Robert Ludlum's the Janus Reprisal

Covert-One #9

by Jamie Freveletti

With U.S. intelligence agencies wracked by internal power struggles and paralyzed by bureaucracy, the president was forced to establish his own clandestine group--Covert-One. It is activated only as a last resort, when the threat is on a global scale and time is running out.

It begins with a terrorist attack. Covert-One operative Colonel Jon Smith is attending a conference in The Hague on infectious diseases, together with leading scientists and political figures from around the world. Without warning, the conference hotel is consumed in a bloodbath. Smith is caught in the crossfire and barely escapes . . . but not before discovering a picture of himself and two other targets in the pocket of one of the shooters.
But the hotel is not the only location under attack in The Hague. Bombs are going off at the train station, the airport, and the International Criminal Court, where Pakistani warlord Oman Dattar is being held while he's tried for crimes against humanity. In the resulting chaos, the prisoner escapes.

Dattar nurses a special hatred for the United States and its allies. With his freedom, and access to a mysterious new weapon, Dattar puts in motion a murderous, ambitious plot to exact his revenge and bring down the West once and for all--unless Covert-One can stop him.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Action, Audiobook, Mystery, Suspense, Espionage

368 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2012

About the author

Jamie Freveletti is an internationally bestselling author of six novels, four short stories and is published in four languages. Her Emma Caldridge series of five books won an International Thriller Writers Best First Novel award, a Barry award, and was a VOX media pick in Germany. The latest, Blood Run, launched in November 2017. In addition to her own novels, she’s written The Janus Reprisal and The Geneva Strategy for the Estate of Robert Ludlum’s Covert One series and is a contributor to the 2017 non-fiction anthology, Anatomy of Innocence, Testimonies of the Wrongfully Convicted . A former lawyer, avid distance runner and black belt in aikido, a Japanese martial art, she lives in Chicago with her family.

Reviews

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It continued in the tradition of previous Covert One books - fast paced, action packed, and very suspenseful. New author (new to this series anyway) Jamie Freveletti did a great job of setting the stage, keeping the story moving, and advancing the character development of Jon Smith & Rebecca Russell - the two main characters in the series. I'm not going to rehash the plot, plenty of other reviews do that, I'll just say that if you're a fan of the previous books in the series, you won't be disappointed in this one. I read the entire book in one day - I didn't want to put it down.

[Kari Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Goodreads.com

It begins with a terrorist attack. Covert-One operative Colonel Jon Smith is attending a conference in The Hague on infectious diseases, together with leading scientists and political figures from around the world. Without warning, the conference hotel is consumed in a bloodbath. Smith is caught in the crossfire and barely escapes . . . but not before discovering a picture of himself and two other targets in the pocket of one of the shooters. But the hotel is not the only location under attack in The Hague. Bombs are going off at the train station, the airport, and the International Criminal Court, where Pakistani warlord Oman Dattar is being held while he’s tried for crimes against humanity. In the resulting chaos, the prisoner escapes.

Dattar nurses a special hatred for the United States and its allies. With his freedom, and access to a mysterious new weapon, Dattar puts in motion a murderous, ambitious plot to exact his revenge and bring down the West once and for all–unless Covert-One can stop him.

This is the third book that I have read my Freveletti. She brings something amazing to the table as an author. Her books are thrilling from the first page and explosion to the very last shot where hopefully the bad guy goes down. She always has very strong characters that you can’t help but root for. But the thing I love the most about Freveletti’s book is that I always come away feeling smarter. That is what a book is supposed to do right?? But I tend to gravitate toward the light and fluffy. Freveletti always add a scientific element into her novels that I love.

I was a bit reluctant to read this book. Yes, I love Freveletti, but I also love female protaganists and don’t often go for books with male leads. I also have seen the Jason Bourne movies, and while I like them, wasn’t sure how I would feel about a book. But since I’ve loved Freveletti’s other books, I gave it a chance and I’m glad I did.

The Janus Reprisal is action packed from the beginning to the end. There’s a terrorist attack, a bacteria being spread that could kill millions and of course a lot of guns being fired.

