He has now written seven John Wells novels and one work of non-fiction, The Number. He left the New York Times in 2010 to devote himself ...

... Full Biography
Link to Alex Berenson's Website

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