What do you think?
Rate this book
Ryan Kealey #6
The Courier
Ryan Kealey now knows he'll never really put the game behind him. He's seen too much, and the instinct is too deeply hardwired. But the game itself has changed.
Between tense interagency "cooperation" that gums the works, and an overreliance on data-crunching and wiz-kid tech, today's US intelligence service has lost a step to its ever-bolder, viciously adaptable global enemies. And thanks to an incredible discovery in the Arctic, those enemies now have a nuke - capable of unleashing unthinkable terror.
To hunt down the devastating package before it can be used, Kealey forms an unlikely partnership with the young Farsi-speaking nuclear physicist Rayhan Jafari.
But once on the ground, with technology and their by-the-numbers command failing them, they're on their own - trusting only their guts and each other - to conduct the dirty business of combating horrific destruction.
Between tense interagency "cooperation" that gums the works, and an overreliance on data-crunching and wiz-kid tech, today's US intelligence service has lost a step to its ever-bolder, viciously adaptable global enemies. And thanks to an incredible discovery in the Arctic, those enemies now have a nuke - capable of unleashing unthinkable terror.
To hunt down the devastating package before it can be used, Kealey forms an unlikely partnership with the young Farsi-speaking nuclear physicist Rayhan Jafari.
But once on the ground, with technology and their by-the-numbers command failing them, they're on their own - trusting only their guts and each other - to conduct the dirty business of combating horrific destruction.
496 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published December 31, 2013
185 people are currently reading
657 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Britton
30 books161 followersDuring his early childhood, Andrew Britton lived between England and Camlough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, until the family emigrated to the United States in 1988 at age seven. Britton spent years in both Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Raleigh, North Carolina. After graduating from Leesville Road High School in Raleigh in 1999, Britton joined the U.S. Army as a combat engineer. He stayed in the Army for three years and served in Korea.
After his military service, Britton attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied economics and psychology.
He published his first novel at age 23.
Britton died at the age of 27 of an undiagnosed heart condition in Durham, North Carolina.
After his military service, Britton attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied economics and psychology.
He published his first novel at age 23.
Britton died at the age of 27 of an undiagnosed heart condition in Durham, North Carolina.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 10, 2018
The sixth book in the series sees former CIA operative Ryan Kealey, accompanied by a nuclear physicist named Rayhan Jafari, on the trail of a very dangerous item: An old but by all indications functional nuclear bomb prototype developed by the Germans during World War II which was recovered by an Iranian vessel in the Arctic from the remains of the submarine once carrying it and has since been stolen by a would-be terrorist.
A bit of a letdown, too longwinded and with a disappointing conclusion. While Uncle Largo was an interesting character, Kealey himself was all in all rather useless in this book, and having him sidelined during what should have been an (pun not entirely unintended) explosive climax allowed what suspense remained after all the endless trekking across half the planet to fizzle out in a fairly unspectacular manner.
A bit of a letdown, too longwinded and with a disappointing conclusion. While Uncle Largo was an interesting character, Kealey himself was all in all rather useless in this book, and having him sidelined during what should have been an (pun not entirely unintended) explosive climax allowed what suspense remained after all the endless trekking across half the planet to fizzle out in a fairly unspectacular manner.
January 1, 2014
I received this book free from first reads. This is my honest review.
With all the wars around the world, past and present, what happens to all the lost weapons from past wars? With technology becoming so sophisticated, what is most helpful in the espionage field, computers or experienced intuition and profiling? How can you determine which of "the others" are truly enemies, and which ones would choose to risk their own lives to help the "Americans"? Must every "American" look and act the same? Do "good" warriors put their lives on the line to keep people safe, or to kill the "enemy"?
Many of these questions are dealt with very interestingly and with non stop action in this modern day spy thriller, where the lives of many many Americans are on the line. During WW2, the Germans began developing a very powerful suitcases sized, highly radioactive weapon. As it was being transported through oceans, it ended up being sunk in the Arctic seas. In present day, it was found by an Iranian boat commander. What happens next is the subject of this fast passed suspense novel that could come from real life today.
This is the sixth Ryan Kealey novel, with the last few being published since Britton's death in 2008. Kealey's Uncle shows up in an extremely important way in this novel, as Kealey debates how long he, himself, will continue these espionage missions. Anyone who enjoys Tom Clancy, W E B Griffin, and Robert Ludlum will find this book a must read, along with his previous five books!
With all the wars around the world, past and present, what happens to all the lost weapons from past wars? With technology becoming so sophisticated, what is most helpful in the espionage field, computers or experienced intuition and profiling? How can you determine which of "the others" are truly enemies, and which ones would choose to risk their own lives to help the "Americans"? Must every "American" look and act the same? Do "good" warriors put their lives on the line to keep people safe, or to kill the "enemy"?