There are a couple of ladies in this book that I can’t ignore. I am used to Emma Cauldridge in Freveletti’s other books, so I was hoping for some strong willed, very talented women in this one. Not only do we get one, we get two. One in the form of an investment guru who loves money just a little too much and will do anything for it. And a CIA operative who, on her death bed, still can’t help but to fight terrorists. I love badass women.

I mentioned that I have seen and liked that Bourne movies, with the most recent being my favorite. But I didn’t love that they were genetically modified. Yes, that does boost the story – and make them susperhuman men, but I love that in this book, Jon Smith with just a tough cookie (I know that is the least masculine thing to say lol). He is well trained with the military, but it also a scientist. Who doesn’t love a tough and smart guy??

I give The Janus Reprisal 5 out of 5 bookmarks.

[Chris Matney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this title up as an unabridged audio book. Now I thought it was a Robert Ludlum book - I've never read any of his titles before. Proclaimed across the top: "From the Creator of Jason Bourne... Robert Ludlum's..." Oops. I missed that apostrophe in my rush to get on the road. The book was ghost written by Jamie Freveletti - of course I didn't realize this until I was pulling the CD's from the car player. Now I realize that Robert Ludlum has been dead for a decade and yet books with his name are still pouring forth. Sigh. Next time, I will get the original.

Overall the story was just okay. The writing was workman-like and mostly uninspired - however it was crisp and very cinematic. Pacing was very good - as a page-turner should be.

I did like several of the characters - financial wizard Rebecca Nolan was very well done - not static and, in the end, very likable. I also liked Marty Zellerbach - the computer genius - although he eerily resembles some of my co-workers. Even Peter Howell who is an over-the-top image of James Bond was fun. On the other hand, the bad guys were about as vanilla as bad guys get.

My biggest complaint was the plot to destroy America was lame. I picked the book up for a fun read - we aren't talking Tolstoy here - and I'm pretty good at suspending belief. That said, having a virus that can travel through electrical wires doesn't really require that elaborate a means of transmission. In the end, it seems that the author had great movie scenes in mind but no way to tie them together.

So, this isn't a terrible book - it was a nice way to spend a few hours on the road. However, I won't be picking up more books in the Covert-One series - at least not until I've read some of Ludlum's real books.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book as a first read,and i would like to thank the author for the free copy.
This is a fast read fiction book - we start off with Col Jon Smith in Hague at a conference for Bio-medical. Lots of medical people with ideas of the next big bacteria. The hotel is bombed followed by several other places - one is where this prison Dattar is being held on war crimes.
He is the won that everyone needs to watch out for as he is gunning for 3 people . The one who help capture him - stole his money and another one. Covert One is called in to help recapture Dattar an stop the bacteria from being releassed. Will Jon Smith be in time to stop it. Will the mole in the CIA stop him??
This is well written and I could not put the book down till I had finished it. Awesome -Just awesome!!!!!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamie Freveletti was an awesome choice to write for The Robert Ludlum Estate. She wrote one action packed thriller, might have been as good as RL.

[Carl Alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The Janus Reprisal, some nasty Pakistani terrorist types are aiming for total annihilation. The head bad guy is Oman Dattar, an especially evil warlord. After escaping from prison, he sets out to destroy New York with a virus that is conducted by bacteria. I’m not qualified to know if the science behind this makes sense, so I’ll take their word for it that such a thing can happen. Out to stop him is John Smith, the man with the generic name, but not so generic skills. He has a few others helping him out, but there is another staple of these types of novel—the typical CIA mole who is trying to help out the bad guys.

There is nothing especially wrong with this novel. It had a logical progression to it. There weren’t any big realism gaps. In these types of novels, the bad guys tend to be over the top and not believable, but I didn’t find that issue here. I also didn’t find anything that makes this novel stand out. It’s fairly generic. If you’ve read enough of these types of political/international terrorism thrillers, it kind of feels like all the rest of them. In a few months, I will probably completely forget everything about this novel. In all, this was a solid story, just not spectacular.

Carl Alves – author of Reconquest: Mother Earth

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book! Didn't want to put it down. After reading this one I can't wait to read the rest!

[Mac Daly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts with an attack on a hotel with a daring escape and the action never stops. Great for fans of the Bourne adventures.

[Rob Slaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is so often the case as of late, I will begin by saying that this book made its way to me as part of the Goodreads First Reads program at no cost. Despite that I will give the book my honest and unbiased assessment.

It's probably worth mentioning that the genre of this book is generally outside my area of interest. I'm not typically a fan of bang-bang shoot 'em up movies or books and so this read is a bit of a departure. Despite that I am at least somewhat susceptible to such concepts as drama and intrigue, though apparently not quite susceptible enough in this case.

Freveletti's offering is dramatic, drawn from the current day and goes to great lengths to excite her readers. To its credit it does this reasonably well but I can't help but recall that during all these efforts I never really cared. As the author points out in her afterword, the best thing about Ludlum's work was that you really empathized with Bourne and it was that feeling that she wanted to emulate in her own work. I can't say though that I ever cared one whit whether Smith lived or died or whether I even finished the book. It was only through an inflamed sense of duty that I bothered to read through to the end.

At least some of my consternation is no doubt drawn from the implausibility of the whole thing. Freveletti has used at least reasonably accurate scientific realities for her subject but the way in which they are used is clumsy and her depiction of action sequences is completely implausible.

In summary, it would seem that this offering is one of a protracted series that stretches back for decades but it completely fails to make me want to either read previous books nor look forward to future ones. It is merely a ho-hum contribution to the espionage genre. Perhaps those who have followed the previous exploits of Mr. Smith will find him more entertaining.

[Mary Chrapliwy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished The Janus Reprisal. This book completely captivated me with every heart-stopping moment, and every hair-raising development. I was left with two impressions – number one was that I would like to read more of the Covert One series, and number two was that Jamie Freveletti is a highly skilled thriller writer. I’ll be looking for more titles by her.

Freveletti brings John Smith brilliantly to life in this Covert One tale of good and evil. You finish the story feeling as though this is a living, breathing person that you have been on this thrill ride with. Character development of all the primary players in this story is flawless. These people have a real feel to them and you actually care about whether the good guys win against the bad guys. I can’t say much more without spoiling the story.

Freveletti manages to create a tale with non-stop action, pacing in a few slower moments so the reader doesn’t faint from all the action . This was a book that I did not want to put down for a second once I started reading it. A real winner.

[Aura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the other Covert One books but nevertheless I was very happy to discover that someone is still carrying the torch. Just hope that Gale Lynds is going to write more, his books were by far the best. The Janus Reprisal was more about prevention than about accomplished grand schemes, and the characters seemed less developed and different, but in places the atmosphere was unmistakeable.

[Erth · Rating 4 out of 5]

now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

[Elnora Anquillano · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read to take you away from the mundane; not too taxing on the mind either.

[Julius Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok book. There was action throughout and that made it a page turner. I had to follow along closely to understand how the terrorists were using their biological weapon, but the character development was pretty good. I also had to follow the characters pretty closely as well. But I guess it didn't help that I'm also reading Mike Lawson's 'House Divided' at the same time. That has a lot of characters dealing with similar consequences - not biological weapons, but CIA, FBI, murder, betrayal, etc., etc., etc. But whenever I dedicate time to read a book from cover to cover and do not stop along the way, that indicates the book was worth the read

I have a tendency to continuing reading a book regardless so maybe that's not as good of a measure, but on the other hand, there were some books that I simply refused to continue reading. This wasn't one of them. So I can recommend that if you start this book, you will be captivated from the first chapter until the end. That, I can promise.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. Just nope.
Couldn’t do it. 20 pages in an I almost chucked my iPad across the room.
Clearly Jamie Freveletti didn’t do a bit of research or actually read the prior books in the series to make sure there was continuity. What do I mean? Well, here are a couple examples:
Continuity: How did president Castillo age backward?
Basic facts: An antibiotic resistant strain of hepatitis B, you say? It’s a virus, antiBIOTICS don’t treat viruses, ever, at all. (To that point, it’s 2018, years past when the book was written and there are no antiVIRALS effective against hepatitis B, so a resistant strain would not have been a novelty anyway.) Bacteria multiplying exponentially? Oh dear! (Wait, that’s a normal thing too. Did she do *any* research at all?!)

Some of these books have required a lot of suspension of disbelief, but not total suspension of intelligence.


Gonna have to skip this one!

[Gigisxm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now that we've had our bookclub meeting about this book I can post my review.

It has the particularity of having been written by another author after the death of the originator who also wrote the Bourne identity. I haven't read anything else by either author so I don't have a frame of reflection for their writting.

First and foremost reading about a terrorist attack using virus/pandemic in this year 2021? It hit different 😳😬😷 this book was written in 2012

It was a bit of a build but once the action started it was back to back with some rather superhuman protagonists but it didn't veer into unbelievable except for the incoming calls to the subsequent burner phones despite not giving out the new numbers. The ending needed a bit of tightening up.

It was a fast and enjoyable read ⭐⭐⭐💫
13/52

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am an easy reader, which often resulted in me not having too many criticisms with books I read but I was a bit anxious reading this one.
I absolutely love how the story went, especially how fast and brutal it turned out, and the actions were, well, good.
But, BUT, the author needed some researching before actually wrote the book because the characters were as if they have split personalities. I mean, Jon Smith usually going around talking about himself as Lt. Col. Jon Smith of USAMRIID or US Army but he prefers people calling him by his first name, and he did the same to the ones close to him instead of using the surname.
Petty, I was, but sorry, can't help it.

[Kendell Passey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was good and the pacing were exactly what I’ve come to expect from a Covert One novel. However, the idea that the virus could travel via biofilm through the power grid was just ludicrous. I did some research after to see if it could even vaguely be possible just to give the author the benefit of the doubt, but, no, not even slightly. The idea of using the biofilm to protect and move the virus along was brilliant, but she pushed it too far and ruined the ending to a really decent book, in my opinion.

[Rod · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly ripping book...read in under 24 hours...not to be put down! The author takes Ludlums characters to a new level, and that’s saying something as he is king at this! Loved Marty, great work making him real!
Leaving some relational tension for a future novel is wonderful.
I think Jon will have some serious health issues as
he gets older!!! Poor guy... that’s the end result of saving the world so often! Enjoy.

[Johnny G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had me from the beginning hook, line and sinker. Unforgettable action sequences, diabolical terrorist plots, and undercover agencies were all in action in The Netherlands. Then, the plot moved to New York City, where I felt there was just too much running around and the action became overdone. On an eerie note, it was written ten years ago, and predicted that a virus could disrupt a population, and something called Bitcoin was on the rise…

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

About a thwarted effort to release a bacteria that will create a pandemic. (Written in 2012. And look, he have our very own 2020 pandemic). Lots of action. A fun read. One negative is that the ‘good guys’ each seemed to be bionic or cats with 9 lives. They are shot, beat up, attacked with mustard gas and live to tell about it.

[Slsl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. Solid story (as usual with these books the second half is better than the first)--a bit too "soft" for my taste, but not too egregious. Some of the dialogue is odd--at times very formal and stilted, not like everyday Americans talk.

I will read her other Covert One novel.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very exciting plot and narration was good. Recommended.

[Steve Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really about 2.5 stars. Good Story but a little too predictable not a Robert Ludlum story but ok for a change of pace. Good try. Really nice tribute to Ludlum in the epilog.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book! Good set of characters, some interesting science and a lot of action.

[Vicki Klemm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action packed, fast read. Liked the characters.

[Drew Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only one of the Covert-One novels I have read, but I enjoyed it. It was interesting to see how Covert-One operative Colonel Jon Smith managed to do what he did under dire circumstances.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best book in the Covert One series, but still an enjoyable read.

[Christian Darby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good plot and nice pace. I like this character.

[David Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tough time putting it down. Great action story.