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John Wells #9
Twelve Days
New York Times –bestselling author Alex Berenson is back with another gripping tale.
John Wells, with his former CIA bosses Ellis Shafer and Vinny Duto, have uncovered a staggering plot, a false-flag operation to drive the United States and Iran into war. But they have no proof and only twelve days to find a way to stop the headlong momentum. They fan out, from Switzerland to Saudi Arabia, Israel to Russia, desperately trying to tease out the clues in their possession. And meanwhile, the forces gather.
John Wells, with his former CIA bosses Ellis Shafer and Vinny Duto, have uncovered a staggering plot, a false-flag operation to drive the United States and Iran into war. But they have no proof and only twelve days to find a way to stop the headlong momentum. They fan out, from Switzerland to Saudi Arabia, Israel to Russia, desperately trying to tease out the clues in their possession. And meanwhile, the forces gather.
448 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2015
366 people are currently reading
2173 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 321 reviews
February 26, 2016
Book 9 in the John Wells series, but more importantly the sequel to The Counterfeit Agent. A multi-billionaire continues to manipulate events and evidence to incite the US to attack Iran to preclude their efforts to develop nuclear weapons. After a solid beginning, the book spends too much time reviewing what happened in the other book, but as the 12 day timeline ticks down to zero, the action accelerates and Ellis Schafer, Vinny Duto and John have to gamble to find the evidence to avoid an invasion of Iran. These guys manage to pull in favors from Israelis and Saudis alike. Enjoyable. The billionaire's cut-out Salome is a solid element in the story: self assured, clever, manipulative, and strong of spirit.
May 6, 2019
It's come time for me to relegate the John Wells series by Berenson to the 'I''ll read it if I find time' instead of 'I need to read this soonest' category.
I don't know if it's just me or if Berenson has run out of plot ideas for the Wells character. Plots that used to be compelling just don't grab me anymore. This is one of them. The fact that I had to read two novels to get the whole story didn't help, either.
Sorry, Alex, it was a great following your adventures for so many years.
I don't know if it's just me or if Berenson has run out of plot ideas for the Wells character. Plots that used to be compelling just don't grab me anymore. This is one of them. The fact that I had to read two novels to get the whole story didn't help, either.
Sorry, Alex, it was a great following your adventures for so many years.
March 7, 2015
Alex Berenson's latest John Wells espionage / thriller novel "Twelve Days" the sequel to "The Counterfeit Agent" continues to entertain in ways that put him a notch above the typical thriller writer, but there is a real inevitability to this story that somewhat soured my appreciation for Mr. Berenson's otherwise well written prose and thrills. The ultimate outcome is never in doubt. While that may be true in most thrillers, Berenson has carved out a niche with unpredictable endings and more realistic stories. This novel hewed more toward the predictable result that other better plotted or written Wells novels eschewed. It also seemed a little paint by numberesque. Lets put in a scene with Wells children to show that he is not a robot, but has feelings.
If you can keep an open mind, however, Berenson does come up with an interesting plot and the book is self assured, smart and engaging. As we know from the Counterfeit Agent, a billionaire industrialist Duberman has conspired with his nervy female Mata Hari like Salome to sucker the United States onto the road to going to war with Iran. Duberman's money and Salome's agents used blackmarket nuclear material in The Countefeit Agent to make the United States think that Iran had blown up a nuclear bomb. Salome's plan is to save Israel and destroy Iran's nuclear capability by having the United States destroy Iran. Now America has given Iran just twelve short days to prove its innocence.
Wells, Duto and Ellis Shafer know that America has been tricked, but they need to find where the Uranium came from to prove it. Duto, a former leader of the CIA,and now rising star of the Senate cannot convince the White House of the plot. It leave it up to Wells to track down every lead and try to find some evidence of Duberman and Salome's machinations. But its not easy. Crisscrossing the globe and just escaping Salome's killers, who seek to block him at every opportunity, a dead end in Switzerland, escaping a plot to kill Wells in Saudi Arabia, where he uses his unique skills to survive an ambush, to escaping a torturous stint in the notorious Lubyanka Prison in Russia by again out-thinking and outsmarting his captors, to a gun battle where Wells is both outgunned and injured, Wells will have to use all of his smarts and skills, to try to stay alive and unravel the odious plan. Every day will bring new tension. Every contact will either be a clue or a killer. Shafer will be threatened. Wells will be captured.
There are plenty of twists and turns to this engaging story to keep most thriller fans happy, but I lost some of the edge and found myself drifting along and not compelled to read every single page in one session.
Real thriller fans can do better.
If you can keep an open mind, however, Berenson does come up with an interesting plot and the book is self assured, smart and engaging. As we know from the Counterfeit Agent, a billionaire industrialist Duberman has conspired with his nervy female Mata Hari like Salome to sucker the United States onto the road to going to war with Iran. Duberman's money and Salome's agents used blackmarket nuclear material in The Countefeit Agent to make the United States think that Iran had blown up a nuclear bomb. Salome's plan is to save Israel and destroy Iran's nuclear capability by having the United States destroy Iran. Now America has given Iran just twelve short days to prove its innocence.
Wells, Duto and Ellis Shafer know that America has been tricked, but they need to find where the Uranium came from to prove it. Duto, a former leader of the CIA,and now rising star of the Senate cannot convince the White House of the plot. It leave it up to Wells to track down every lead and try to find some evidence of Duberman and Salome's machinations. But its not easy. Crisscrossing the globe and just escaping Salome's killers, who seek to block him at every opportunity, a dead end in Switzerland, escaping a plot to kill Wells in Saudi Arabia, where he uses his unique skills to survive an ambush, to escaping a torturous stint in the notorious Lubyanka Prison in Russia by again out-thinking and outsmarting his captors, to a gun battle where Wells is both outgunned and injured, Wells will have to use all of his smarts and skills, to try to stay alive and unravel the odious plan. Every day will bring new tension. Every contact will either be a clue or a killer. Shafer will be threatened. Wells will be captured.