Many of these questions are dealt with very interestingly and with non stop action in this modern day spy thriller, where the lives of many many Americans are on the line. During WW2, the Germans began developing a very powerful suitcases sized, highly radioactive weapon. As it was being transported through oceans, it ended up being sunk in the Arctic seas. In present day, it was found by an Iranian boat commander. What happens next is the subject of this fast passed suspense novel that could come from real life today.
This is the sixth Ryan Kealey novel, with the last few being published since Britton's death in 2008. Kealey's Uncle shows up in an extremely important way in this novel, as Kealey debates how long he, himself, will continue these espionage missions. Anyone who enjoys Tom Clancy, W E B Griffin, and Robert Ludlum will find this book a must read, along with his previous five books!
January 12, 2014
I have finally found another mystery/suspense author I can enjoy. This was a very good suspense about the discovery of an old nuclear device by sailors on an Iranian ship in the Arctic. On the way back to Iran where the device will be added to Iran's nuclear weapons, it is stolen by a member of the Islamic Jihad who plans a suicide mission to the U.S. to detonate it. That's where our hero Kealey comes in and uses his amazing intelligence and skill to try to prevent the disaster. There is an unusual "friendship" between him and an Iranian who wants to find the bomb every bit as bad as Kealey does. When an mole in Washington disables the entire modern system of computers, communications, satellites, etc. Kealey's Uncle Largo (a retired spy) uses his skill to come to the rescue. No more or it may spoil the ending. It reminds me of a Vince Flynn, Baldacci, or Ludlum. Relatively free of foul language and sex. Not even a whole lot of violence. The story is not kept going by flashy car chases or violent encounters, but by the intellectual and physical skills of the characters. I'll be reading more Britton.
April 25, 2021
The best one yet. Kealey and his female partner, Rayhan need to stop a terrorist from denotating a WWII suitcase nuke over the US capital. In this story we are introduced to Ryan's uncle, Largo, who was a soldier in WWII. He was assigned to destroy a U-boat carrying said suitcase nuke. He succeeded, the boat sank with the bomb, which surfaced 65 years later.
This was a page-turner.
This was a page-turner.
January 15, 2014
I very much enjoyed this book. The writing was excellent and the story was interesting and fast paced! A wonderful book!
May 13, 2014
I received this book from good reads and enjoyed it. It was off to a slow start but it finally picked up after a few chapters. This is a good read.
February 4, 2021
The world lost a hell of an author when Andrew Britton died..I was fortunate to find out there were at least two more books written that I had not read... and I was so glad I did.. Just finished the 6th in the Ryan Kealey saga... one more to go.. and it was a good one.
Ryan Kealey now knows he'll never really put the game behind him. He's seen too much, and the instinct is too deeply hardwired. But the game itself has changed.
Between tense interagency "cooperation" that gums the works, and an overreliance on data-crunching and wiz-kid tech, today's US intelligence service has lost a step to its ever-bolder, viciously adaptable global enemies. And thanks to an incredible discovery in the Arctic, those enemies now have a nuke - capable of unleashing unthinkable terror.
To hunt down the devastating package before it can be used, Kealey forms an unlikely partnership with the young Farsi-speaking nuclear physicist Rayhan Jafari.
But once on the ground, with technology and their by-the-numbers command failing them, they're on their own - trusting only their guts and each other
Ryan Kealey now knows he'll never really put the game behind him. He's seen too much, and the instinct is too deeply hardwired. But the game itself has changed.
Between tense interagency "cooperation" that gums the works, and an overreliance on data-crunching and wiz-kid tech, today's US intelligence service has lost a step to its ever-bolder, viciously adaptable global enemies. And thanks to an incredible discovery in the Arctic, those enemies now have a nuke - capable of unleashing unthinkable terror.
To hunt down the devastating package before it can be used, Kealey forms an unlikely partnership with the young Farsi-speaking nuclear physicist Rayhan Jafari.
But once on the ground, with technology and their by-the-numbers command failing them, they're on their own - trusting only their guts and each other
August 25, 2018
Not the genre I tend to read, but this book caught me up as the two protagonists, an ex-CIA agent, Ryan Kealey and nuclear physicist Rayhan Jafari, an Iranian-American, are asked to hunt down a suitcase-sized nuclear bomb left over from the German war machine of WWII. Also becoming involved is Ryan Kealey's aged uncle, who watched as said bomb was off-loaded from the French shoreline and into a U-boat that is sunk because said uncle alerts the Allied Command.
