The Counterfeit

by Robison Wells, David L. Walker (Narrator)

Conspiracy rumor holds that the world economy is tightly controlled by a group of economic terrorists. Eric Hopkins is about to find out just how true that myth is-and how close it stands to him. Eric and his girlfriend Rebekah believe they are safe hiding under the witness protection program. But when a bomb explodes, nearly killing them, they know they must rely on themselves to find out who has infiltrated the FBI. Their' shocking conclusion leads them on a dangerous chase. Eric and Rebekah are battling the powers behind a financial conspiracy that has lasted hundreds of years - and may only end with the destruction of mankind. Nearly out of time, their' pursuit of the truth sweeps them to a centuries-old English estate, and then plummets them into the dark catacombs of Paris. It's now up to the unprepared duo to unravel clues that could save the world from a catastrophic war. However, as they take action, they must ask themselves if the end can ever justify the devastating means they are considering.

Genres: Lds Fiction, Suspense, Lds, Fiction

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Linnae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric and Rebekah (plus some bad guys)--the continuing story...

It has been a couple of months since all the hoopla with the kidnapping and Eric is good and ready for it all to just go away. He would like to see if things progress with Rebekah, who has definitely warmed up to him since their shared adventures, but instead he's hounded by reporters and FBI agents all the time. You see, he continues to receives death threats on a regular basis. So, it's not that he's ungrateful, per se, just that he wishes he could resume normal life. Except, with Rebekah still liking him.

After a near-miss attempt on his life, he and Rebekah are whisked away into the Witness Protection Program. Unfortunately, their alibis are not as air-tight as some would like to believe, because someone not only knows where they are, he (or she) has plans to take them right out of the picture. If they're going to survive, they'll have to choose their allies--and their enemies--very carefully.

* * * * *
This book has been on my shelf for a couple of years, and I never realized it was the sequel to Wake Me When It's Over until a few weeks ago! How does that happen? I will say that it was definitely a different tone than the first book. Where the first was primarily lighthearted with moments of suspense, this one was more intense stuff with a bit of humor now and then.

There were a few twists and turns that caught me by surprise. I thought the climax was well done.


I blog at: www.ofbooksandblooms.com

[Sharon Gallup · Rating 5 out of 5]

this novel keeps you on your toes. things happen quickly and keeps you wanting to read more as each page is read. a young man and woman is in protective from a group of people that want to destroy the economey in the U.S.A. with false money and a bomb. but in hiding a bomb is set off nearly killing them both. thats when they find that the people protecting them weren't the government officials. they have to go on the run in paris and their adventures will set you right on your toes. BUT i found out that this is book 2 of a set. Read (Wake me up when its over ) first

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the jokes in the book very clever. I didn’t get all the plot twists. I’d have to go back and reread to make all the connections that the characters did. Overall a good read.

[Jenifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio. This LDS novel was okay to listen to. Sometimes I'm not as picky what I listen to when I'm working/driving around because I can't get what I'd really like at THE LIBRARY and I figure I'm just doing time anyway.....It was a little bit wannabe DaVinci Code with an exciting segment taking place in the catacombs of France... and secret societies and all...The characters were a little flat, but no worse than in any other mainstream book. They did their mormon stuff; praying when they were in trouble and talking about their missions and all, very matter-of-factly assuming (correctly) that the reader probably knows the ins and outs of the faith. I appreciated that there was no "explaining" the gospel; why the characters didn't drink and stuff like that.
I think that this may have been the second book about these characters, but all that came before was explained pretty well, so it didn't matter much. I probably won't go back and read the other one. This really was okay, just not my favorite genre.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Rob at a booksigning at the local Seagull bookstore when he was making the rounds this month when his book was released. "The Counterfeit" is actually a sequel to "Wake Me When It's Over", but you don't have to read it to understand what's going on in his new release.

These and Rob's other book are all humor/thrillers, but the humor in "The Counterfeit" isn't as laugh out loud as in "Wake Me When It's Over." However, the thriller side is certainly strong, with a solid plot that sucks you in and by the end you're strongly invested in the story.
The narrator, Eric Hopkins, has matured since the prequel (sign of good characterization) but he's still the wisecracking college guy. Rebekah is struggling with the truth that her father is an arms dealer. Their romance isn't sappy, but struggle realistically considering their situation.
After Eric is attacked, they go into hiding, but nothing is what it seems. Rob makes some twists and turns and we end up in England then in the catacombs of Paris. Usually events like that feel contrived, but he made it work.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I did not read the prior book and sometimes I wondered what exactly had happened previously but I did not have any trouble understanding what was happening in this book. I liked the sense of humor mixed with suspense. The only thing I could fault was that the villains were somewhat over-the-top and lacking in credibility. And there was one impossible coincidence involving a jewelry store. But none of that detracted from the interest in the story and the villains were nevertheless interesting. As to the main characters, if they were not in such constant distress and trouble, I would have liked to hang out with them, get to know them better. Maybe I should read the prior book now, and I look forward to the author coming out with his next book, Variant, which I understand is another YA suspense.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is currently in the BYU MBA program, so I was curious to read it. Overall it was a good read, it contains a mesh of several conspiracy theories, along with some LDS fiction/romance. Whats interesting is one of the theories attacks the issue of inflation and the low value of the US dollar. So it makes you think a little about the present conditions of the US economy. It also discusses the Illuminati. Overall a thought provoking fiction, with some cheesy amateur writing (but could be due to my prejudice towards LDS romance).

[LuAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked having a romance from the male's point of view; it gave the genre a little variety. Two things I really liked about listening to the audio were that it was unabridged and that the French was beautifully spoken! There were a couple of times that I had trouble believing that the female character could continue to function as she did with her injuries, and I thought the male protagonist kept forgetting that she'd been seriously injured and that her violin-playing hand was wrapped and festering. But then, I guess that is like a man!

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't like this one quite as much as its predecessor, but that may be because I was dead tired while reading it (stayed up late reading book one!)

Another fun story, however, and though it doesn't have quite as many laughs in it as WMWIO, Robison still managed to work in a few. It was hard to put down (maybe if it was easier I could have taken a nap instead of struggling to keep my eyes pen just a little longer:).

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eric and Rebekah learn it's not the FBI whose been protecting them, but Rebekah's father and they hate it. Rebekah's desire to learn the truth about her father takes them to Paris and the journey begins. Eric would rather Rebekah say "yes" to his proposal and runaway to Australia. There's a lot of fireworks in this sequel.

[Bart Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first book in the series several years ago so I didn't know if forgetting the details of that one would hinder my enjoyment of this one. I really like Wells' writing style. This was really fast-paced, action-packed, and yet didn't take itself too seriously. Great humor sprinkled throughout.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously a sequel but without reading the first book things are confusing. A man and his girlfriend are running from someone trying to kill them. At the same time she is trying to find out if her father is really the villan they think he is.

[Marlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent followup to "Wake me When It's Over." Although the writing is different (IE. less number of humorous parts but the ones that were there are quite funny), there is more action that takes you to more places in the world. Look out for the Cata-cyclist!

[Darla · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Genre: lds fiction, adventure/suspense) This is the rest of the story that was begun in Robison Well's book "Wake Me When it's Over". It was fun to read and the idea of terrorists going after the financial stability of the USA was intriguing.

[Kelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my LDS fiction of the week. I had such high hopes, but it was pretty lame. The characters were unbelievably flat, and the story was fairly boring (especially for a "thriller" type book. I wish the good/clean writers were a little more creative in their intrigues. :)

[Kristyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the sequel to Wake Me When It's Over. I thought it was really good and an exciting book - better than the first. Kind of reminded me a little of the movie National Treasure - only they're not after treasure, and they're in the catacombs of Paris.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second time I've read this but I had forgotten a lot. I would have loved to see the author go into more detail about this conspiracy and the Illuminati. Still, it wasn't bad. An easy, fast read.

[Marian.brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great adventure story. Starts off as if it were the second in a series but all the information needed for this story has been included. A conspiracy theroy that takes two people around the world to resolve.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reminded me of a Dan Brown book, but wasn't nearly as good. There was quite a bit of humor thrown in to lighten things up. I didn't mind that at times, but sometimes suspense without humor is more intriguing. Fast read.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picks up right where Wake Me When It's Over ends. I'm glad that I was able to read these two books basically back-to-back. The Counterfeit is a bit more suspenseful than Wake Me, with more of a Dan Brown feel. Unlike some of Dan Brown's books, though, I can give this book a tame PG rating.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I sill enjoyed this sequel to Wake Me When It's Over, I found that the pacing was a little off and the main characters a little flat. I enjoy Mr. Wells' voice and tone and am able to relate to it somewhat.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a little confusing at first because there was a first book I didn't read. Obviously major plot developments occurred in the other book. I eventually caught on. Reminiscent of Dan Brown conspiracy novels.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC...a must read action/mystery book!

[Jennifer Blaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining to listen to while we drove from CA to Utah. I would recommend this book to all drivers of long trips.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the continued story of Wake Me When It's Over. It maintains the pace and insanity of the first book and is also a thoroughly entertaining read.

[Melanie Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed it on my blog.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny. Suspenseful.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

clean. second in the series. predictable, but entertaining.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one better than the first one, Eric is still a big baby but the story made up for it.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book. Sometimes the plot was a little choppy and it definietly would have been better to read the prequel first. Still, it was interesting and kept me turning the pages.