There are plenty of twists and turns to this engaging story to keep most thriller fans happy, but I lost some of the edge and found myself drifting along and not compelled to read every single page in one session.
Real thriller fans can do better.
February 3, 2015
I picked up this book because it sounded right up my reading alley. Which it would have been but I found it a struggle to get into. I got through one and a half chapters before I put the book down. I could not remember anything that I had just read. I decided to try the book again because of the other readers rave reviews about the book. Yet I again quickly found myself bored. There was a lot of dialect happening in the book. Not a lot of action. Which it seems it is more about the intelligent then the action. Which I thought would pick up when John made his appearance but the story just stayed slow and steady. Not a bad thing but just not what I was after when I picked up this book. I found myself more skimming through it than actually reading it and gave up about six chapters in.
June 7, 2018
Shafer had met (Heather) long before, when Evan was a toddler and Wells was on his way to Afghanistan to infiltrate al-Queda. She and Wells had fallen in love in high school, married young, had a baby. Then she’d left. Like Exley. And now Anne. They’d all seen that the field was Well’s true mistress.
Twelve Days takes over from where A Counterfeit Spy left off, and which I had read first. The bad guys: a private outfit has acquired enough highly enriched uranium (heu) to make a warhead, with an alleged Iranian National guard, Colonel Reza, feeding false information to the CIA base in Istanbul. The operation is bankrolled by American billionaire Aaron Duberman and is the brainchild of “Salome”, an Israeli operative hoping to pitch the USA in a war with Iran to avoid the destruction of Israel by nuclear weapons. She had recruited a burned-out CIA agent Mason in Hong Kong, who had met his end at the hands of rogue CIA John Wells, in the previous book.
Wells is one of the good guys, along with Senator Duto, (former head at Langley), who was shafted when the new President took office, and Ellis Shafer, Well’s former boss. With the President setting a deadline for Iran to open up its silos to external examination the three try to impress the President’s aide, Donna Green, on the misinformation surrounding the source of the uranium, but get stonewalled. With the countdown to invasion triggered and a terrorist attack on a civilian aircraft, Shafer remains in the states to track down a leak from Langley, Duto flies to Israel to meet Ari Rudin, former head of Mossad, and Wells heads to Switzerland to talk to an arms dealer, then to Riyadh to call in a favour and narrowly misses being blown up, before flying on to Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) to meet another arms dealer, Mikhail Buvchenko.
All anyone needed to knnow about the new Russia was that Lubyanka was still open...
Alex Berenson excels at the spy thriller genre, taking the reader to places they hope never to visit, and settings they might, but Wells is no tourist. The author is sympathetic not only to Wells, but to those caught in the loyalties to their religion and nation (Hezbollah) and the Jews. Fittingly the search for answers and a final confrontation leads back to where it all stated, in South Africa. The pace of the story was matched by descriptions of weapons, and only thing that disappointed (for me) was the brushing out of the escape to the airport in Cape Town. Otherwise, a good solid read.
Twelve Days takes over from where A Counterfeit Spy left off, and which I had read first. The bad guys: a private outfit has acquired enough highly enriched uranium (heu) to make a warhead, with an alleged Iranian National guard, Colonel Reza, feeding false information to the CIA base in Istanbul. The operation is bankrolled by American billionaire Aaron Duberman and is the brainchild of “Salome”, an Israeli operative hoping to pitch the USA in a war with Iran to avoid the destruction of Israel by nuclear weapons. She had recruited a burned-out CIA agent Mason in Hong Kong, who had met his end at the hands of rogue CIA John Wells, in the previous book.
Wells is one of the good guys, along with Senator Duto, (former head at Langley), who was shafted when the new President took office, and Ellis Shafer, Well’s former boss. With the President setting a deadline for Iran to open up its silos to external examination the three try to impress the President’s aide, Donna Green, on the misinformation surrounding the source of the uranium, but get stonewalled. With the countdown to invasion triggered and a terrorist attack on a civilian aircraft, Shafer remains in the states to track down a leak from Langley, Duto flies to Israel to meet Ari Rudin, former head of Mossad, and Wells heads to Switzerland to talk to an arms dealer, then to Riyadh to call in a favour and narrowly misses being blown up, before flying on to Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) to meet another arms dealer, Mikhail Buvchenko.
All anyone needed to knnow about the new Russia was that Lubyanka was still open...
Alex Berenson excels at the spy thriller genre, taking the reader to places they hope never to visit, and settings they might, but Wells is no tourist. The author is sympathetic not only to Wells, but to those caught in the loyalties to their religion and nation (Hezbollah) and the Jews. Fittingly the search for answers and a final confrontation leads back to where it all stated, in South Africa. The pace of the story was matched by descriptions of weapons, and only thing that disappointed (for me) was the brushing out of the escape to the airport in Cape Town. Otherwise, a good solid read.
October 5, 2014
Another page turner from Alex. I haven't read much for pleasure the last few weeks given the tough recovery from my eye surgery but happily zoomed through this one
April 6, 2017
Iran and the United States are on the brink of war. A cache of Highly Enriched Uranium has turned up in Istanbul, and the evidence points to Iran as its source. After Iranian-funded terrorists down a US airliner over Mumbai with two ground-to-air missiles, killing hundreds, the US President issues an ultimatum: Tehran must open its nuclear facilities to international inspectors within twelve days, or the United States will invade. The US military quickly begins amassing an invasion force in Turkey, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf. Anxious eyes watch the clock all around the world.
Enter John Wells, a heroic former Special Forces soldier and CIA officer with a long history of high-profile successes in the field. Though the CIA and the White House are convinced that the uranium is Iranian in origin, Wells isn’t. Neither are his former case officer, Ellis Shafer, or the recently ousted former Director of Central Intelligence, Vinny Duto. Believing that someone is trying to trick the US into invading Iran, they begin a high-speed investigation which takes Wells and Duto to Hong Kong, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, and South Africa to locate the source of the uranium. The tale is full of nail-biting suspense and attention to detail that brings to life both the book’s settings and the description of decision-making at the highest level of government.
Wells, Shafer, and Duto are familiar to all readers of the John Wells series. In Twelve Days, Berenson gives a co-starring role as the bad guy to an aging casino tycoon named Aaron Duberman, who is a dead ringer for the real-life pro-Israel activist Sheldon Adelson, who is 81 at this writing. Both are billionaires thirty times over, both contributed nearly $200 million to elect a Republican president in 2012, both own major casinos in Las Vegas and Macao, and both are what can only be described as fanatical supporters of the State of Israel. (Berenson dodges libel charges by naming Adelson as Duberman’s competitor in Macao.) Though he might fit just as well as the villain in a James Bond story, Duberman is drawn in three dimensions, and what happens in Twelve Days bears no resemblance to the absurd events in the Bond books and films. This is a superior thriller, with (almost) believable characters.
Alex Berenson’s experience reporting on foreign affairs for the New York Times informs the craft in Twelve Days and other novels in the John Wells series. He is well acquainted with the settings where he places his stories, and he understands the dynamics at work in international relations. As a former reporter, too, he has a fine sense of headline-grabbing topics. He could hardly have picked a more timely subject than he did in Twelve Days.
Enter John Wells, a heroic former Special Forces soldier and CIA officer with a long history of high-profile successes in the field. Though the CIA and the White House are convinced that the uranium is Iranian in origin, Wells isn’t. Neither are his former case officer, Ellis Shafer, or the recently ousted former Director of Central Intelligence, Vinny Duto. Believing that someone is trying to trick the US into invading Iran, they begin a high-speed investigation which takes Wells and Duto to Hong Kong, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, and South Africa to locate the source of the uranium. The tale is full of nail-biting suspense and attention to detail that brings to life both the book’s settings and the description of decision-making at the highest level of government.
Wells, Shafer, and Duto are familiar to all readers of the John Wells series. In Twelve Days, Berenson gives a co-starring role as the bad guy to an aging casino tycoon named Aaron Duberman, who is a dead ringer for the real-life pro-Israel activist Sheldon Adelson, who is 81 at this writing. Both are billionaires thirty times over, both contributed nearly $200 million to elect a Republican president in 2012, both own major casinos in Las Vegas and Macao, and both are what can only be described as fanatical supporters of the State of Israel. (Berenson dodges libel charges by naming Adelson as Duberman’s competitor in Macao.) Though he might fit just as well as the villain in a James Bond story, Duberman is drawn in three dimensions, and what happens in Twelve Days bears no resemblance to the absurd events in the Bond books and films. This is a superior thriller, with (almost) believable characters.
Alex Berenson’s experience reporting on foreign affairs for the New York Times informs the craft in Twelve Days and other novels in the John Wells series. He is well acquainted with the settings where he places his stories, and he understands the dynamics at work in international relations. As a former reporter, too, he has a fine sense of headline-grabbing topics. He could hardly have picked a more timely subject than he did in Twelve Days.
January 1, 2015
John Wells must unweave a diabolical scheme that is dragging the world to the brink of war. Someone has planted some nuclear material in an effort to make the United States believe that Iran is wanting to detonate a nuclear bomb inside the United States. The U.S. will retaliate for some terrorist activity and then give Iran a deadline to destroy any nuclear plants and open their borders to inspection or the U.S. will invade.
John Wells knows that this is a set up, but how can he prove it? He is no longer a working agent for the CIA and frankly he is not welcome in most U.S. intelligence agency circles. His idea of who is behind the plot is not even worthy of listening to, since the main suspect is also the largest donor to the Presidents recent election campaign.
But the man is also Jewish and believes that the U.S. is not doing enough to protect Israel from the death threats of Iran. Thus he has come up with an elaborate scenario that will plunge the U.S. into war with Iran and end up destroying most of Iran's nuclear capabilities and thus protecting Israel from any possible threats.
The writing is good and the suspense is good. The charcacter development is good and the scenario is plausible and very relevant to today's political landscape. Thus Berenson gives us a book that is easy to read, fun to read, dangerously accurate to todays policitcal possibilities and thus a bit frigthening to read.
So, why not five stars? Mainly I thought that the story started to drag towards the end and that John Wells made a couple of major mistakes that I don't believe anyone of his caliber would have made. But then again, he was tired, frustrated, angry and well emotinally, physically and spiritually spent, so making a couple of mistakes is probably the human thing that would have happened.
All in all this is a great read. Enjoy!
John Wells knows that this is a set up, but how can he prove it? He is no longer a working agent for the CIA and frankly he is not welcome in most U.S. intelligence agency circles. His idea of who is behind the plot is not even worthy of listening to, since the main suspect is also the largest donor to the Presidents recent election campaign.
But the man is also Jewish and believes that the U.S. is not doing enough to protect Israel from the death threats of Iran. Thus he has come up with an elaborate scenario that will plunge the U.S. into war with Iran and end up destroying most of Iran's nuclear capabilities and thus protecting Israel from any possible threats.
The writing is good and the suspense is good. The charcacter development is good and the scenario is plausible and very relevant to today's political landscape. Thus Berenson gives us a book that is easy to read, fun to read, dangerously accurate to todays policitcal possibilities and thus a bit frigthening to read.
So, why not five stars? Mainly I thought that the story started to drag towards the end and that John Wells made a couple of major mistakes that I don't believe anyone of his caliber would have made. But then again, he was tired, frustrated, angry and well emotinally, physically and spiritually spent, so making a couple of mistakes is probably the human thing that would have happened.
All in all this is a great read. Enjoy!
February 1, 2015
I'm always excited when a new John Wells novel comes out, so when "Twelve Days" showed up on my Vine list (G.P. Putnam 2015), I grabbed it. This is the ninth in the series about John Wells, an American ex-CIA spy who was undercover as a Islamic jihadist for ten years, gathering critical information for his country and also developing a respect for the Muslim religion that he adopted while under.
This is a tight sequel to the prior book, "Counterfeit Agent". In that book, Wells stopped the person involved in a nefarious plot against America but not the plot. In this book, Wells finds the goal of the people who hired the man Wells killed: Protect Israel by starting a war between America and Iran. Wells knows in his gut that Iran is not responsible, but fails to convince anyone in power of that. He has twelve days to reveal the truth or watch America attack Iran for crimes they didn't commit.
If you didn't read the prior novel, no worries. The first fifty-seventy pages of this book are a replay of events leading up to the present, but from the viewpoint of the bad guys rather than Wells. I've seen that done within a novel, but not across two different books. It involved copious amounts of narrative and backstory, though nicely constructed, and I kept wanting to rush through it because I knew the plot points.
John Wells is a fascinating character, with his undercover experiences that shape everything about him, his broken personal relationships that he can't get past, and his ongoing struggling between the peaceful underpinnings of Islam and the violence of his chosen profession. Overall, a good read.
This is a tight sequel to the prior book, "Counterfeit Agent". In that book, Wells stopped the person involved in a nefarious plot against America but not the plot. In this book, Wells finds the goal of the people who hired the man Wells killed: Protect Israel by starting a war between America and Iran. Wells knows in his gut that Iran is not responsible, but fails to convince anyone in power of that. He has twelve days to reveal the truth or watch America attack Iran for crimes they didn't commit.
If you didn't read the prior novel, no worries. The first fifty-seventy pages of this book are a replay of events leading up to the present, but from the viewpoint of the bad guys rather than Wells. I've seen that done within a novel, but not across two different books. It involved copious amounts of narrative and backstory, though nicely constructed, and I kept wanting to rush through it because I knew the plot points.
John Wells is a fascinating character, with his undercover experiences that shape everything about him, his broken personal relationships that he can't get past, and his ongoing struggling between the peaceful underpinnings of Islam and the violence of his chosen profession. Overall, a good read.
February 3, 2015
Twelve Days
By
Alex Berenson
Key Characters...
John Wells...is the key character...but there are other good guys...Shafer and Duto...and other really bad guys and also a really bad girl.
Settings...
Literally...everywhere...
Simply put...what's going down...
John Wells has exactly 12 days to prevent the US from attacking Iran...it's a big bad involved conspiracy and the pressure is on. The opening pages were incredible...but I can't tell you a thing about them because it would literally spoil this reading experience for potential readers. There are conspiracies and threats and bombings and untrustworthy dangerous characters everywhere. It's almost sort of a cat and mouse game with Wells and his quest.
What I thought about this book...
This was my first experience with the character John Wells. He is ex CIA...supposedly out of the loop...but still in the loop. The book itself was totally out of the genres that I usually read but I really enjoyed it...the tone of the book was like watching Tom Cruise in any Mission Impossible movie...that is the best way that I can explain this book. It felt so real that I found myself googling names to see if they were real or not...
Why you might want to read it, too...
Readers who love this kind of fast paced...countdown...kind of book...should really enjoy this book. Fans of John Wells...readers who know this character from this author's other books...should love this book. There are eight other John Wells novels! Gripping...is my word for this book...from the beginning to the end.
By
Alex Berenson
Key Characters...
John Wells...is the key character...but there are other good guys...Shafer and Duto...and other really bad guys and also a really bad girl.
Settings...
Literally...everywhere...
Simply put...what's going down...
John Wells has exactly 12 days to prevent the US from attacking Iran...it's a big bad involved conspiracy and the pressure is on. The opening pages were incredible...but I can't tell you a thing about them because it would literally spoil this reading experience for potential readers. There are conspiracies and threats and bombings and untrustworthy dangerous characters everywhere. It's almost sort of a cat and mouse game with Wells and his quest.
What I thought about this book...
This was my first experience with the character John Wells. He is ex CIA...supposedly out of the loop...but still in the loop. The book itself was totally out of the genres that I usually read but I really enjoyed it...the tone of the book was like watching Tom Cruise in any Mission Impossible movie...that is the best way that I can explain this book. It felt so real that I found myself googling names to see if they were real or not...
Why you might want to read it, too...
Readers who love this kind of fast paced...countdown...kind of book...should really enjoy this book. Fans of John Wells...readers who know this character from this author's other books...should love this book. There are eight other John Wells novels! Gripping...is my word for this book...from the beginning to the end.
February 2, 2017
After I wrote this I realized it's more of a pat on Mr Berenson's back than a review of the book so if you are looking for a synopsis go ahead and skip this.
I have been meaning to review one of the Wells novels for a while now, I have read them in series and admittedly in the beginning I compared them/him to Mitch Rapp from the Vince Flynn novels and was a little underwhelmed but I must say I have grown to love the whole slew of characters presented in these books, Ellis Shafer may be one of my favorite characters of all time. I picture him looking like half Bernie sanders and half Donald Rumsfeld with the attitude/demeanor/antics/savvy of Martin Riggs' from the lethal weapon series, he is simply excellent. This book also was the most like-able Duto has been yet, I almost wish this and counterfeit agent had been smashed into one long epic but nevertheless it was another enjoyable tale, i look forward to many more!
I have been meaning to review one of the Wells novels for a while now, I have read them in series and admittedly in the beginning I compared them/him to Mitch Rapp from the Vince Flynn novels and was a little underwhelmed but I must say I have grown to love the whole slew of characters presented in these books, Ellis Shafer may be one of my favorite characters of all time. I picture him looking like half Bernie sanders and half Donald Rumsfeld with the attitude/demeanor/antics/savvy of Martin Riggs' from the lethal weapon series, he is simply excellent. This book also was the most like-able Duto has been yet, I almost wish this and counterfeit agent had been smashed into one long epic but nevertheless it was another enjoyable tale, i look forward to many more!
July 3, 2015
Twelve Days moves at lightning speed. Berenson displays his usual expert command of geopolitical suspense. In this book, he builds solid tension around who gave whom highly enriched uranium and whether the false flag could lead to war.
Of course Duto is a carryover from other books, but he was unrealistic here as a senator (talking rape to the president's chief of staff) and as a fill-in operative at the last minute.
The mid-book ding on Mormons also felt unnecessary.
Wells is phenomenal, as always; Shafer, Salome, Rudi, and the several Russians are also great characters.
Twelve Days is another read-past-midnight thriller from Alex Berenson.
Of course Duto is a carryover from other books, but he was unrealistic here as a senator (talking rape to the president's chief of staff) and as a fill-in operative at the last minute.
The mid-book ding on Mormons also felt unnecessary.
Wells is phenomenal, as always; Shafer, Salome, Rudi, and the several Russians are also great characters.
Twelve Days is another read-past-midnight thriller from Alex Berenson.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 25, 2016
This book continues the story from The Counterfeit Agent and I found it enjoyable with lots of action and suspense. Listened to the audio version which was narrated by the always impeccable George Guidall.
May 6, 2019
Book #9, in the John Wells series
After book # 8, I needed to take a long break from this series in fact it has been over 4 ½ years since I read “The Counterfeit”, why did I wait so long to get to “Twelve Days” ….I really had enough with problems between the US and Iran, this series was getting stale to me….I finally had to put it on my read shelf once and for all so here I am with my thoughts…..
“Twelve Days”, starts where the prequel left us. If you pick up this series here, no worries, there is a lot of information dumps for the new readers to catch up, although I recommend you read the previous installments first. This series is built around John Wells, an American intelligence operative and the main focus is a countdown to battle between the US and Iran.
It opens with a bag. A shoulder –fired rocket brings down a passenger jet. Iran is suspected to be behind this tragedy. The fictional US president has then decided that Iran has a bomb and has ordered strikes against the country, given 12 days to come clean…but Iran doesn’t really have the bomb…. So what then… our super-human goes through a series of adventures and misadventures to save the day and at times he does entertain us.
Unfortunately, this story tends to meander way too much. A good part is essentially recaps of the previous books. It seems the author was struggling to fill the pages to give us the action we came to expect. Wells is all over the place he jumps from the Middle East, to Russia, to South Africa and to the US while battling his own government which is convinced the evidence against Iran is solid. What a conspiracy theory….12 days countdown till the last hour… can this scenario be possible? No it sounds unrealistic/unbelievable for a government to do this….or could this happen someday….or could a third party as suggested in this plot be behind this kind of conspiracy…..
I had a hard time staying with this book. It took way to long, not until half way through before the author gets going from there finally the story picks up and the plot has some spring into it. Most action scenes are bland some are captivating but nothing original comes out and things drags on and on and on…..finally Wells save the day and the world is a better place for it….haha
After book # 8, I needed to take a long break from this series in fact it has been over 4 ½ years since I read “The Counterfeit”, why did I wait so long to get to “Twelve Days” ….I really had enough with problems between the US and Iran, this series was getting stale to me….I finally had to put it on my read shelf once and for all so here I am with my thoughts…..
“Twelve Days”, starts where the prequel left us. If you pick up this series here, no worries, there is a lot of information dumps for the new readers to catch up, although I recommend you read the previous installments first. This series is built around John Wells, an American intelligence operative and the main focus is a countdown to battle between the US and Iran.
It opens with a bag. A shoulder –fired rocket brings down a passenger jet. Iran is suspected to be behind this tragedy. The fictional US president has then decided that Iran has a bomb and has ordered strikes against the country, given 12 days to come clean…but Iran doesn’t really have the bomb…. So what then… our super-human goes through a series of adventures and misadventures to save the day and at times he does entertain us.
Unfortunately, this story tends to meander way too much. A good part is essentially recaps of the previous books. It seems the author was struggling to fill the pages to give us the action we came to expect. Wells is all over the place he jumps from the Middle East, to Russia, to South Africa and to the US while battling his own government which is convinced the evidence against Iran is solid. What a conspiracy theory….12 days countdown till the last hour… can this scenario be possible? No it sounds unrealistic/unbelievable for a government to do this….or could this happen someday….or could a third party as suggested in this plot be behind this kind of conspiracy…..
I had a hard time staying with this book. It took way to long, not until half way through before the author gets going from there finally the story picks up and the plot has some spring into it. Most action scenes are bland some are captivating but nothing original comes out and things drags on and on and on…..finally Wells save the day and the world is a better place for it….haha
April 25, 2017
A billionaire businessman is trying to start a war between the United States and Iran by having an American airline shot down and planting nuclear material. John Wells races across Europe and Africa trying to prove the truth to prevent the American president from invading Iran. A fast moving thriller.
February 15, 2015
I believe this is the lowest star rating I've given a book in the John Wells series. Alex Berenson is an incredibly gifted writer and his skills are fully on display in TWELVE DAYS. But this book is part 2 of a storyline that began in the previous title in this series -- THE COUNTERFEIT AGENT -- and I think that really created some problems with the way Berenson wrote this book.
First, the opening pages are terrific -- it really grabs you with a dramatic incident happening in Mumbai, India. But then you quickly realize, he had to do something on the opening pages because the next 60-70 pages are a dry and laborious retelling of the salient points you need to know from THE COUNTERFEIT AGENT in order to catch up on what's going on in TWELVE DAYS.
I had no problem with the way THE COUNTERFEIT AGENT ended. I was really looking forward to this book. I thought it was going to be an instance where a storyline was spread over two books, but each book cound stand on its own. That simply isn't the case. Well, I guess it is -- but only because of the 60-70 pages spent recapping the earlier work.
For me it really changed Berenson's writing style, which has always been superb.
It isn't until 200 pages in that Berenson really gets into rhythm with telling this story. From there the story picks up nicely, the writing is much better, and the plot is fast moving. But that also raises the second point that was a negative for me. In some ways it reminded me of the Lee Child / Reacher novel 61 hours. And to be truthful, I had a feeling when I saw the title TWELVE DAYS that Berenson would do this. But the chapters are essentially written as a countdown to the pending war between Iran and the US. Twelve days left. Eleven days left. Ten days left. All the way down to one hour left. I guess it was supposed to be ratcheting up the tension, but to me it felt amateurish compared to Berenson's skills as a writer.
I could easily see a writer of far lesser talent using such a ploy to create the tension -- but Berenson is such a great writer I felt it was unnecessary, over-the-top, and distracting.
I am a huge fan of this series. I hope it continues. I'll definitely keep reading. But honestly I was disappointed with this book.
First, the opening pages are terrific -- it really grabs you with a dramatic incident happening in Mumbai, India. But then you quickly realize, he had to do something on the opening pages because the next 60-70 pages are a dry and laborious retelling of the salient points you need to know from THE COUNTERFEIT AGENT in order to catch up on what's going on in TWELVE DAYS.
I had no problem with the way THE COUNTERFEIT AGENT ended. I was really looking forward to this book. I thought it was going to be an instance where a storyline was spread over two books, but each book cound stand on its own. That simply isn't the case. Well, I guess it is -- but only because of the 60-70 pages spent recapping the earlier work.
For me it really changed Berenson's writing style, which has always been superb.
It isn't until 200 pages in that Berenson really gets into rhythm with telling this story. From there the story picks up nicely, the writing is much better, and the plot is fast moving. But that also raises the second point that was a negative for me. In some ways it reminded me of the Lee Child / Reacher novel 61 hours. And to be truthful, I had a feeling when I saw the title TWELVE DAYS that Berenson would do this. But the chapters are essentially written as a countdown to the pending war between Iran and the US. Twelve days left. Eleven days left. Ten days left. All the way down to one hour left. I guess it was supposed to be ratcheting up the tension, but to me it felt amateurish compared to Berenson's skills as a writer.
I could easily see a writer of far lesser talent using such a ploy to create the tension -- but Berenson is such a great writer I felt it was unnecessary, over-the-top, and distracting.
I am a huge fan of this series. I hope it continues. I'll definitely keep reading. But honestly I was disappointed with this book.
January 26, 2015
Due to be released in early February, Twelve Days by Alex Berenson is the 9th book in his John Wells series and the first I have read. I was immediately drawn into the storyline and while I have not read the previous books in the series it did not stop me from enjoying this fast-paced thriller, rather I now plan to read the previous books leading up to Twelve Days. John Wells is a former CIA agent and close to persona non grata in intelligence circles, so when he uncovers what he believes is a ploy to get the US to wage war with Iran, no one takes him seriously, except his former CIA colleague Ellis Shafer and former CIA Director Vinnie Duto. The three are in for an intense and dangerous challenge as they travel around the world looking for clues, which will lead to hard evidence they can present to Langley and the White House that this is all an elaborate hoax and they have twelve days to find their answers. Tensions mount as the deadline nears and carefully placed plot twists add to the suspense. Berenson has crafted a fabulously intense and rather plausible story, with enough suspense and twists to keep the reader engaged and unable to set the book down. The characters, both good and diabolical are well developed and realistic and Berenson’s writing is descriptive enough to make the reader feel as if they too are racing against the twelve-day deadline. I would recommend Twelve Days to anyone who enjoys a well-written suspense thriller.
March 10, 2015
Ex CIA agent John Wells returns in Alex Berenson's ninth political thriller. This is my all time favorite political action series and Alex Berenson is a my all time favorite political thriller author. Berenson takes today's headlines, and I mean that literally, and turns them into an action packed what if thriller.
In this continuation from the previous novel, The Counterfeit Agent, a multi-billionaire is manipulating the US into attacking and invading Iran. John Wells, along with his two only friends left in the government, Ellis Shafer, his former boss at the CIA, and Vinny Duto, the former Director and now Senator from Pennsylvania, know the truth and are desperately trying to come up with evidence of this manipulation for the President. The twelve days in the title refer to the ultimatum the President has given Iran to reveal its nuclear plans or face a full scale attack and ground invasion. The action is non-stop with clearly identified good guys and bad guys. But wait, is John Wells a good guy or a bad guy?
I cannot wait for John Wells #10.
In this continuation from the previous novel, The Counterfeit Agent, a multi-billionaire is manipulating the US into attacking and invading Iran. John Wells, along with his two only friends left in the government, Ellis Shafer, his former boss at the CIA, and Vinny Duto, the former Director and now Senator from Pennsylvania, know the truth and are desperately trying to come up with evidence of this manipulation for the President. The twelve days in the title refer to the ultimatum the President has given Iran to reveal its nuclear plans or face a full scale attack and ground invasion. The action is non-stop with clearly identified good guys and bad guys. But wait, is John Wells a good guy or a bad guy?
I cannot wait for John Wells #10.
March 28, 2015
Forces are attempting to pit the United States against Iran and start a war before Iran can get their nuclear weapons ready to use.
The first strike is the shooting down of a U.S. airplane as it departs from India. The President gives Iran twelve days to give up their nuclear program and allow inspectors in to see the proof or war will begin.
John Wells and his two associates, Vinny Duto and Ellis Shafer travel the world in attempt to find where a nuclear weapon might be stored and to stop the bloodshed.
The President's advisors have left him in a position that he's committed in so there is little Wells can do but he tries and tries again.
Wells is terrific in his role of an underdog and he's easy to like. The writing is brisk and action galore as we follow events from Wells point of view as well as the antagonists.
I enjoyed the story and have enjoyed Wells as a character but feel that this is much the same old story with new settings.
For Berenson fans, I'm sure they will like this book and for myself, I'll look forward to the next installment.
3 1/2 stars
The first strike is the shooting down of a U.S. airplane as it departs from India. The President gives Iran twelve days to give up their nuclear program and allow inspectors in to see the proof or war will begin.
John Wells and his two associates, Vinny Duto and Ellis Shafer travel the world in attempt to find where a nuclear weapon might be stored and to stop the bloodshed.
The President's advisors have left him in a position that he's committed in so there is little Wells can do but he tries and tries again.
Wells is terrific in his role of an underdog and he's easy to like. The writing is brisk and action galore as we follow events from Wells point of view as well as the antagonists.
I enjoyed the story and have enjoyed Wells as a character but feel that this is much the same old story with new settings.
For Berenson fans, I'm sure they will like this book and for myself, I'll look forward to the next installment.
3 1/2 stars
April 17, 2015
An action adventure full of suspense! The characters were well rounded, flawed, and completely believable. Without giving away the plot, the subject is quite timely and even plausible. I found myself thinking about the story and looking forward to getting back to reading so I could see what happened. This was my first John Wells novel, but I now want to go back and read the previous tales and I look forward to the next book from Alex Berenson.
I received a free, advanced reader copy from a GoodReads giveaway.
I received a free, advanced reader copy from a GoodReads giveaway.
February 2, 2015
Great thriller!!! John Wells saves the day again!!!
January 2, 2021
Brilliant. This series gets better with every book. Minus the Night Ranger.
December 21, 2019
SUBJECTIVE READER REVIEW WITH PLOT SPOILERS FOLLOWS:
John Wells, Alex Berenson's Mitch Rapp, is fighting mortality just like Rapp, but the pressure to remove world-altering initiatives prevails, so he soldiers on.
'Twelve Days' involves the renewal of the war of wills between Wells and Israeli entrepreneurial tycoon Aaron Duberman. Duberman's a Jewish free bird, but he owes his karmic allegiance to the State of Israel and will do anything to HELP them, even if the PM and Mossad disagree with his methods. Aaron's overriding goal is to protect Israel from the Shi'a in Iran, and he'll perpetrate anything to lessen the threat that Iran holds over Tel Aviv. In this case perpetrate anger among the Americans to strike Iran, possibly with nuclear weapons.
Duberman's agent for manipulating world opinion is a former Israeli Knesset staffer turned diabolical Black Widow, Adina Leffetz. Adina's nom de guerre is Salome of Biblical fame. We all remember that Salome danced for King Herrod so well that he promised her anything in return. We've all seen some dancers, but that musta been one helluva strut! Of course Salome demanded the head of John the Baptist on a platter, which she got and presented to her mother. So Adina's got one helluva pedigree to live up to, but to her credit she's one tough bitch to kill--just aske Wells!
The 'attributed to Tehran' effort begins with the SAM downing of a full jetliner leaving Mumbai, which is immediately assigned to Iran for responsibility, and things just get worse for Wells and his sole protectors, Elvis Shafer and Vinny Duto. To say Wells gets the shit kicked outa him during 'Twelve Days' is an understatement, but he manages to finally best Salome in a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. Why was he there? To meet Rand Witwans who could confirm to the American President the source of 15.3 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that was shipped to Israel following the shutdown of South Africa's nuclear weapons program. Interesting that the looming rise of world opinion and the demise of the Afrikaners resulted in their very smart plan to be rid of HEU.
The source of this relatively small amount of HEU, but sufficient to form the warhead of a nuclear bomb, was the sole revelation that could stop the countdown to the US attack on Iran. I think Wells and Vinny Duto managed to get Witwans in front of POTUS with a day left on the deadline.
But the story of the hell they went through to get there is the story of 'Twelve Days,' and it's one helluva read. Now I've seen novels change locations like a James Bond movie before, but 'Twelve Days' is a travel agent's dream. Maybe a little harder on readers, but the action is nearly nonstop until the final moves in the chess match. I thought 'Twelve Days' was one incredible read, and that's why I rated it higher than the Goodreads average. Check it out and see what you think; I promise you won't be bored reading 'Twelve Days'!
John Wells, Alex Berenson's Mitch Rapp, is fighting mortality just like Rapp, but the pressure to remove world-altering initiatives prevails, so he soldiers on.
'Twelve Days' involves the renewal of the war of wills between Wells and Israeli entrepreneurial tycoon Aaron Duberman. Duberman's a Jewish free bird, but he owes his karmic allegiance to the State of Israel and will do anything to HELP them, even if the PM and Mossad disagree with his methods. Aaron's overriding goal is to protect Israel from the Shi'a in Iran, and he'll perpetrate anything to lessen the threat that Iran holds over Tel Aviv. In this case perpetrate anger among the Americans to strike Iran, possibly with nuclear weapons.
Duberman's agent for manipulating world opinion is a former Israeli Knesset staffer turned diabolical Black Widow, Adina Leffetz. Adina's nom de guerre is Salome of Biblical fame. We all remember that Salome danced for King Herrod so well that he promised her anything in return. We've all seen some dancers, but that musta been one helluva strut! Of course Salome demanded the head of John the Baptist on a platter, which she got and presented to her mother. So Adina's got one helluva pedigree to live up to, but to her credit she's one tough bitch to kill--just aske Wells!
The 'attributed to Tehran' effort begins with the SAM downing of a full jetliner leaving Mumbai, which is immediately assigned to Iran for responsibility, and things just get worse for Wells and his sole protectors, Elvis Shafer and Vinny Duto. To say Wells gets the shit kicked outa him during 'Twelve Days' is an understatement, but he manages to finally best Salome in a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. Why was he there? To meet Rand Witwans who could confirm to the American President the source of 15.3 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that was shipped to Israel following the shutdown of South Africa's nuclear weapons program. Interesting that the looming rise of world opinion and the demise of the Afrikaners resulted in their very smart plan to be rid of HEU.
The source of this relatively small amount of HEU, but sufficient to form the warhead of a nuclear bomb, was the sole revelation that could stop the countdown to the US attack on Iran. I think Wells and Vinny Duto managed to get Witwans in front of POTUS with a day left on the deadline.
But the story of the hell they went through to get there is the story of 'Twelve Days,' and it's one helluva read. Now I've seen novels change locations like a James Bond movie before, but 'Twelve Days' is a travel agent's dream. Maybe a little harder on readers, but the action is nearly nonstop until the final moves in the chess match. I thought 'Twelve Days' was one incredible read, and that's why I rated it higher than the Goodreads average. Check it out and see what you think; I promise you won't be bored reading 'Twelve Days'!
December 9, 2020
Twelve days to stop a war - Wells, Duto and Shafer may know that a false flag operation is behind the recovery of highly enriched uranium of supposedly Iranian origin that has the US on the brink of declaring war, but without proof noone is willing to listen to them. As the clock ticks down on the president's deadline, the three of them are racing across the globe in search of concrete evidence sufficient to have the impending attack called off.
Better than the previous one in that it didn't take so long to get into gear and serve up some action. This one was noticeably longer than the previous books - and it felt longer too, not necessarily in a good way. Did the story really need to take quite so many extraneous twists and turns before finally getting us some pay-off? Still, kept me entertained, so I'm not really complaining.
Better than the previous one in that it didn't take so long to get into gear and serve up some action. This one was noticeably longer than the previous books - and it felt longer too, not necessarily in a good way. Did the story really need to take quite so many extraneous twists and turns before finally getting us some pay-off? Still, kept me entertained, so I'm not really complaining.
August 18, 2019
Twelve Days starts right off with a tiny review about the previous book in the John Wells series. I caught me up with plot (TD is my first John Wells novel). The action is continuous on several fronts which I rather enjoy. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger but at least our hero was being beat up, starved, kidnapped, or framed.
December 11, 2021
A real race around the globe against a ticking clock! John Wells is older and more fatigue with bruises and scars but he is still in the field….full of actions!
June 21, 2024
Kind of exhausting
February 25, 2023
A globe trotting, pulse pounding adventure, this book is part of the series featuring character John wells. Of Lebanese ancestry, Wells fits into his environment extremely well. In this installment, Wells must race the clock to avoid a war between the US and Iran. The only issue I had with this book was its length; I felt it could have been done in around 300 pages rather than the 400+ it actually involved.
November 2, 2023
Six-word Review: This sequel is a thrilling ride.
This story follows The Counterfeit Agent where Wells, his mentor Shafer, and ex DCI now Senator Duto uncover a plot to trick the U.S. into starting a war with Iran. The twelve days refers to the time limit the President has set for Iran to allow access to its nuclear facilities or be invaded by U.S. forces. The three men must prove that their story is correct and that the CIA and the National Security Advisor, Donna Green are wrong and have been fooled into believing Iran was trying to bring a nuclear weapon into the U.S.
There is the usual amount of violence and world-girdling travel by Wells to try to uncover where the enriched uranium that could become a bomb came from. Wells manages to escape situations that would keep him locked up for the time left. He and his partners are able to tap into their old relationships to get the information they need to stop the march to war.
The story is fast-paced and keeps the reader in suspense as to what the next barrier will be. The ending is in some ways anti-climactic but satisfying, nevertheless. I had a hard time putting the book down as I neared the end.
This story follows The Counterfeit Agent where Wells, his mentor Shafer, and ex DCI now Senator Duto uncover a plot to trick the U.S. into starting a war with Iran. The twelve days refers to the time limit the President has set for Iran to allow access to its nuclear facilities or be invaded by U.S. forces. The three men must prove that their story is correct and that the CIA and the National Security Advisor, Donna Green are wrong and have been fooled into believing Iran was trying to bring a nuclear weapon into the U.S.
There is the usual amount of violence and world-girdling travel by Wells to try to uncover where the enriched uranium that could become a bomb came from. Wells manages to escape situations that would keep him locked up for the time left. He and his partners are able to tap into their old relationships to get the information they need to stop the march to war.
The story is fast-paced and keeps the reader in suspense as to what the next barrier will be. The ending is in some ways anti-climactic but satisfying, nevertheless. I had a hard time putting the book down as I neared the end.
June 14, 2021
Since this is a continuation of the previous book "the counterfeit agent", there is a lot of repeat information. I tried, but I found this book boring and did not finish it!
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