As the story proceeds, the reader is transported, with Ryan and Rayhan, overseas and into a series of near-disasters that place them at risk of both capture and being killed before they learn where that bomb is (always one step ahead) and more importantly, where it is headed.
But it's Ryan's uncle who becomes an unlikely hero in this riveting tale. If you like political thrillers that read like it's come right out of current CIA secret files, this is the book for you.
As the story proceeds, the reader is transported, with Ryan and Rayhan, overseas and into a series of near-disasters that place them at risk of both capture and being killed before they learn where that bomb is (always one step ahead) and more importantly, where it is headed.
But it's Ryan's uncle who becomes an unlikely hero in this riveting tale. If you like political thrillers that read like it's come right out of current CIA secret files, this is the book for you.
March 22, 2018
This book was way off track. I read the Ryan Kealey series because he's a badass. However in this book he was not. The storyline did not flow with the type of story you would expect because the main character wasn't himself. Plus the main character wasn't really in the book.
September 21, 2020
Author o.k., but it was a long two days of explosions, spies, car crashes & entities galore identified by initials.
March 15, 2021
I felt it was a bit long-winded and slow moving.
January 28, 2022
I like this author, but I found this book to be a little too long. I’ll keep trying other books by this author and hope the pace picks up.
May 22, 2022
The technical aspects of this book seemed to drag on. Not my favorite of the series. The ending moved along better than the rest of the book. Will read the next in the series.
November 20, 2022
Exceptionally entertaining and original
September 27, 2023
Very disappointed on the one of the series! Almost as if written by another person.
Not what I expected from Andrew Britton.
Not what I expected from Andrew Britton.
April 23, 2024
This book kept moving, but kind of at a snail's pace. A little hard to keep your enthusiasm to the end.
February 16, 2018
Ryan Kealey is having a Michael Corleone moment, and not one of the good ones. He's trying to work himself out of the field in the intelligence game, not trusting a generation of officials and agents who rely on data mining, electronics and seemingly everything else but the judgment and expertise of trained and knowledgeable men and women in the field. But once he thinks he's out, he gets a call, and he gets pulled back in.
In The Courier, the Iranian military has managed to get its hands on a nuclear weapon, and that could mean disaster for an American city if Western agents can't recover it. Kealey will team up with Iranian-born nuclear physicist Rayhan Jafari, whose knowledge of the Farsi language could be crucial to finding the nuke and wresting it from enemy hands. But she is an amateur in the intelligence field, and Kealey will have to make some dangerous alliances to be certain the nuclear weapon and its fanatical courier are kept from destroying its target.
Courier is the fifth Kealey thriller from Andrew Britton, but doesn't rely so much on a known cast of characters and back story it loses a new reader. Britton has an excellent sense of pacing and maintains the tension at a high level, especially once Kealey and Jafari enter the field and begin their pursuit of the bomb and its carrier. The ending, though, fizzles when it takes most of the resolution of the chase and the plot out of the hands of the lead characters we've been following and hands it off to a relatively minor player. It's a misstep that leaves The Courier much, much weaker than it should have been.
Original available here.
In The Courier, the Iranian military has managed to get its hands on a nuclear weapon, and that could mean disaster for an American city if Western agents can't recover it. Kealey will team up with Iranian-born nuclear physicist Rayhan Jafari, whose knowledge of the Farsi language could be crucial to finding the nuke and wresting it from enemy hands. But she is an amateur in the intelligence field, and Kealey will have to make some dangerous alliances to be certain the nuclear weapon and its fanatical courier are kept from destroying its target.
Courier is the fifth Kealey thriller from Andrew Britton, but doesn't rely so much on a known cast of characters and back story it loses a new reader. Britton has an excellent sense of pacing and maintains the tension at a high level, especially once Kealey and Jafari enter the field and begin their pursuit of the bomb and its carrier. The ending, though, fizzles when it takes most of the resolution of the chase and the plot out of the hands of the lead characters we've been following and hands it off to a relatively minor player. It's a misstep that leaves The Courier much, much weaker than it should have been.
Original available here.
August 23, 2016
I am a big fan of Andrew Britton and was so sad to hear that he passed away. As I read his books, I am amazed at all of the knowledge he had of not only our military but our security agencies. He is right on with his statements that with the advent of Homeland Security, too much emphasis is placed on the collection of data. Not enough common sense and instinct is used in dealing with the terrorists. Consequently, they are getting ahead of us while we worry about being politically correct.
In this book, another task is put before Ryan Kealy just when he is thinking about retirement. But Ryan can’t turn down this request. During World War II, it was discovered that Germany had developed a nuclear bomb. It was being carried on a submarine that was being watched by Ryan's uncle Largo Kealy, then a Captain with the U.S. Army. When the sub left with the bomb, it was later sunk and everyone thought that took care of the matter. But now the bomb is sending out heat blooms that are being picked up as a non-natural occurrence. Before it can be recovered by the U.S., another ship is seen in the area and the U.S. fears that the bomb has been recovered by Iran. Ryan has been told to find the bomb and eliminate the threat to the U.S. and her allies.
In this book, another task is put before Ryan Kealy just when he is thinking about retirement. But Ryan can’t turn down this request. During World War II, it was discovered that Germany had developed a nuclear bomb. It was being carried on a submarine that was being watched by Ryan's uncle Largo Kealy, then a Captain with the U.S. Army. When the sub left with the bomb, it was later sunk and everyone thought that took care of the matter. But now the bomb is sending out heat blooms that are being picked up as a non-natural occurrence. Before it can be recovered by the U.S., another ship is seen in the area and the U.S. fears that the bomb has been recovered by Iran. Ryan has been told to find the bomb and eliminate the threat to the U.S. and her allies.
July 26, 2016
The Courier by Andrew Britton is a smart suspenseful story about a terrorist threat that seems to have come straight out of today’s newspaper headlines. In the story, Mohammed, a young Muslim man, is planning to carry out a crucial jihad. He is tasked with the role of courier to a package much sought after by several nations dating back to the dark days of World War II. Mohammed and the jihadist group he is working for found the package inside a common trunk. It is a weapon which has the potential to cause widespread damage.
With the intention to cause maximum damage, Mohammed has to courier the package to the heart of United States. Will he succeed? Ryan Kealy, a former US spy and Rayhan Jafari, a nuclear physicist, are assigned the task of locating the courier and thwarting the sinister design of the terrorist group who are bent on crippling United States. But Rayhan Jafari’s background has raised a certain degree of doubt. Yet, she is vital to the success of the mission.
How the story unfolds is both fascinating and gripping. It is swiftly paced and makes for a delightful read which many readers will enjoy.
With the intention to cause maximum damage, Mohammed has to courier the package to the heart of United States. Will he succeed? Ryan Kealy, a former US spy and Rayhan Jafari, a nuclear physicist, are assigned the task of locating the courier and thwarting the sinister design of the terrorist group who are bent on crippling United States. But Rayhan Jafari’s background has raised a certain degree of doubt. Yet, she is vital to the success of the mission.
How the story unfolds is both fascinating and gripping. It is swiftly paced and makes for a delightful read which many readers will enjoy.
March 20, 2014
This was definitely the weakest of the Ryan Kealey books. I believe that the author passed away a couple years ago so not sure how much of this is his work vs. ghost writer. There was an interesting story in here but the characters seem cookie-cutter, the dialogue seems a little loose (especially with Kealey talking smack around the President), some crazy plot twists that are pretty far-fetched along with too much verbalizing feelings. Too many dumb cliches bring this down into "standard thriller" territory.
May 20, 2014
This a good book. I have read the entire "Ryan Kealey" series. This book and the previous book seem to lack something from the first three books (not sure what). I gave this book 4/5 star because there seemed to be a lot of "filler" paragraphs. Towards the end I started to skip over these paragraphs and pages because they had no real impact on the story or Andrew Britton was take 20 words when 4 was needed to explain something.
February 22, 2015
2-22-2015 This is my first Andrew Britton.
Just read "The Disciple" by Stephen Coonts and, for me, there are similarities with the books but I definitely am a fan of Carmelini and do like Grafton, too. I think Britton is only serious and Coonts brings humor, even in the most dire of circumstances. Go Tommy.
I will try more Britton, looking for even a little humor amidst the chaos.
January 12, 2014
Great spy type thriller. It was slow and disjointed compared to this author's previous books but he died during the writing of this novel and who knows how much of this one was written by someone else. :-(
June 2, 2015
Meh
Just another machine generated CIA/terrorism story. Not a whole lot of interesting creative twists. Female characters were extremely weakly developed. Still looking for the next Vince Flynn.
Just another machine generated CIA/terrorism story. Not a whole lot of interesting creative twists. Female characters were extremely weakly developed. Still looking for the next Vince Flynn.
April 28, 2014
Definitely the weakest of the Ryan Kealey series. An OK effort but I feel the ghost writer is just not up to par.
Want to read
December 5, 2013I won this book from the first reads giveaways and I am so excited to read it. Thanks.
December 30, 2013
Read my review this week on bookreporter.com .
November 23, 2014
This is the first book I've read by Andrew Britton and I enjoyed it very much. I found it enjoyable, believable and easy to follow along with the fast-paced adventure and large cast of characters.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews