Despatched to investigate thesuicide of one of DC's most influential defence officials- an ardent, early supporter of the war in Iraq -Drummond and his female partner find themselves in themiddle of a tug-of-war between Washington's mostinfluential power brokers and his own personal allegianceto the soldiers dying overseas. What he uncovers are thesecrets that led to the war, secrets that once exposedwould destroy public support and undermine thepresidency.Now, Drummond faces the greatest moral quandary ofhis What is the true meaning of patriotism?
Brian Haig is the son of former US Secretary of State Alexander Haig and has been born and bred in the American military.Since retiring from duty and has been a special advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and now runs a large Helicopter company.
I struggled with this book and where it was going but as you can see with a rating of 4, that I found myself and the GPS worked fine. A good book that was well read. I will wait though for the next book.
What is good about this book: It is a murder mystery, with political double-dealing, and a military thriller. The characters are well developed.
For me, the story started slow until about 40% (of the book), which was according to my kindle. It was basically a pretty, sexy female, Military Police Major, and a JAG (army lawyer) Lt. Colonel joking around a dead body. Then it got exciting as they went to Iraq on an Ops to snatch a high-value target. Then it slowed down but had a very good finish.
According to Kirkus reviews it had about 100 pages too many, I agree. Too much lecturing and not enough action. I have to admit I got lost a few times too.
With all that said, the ending pulled it out and made it worth it.
Review by Mike Slavin author of award-winning Kill Crime (action-packed thriller on Amazon to buy or KU. As of this writing 95% 5 and 4-star reviews on Amazon with 275+ reviews)
When you listen to a lot of audiobooks, those in a series tend to take on the characteristics of a particular reader, especially if h/she is well suited to a given author. I’m a devoted fan of the Sean Drummond character invented by Brian Haig who has been narrated primarily by Scott Brick. The narrator becomes Drummond. Brick captures all the nuances of Drummond’s humor. LJ Ganser is fine, just takes some getting used to if you are accustomed to Brick, but he often reads the wiseacre passages so endearing to Drummond fans too flatly.
Drummond is now a Lt. Colonel, still in the JAG, but assigned to the CIA in a special projects group and he’s assumed the role of an FBI agent to infiltrate the investigation into the suicide/homicide of a man with lots of classified access, Clifford Daniels, and the man about to be outed as a major force in promoting the invasion of Iraq.
The scene eventually shifts to Iraq where the plot gets thinner and the content more wordy. Haig engages in digressions that often have little to do with the story, and sometimes the point he wants to make regarding the war gets muddled. For example, he goes to great lengths to portray the dangers of Fallujah yet Drummond and his escorting contractors have little difficulty making it through town to their target where a great fuss is made over Bien’s conduct in identifying the man they want to kidnap (but only after a ridiculous banter over who gets to go that was really silly). Their attempt must be made speedily because the Marines are about to obliterate the town with artillery. Shift to a hospital where much is made of the injuries to soldiers from roadside bombs without even a consideration given to the effect of artillery on non-combatants.
One interesting historical mention was the terrorist bombing in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, in which a truck bomb was placed next to an eight-story structure that housed members of the coalition forces being used to enforce the no-fly zone in Iraq. Close to 500 coalition servicemen were killed or wounded as the whole side of the building collapsed. Precursors of many attacks to come.
In spite of a constant refrain that as members of the Army, both Drummond and Bian Tran, his female MP major sidekick follow orders, they consistently avoid doing what they have been ordered to do, all the while proclaiming the rightness of the cause.
The book resonates best when Sean is dealing with the bureaucracy and its silliness, less so when he meanders all over in assorted sermons/lectures. There are some seriously incredible plot twists and devices. But I do like some of the characters in spite of their flaws hence three instead of two stars. Haig (and his editor) need to learn the difference between imply and infer.
Good grief, I finished this book. *groan* Brian Haig is an exceptional writer but this particular story with Sean Drummond was long winded. Boring in the beginning, picked up the pace in the middle and slam dunked it with a ton of red herrings which ended in sad burn of emotions and a crick in my neck. This series is showing that the author is becoming more seasoned with his research and a lot of work as well as knowledge went into this espionage type of story. I felt like I was cramming for a test in the works of political terrorism, the wars between Iran and Iraq and all the people involved, including the Pentagon. This murder mystery was a good one but I felt like there was too much written content to absorb and the pleasure of simple clues and trying to solve the crime became mundane and tedious during the reading.
I am almost finished with this series so I am hoping the next and latest book The Night Crew will be more like the first book Secret Sanction
I loved Secret Sanction, the first Brian Haig book I read, and I keep reading his novels hoping to get that initial rush, so far no dice.
The plot moves quickly, you just have to have a big suspension of disbelief. Some of the plot twists are just laughable. The book works well when Haig speaks as a soldier, it does not work well when Haig goes off on speeches about the war in Iraq. At times he has interesting points, but they often come off as forced sermons/monologues.
Haig's humor is there but at times Sean now sounds more snarky and not as funny.
Убийство във Вашингтон, но следите водят към втората американска намеса в Ирак, която продължава и до днес.
Шон все още е в ЦРУ и няма начин да не се зарови до шия, в тази мръсна и нежелана от никого ситуация.
Шпионаж, долни постъпки и много кръв бележат тази част от серията за безстрашния полковник Дръмънд, честито му повишение (оказва се, че е станал едва подполковник, преводачът нещо се е поувлякъл, в опит да му се подмаже).
Съдбата го среща с нова сексбомба, взе да му става навик нещо. :)
За да разбереш, дали и тя ще го прецака, както всичките кучки преди нея, трябва да дочетеш "Посредникът". Според мен си струва отделеното време!
Haig continues to amaze me with this latest installment in the Sean Drummond series. Elevated to Colonel, Drummond continues as a liaison with the CIA and uses some of his military connections to aid in solving a murder. What looks like a simple suicide opens a can of worms like none Drummond has faced in his previous written adventures. Haig takes us inside the dark side of the War on Terror and paints some of his own images to offset what media present on a daily basis. Superimposing sentiments about America’s previous botched war, Vietnam, Haig uses his abilities to offer a personal opinion, while not compromising an excellent story and humorous dialogue. And a great ending will make you wish there were a dozen more books to read!
Haig is a master of his art, to be certain. He has a satirical way of expressing himself, a la Nelson DeMille, which adds to the seriousness of the story and makes it that much easier to read. Anyone interested in the JAG Corps will enjoy the earlier books in the series and those who like more investigation and less law will enjoy these latter books in the series. While I lament the end (for now) of the Drummond series, I know Haig has branched out to pen some excellent stand-alones and is about to engage in a powerful series with another excellent author, Vince Flynn. These will surely also be great reads, which I shall add to my list.
I would highly recommend the series to anyone who likes a good legal/military thriller to check out the entire series (come on, you know you want to read them in order) and dive in off the deep end. You’ll laugh, you’ll gasp, and you may just find a new favourite author.
Ok Iraq war thriller with a somewhat compelling mystery but an annoying romantic theme involving a murdering rogue female soldier who commits all sorts of crimes and treason but who is excused by our chivalrous hero since she's a hottie and had a tough time recently. Gag. Not as funny as he thinks he is.
I've read the previous books in this series and really liked them. However, this story got bogged down in a convoluted explanation of the politics of the Middle Eastern political landscape during Iraq war. I almost yawned when Haig introduced yet another highly-professional, motivated woman who's described as almost goddess-like in her appearance. What's wrong with average-looking women, but who are attractive to Sean nonetheless? For some reason this artificial infatuation felt a bit like Bond movie only where the guy doesn't get the girl.
It was also mind-numbingly complicated for the most part and I almost had to write a list of the Arabic names with notes to remember who was who.
However, it picked up about halfway through and began to read like his normal writing. I got the feeling the author is obsessed with this particular part of American history as it's so full of detail, much of which could easily have been cut.
I particularly did not like the ending. However 3 stars for the good parts, of which there were many.
I have generally liked the installments of the Sean Drummond series, but I barely got through this one. I found some of the ideas surrounding the murder plot clever, but the book sadly only focuses on that at the beginning and the very end. The middle saw me skipping through quite a lot of pages, mainly for two reasons:
Reason one was that the author tries to use the plot to convey a lot of geopolitical ideas surrounding the war in Iraq to the reader. While definitely a noble endeavour, this book unfortunately never manages to incorporate the paragraphes and paragraphes of expository statements and dialogue into a coherent story. This results in the plot seemingly coming to a stand-still everytime a character tries to explain the situation in Iraq and the Middle Eastern region to Sean Drummond, or if he thinks about it.
Reason two for my unhappiness with the middle of the book was that I was really not interested in the whole story line involving Iraq; I actually just wanted to get back to the much more fascinating murder. Usually in a book like this, the investigators going off on tangents and following leads is interesting, but here it was just so clear that this was a ruse supposed to misdirect the murder investigation. So by the fourth geopolitical excursion and the fifth dialogue with obvious outcomes, I was ready to return to Washington DC to finally get to the bottom of the murder.
Finally, I also have to say that the final reveal did not work for me from a logical standpoint. I liked a lot of it and would have loved to have spent more time exploring that side of the story instead of shoot-outs in Iraq, but the premise to me was quite flawed. Furthermore, I found some of the events in Iraq simply eye-rollingly stupid. As I said, the idea behind the murder plot is great and I would have enjoyed reading a whole book about it with a slow reveal of the motive and means. Unfortunately, this book is much more focused on irrelevant side-tracks, crosses and double-crosses - which by the way often don't even make sense again from a logical perspective.
In summary, this is my least favorite of the Sean Drummond series. I became a fan of this series because I liked the insights into the US military system and the legal side to that. The whole shadowy CIA thing is really not as engaging by a long shot, particularly if it is as shoddily constructed as in this book.
This is the sixth in what is currently a series of seven books about Sean Drummond. This is the only entry in the series that I have read. As this book begins, Drummond is newly promoted to the rank of Army Lieutenant Colonel. He is sent to investigate a death of a naked man killed by a gunshot to the head. It is not certain whether the dead man committed suicide or was murdered. Also at the death scene is a female military officer. Drummond and the woman embark on an investigation that takes them into a dangerous military mission in Iraq.
The whole beginning of the book is an extended meet-cute between Drummond and the woman. There is a lot of politics in the story, some of it quite interesting, but I think that it is covered in too great detail. Much of the story is quite far-fetched. I doubt if his superiors would really put up with Drummond's outrageous insubordination.
Drummond narrates the story and portrays himself as brave, witty, caring, and clever. The following description of a Saudi sheik is a good example of the narration:
At one point, while Bian handled the talking, I examined our exotic friend more closely. A little fleshy and jowly, late-fortyish, with quick black eyes and one of those dashing, daggerish goatees. For some reason, the descriptive "devilishly handsome" popped to mind, which I found funny. I mean, he really did look like the devil. I had this odd thought that the ancient Christians must've framed Arab males as their models for Satan. So what did the Arabs' devil look like? Probably like some chubby whitebread in preppy clothes from Connecticut. And their hell probably resembled New Jersey, which actually isn't all that far from our idea of hell.
The ending was genuinely surprising to me. This is a pretty good thriller, but I doubt that I will read other books in the series.
There's an inherent beartrap when an author tries to capture the nuances of the "shadier side of Washington," CIA conspiracies, circles within circles, betrayals heaped upon deception, and tries to keep the reader guessing. Ultimately you can finish up with something so convoluted, that nothing makes sense. Yes, people are complicated, politicians (and I imagine spies) even more so. Their morals are questionable, and their motivations are often at odds with the public good. So sure, I can well imagine them going to extreme lengths to achieve their goals. I can even accept them being human and making mistakes, and that their character and environment can imbue them with a propensity to habitually equivocate and prevaricate. But ultimately they do things for a reason, and the knack of a good storyteller is to pull all the disparate threads together, so that the average reader will eventually conclude "oh, ok, I understand now." Sadly, in this case, there are just too many threads left handing, too many things that just ultimately make no sense. It also doesn't help when you have a hero, who whilst flawed, is also supposed to be sharp and insightful, and yet in this book is portrayed as a complete rube, bumbling his way through the story like an afterthought or piece of colour.
Colonel Sean Drumnmond works for the CIA. there's a suicide to investigate--or is it murder? The plot revolves around the question of whether or not the US was deceived to invade Iraq by an Iraqui, Charabi, who hopes to replace Hussein as leader of the country, In the process the why of the murder unfolds. The novel has its moments of tension and Drummond is an interesting character with edges, as is the Army major he's tossed together with, the attractive Bian Tran. There is an excellent brief explanation of Sunni-Shia differences, as well as some interesting presentations of an Arab perspective of the US. Descriptions of the result of terrorist actions are vivid. I thought, however, that the story needed paring down; some sharper editing would beef up the action and strengthen the story line. The conclusion is in narrative as Drummond figures out what transpired; it's a long effort and not entirely satisfactory, for me.
Comparing it to the other books in the series, I'd say it falls in the middle. It sticks to the established formula of conflicted love interested with really hot chick. Murder mystery. Military intrigue and a little action/violence/political theme thrown in. It kind of sucks that the narrator is different in this audiobook. You get used to one guy's voice as the main character and they go and switch it up on you out of the blue. Oh well... Anyway, I didn't regret the time needed to read it and it's a fun enough book to pass the time. Still, I don't think it was one of the stronger entries of this ongoing series.
The author seemed to have a political point he wanted to make. I'd no real problem with that (really) - it was the part where he, for no reason I can fathom (not even the 'political point' one), made his character stupider and less observant than he had ever been before - without anything to make him so (he wasn't having health issues, there wasn't a romantic interest turning his brain to mush, nothing seemed 'there' for him to be presented as suddenly stupid). So that was my main problem with the book - the characters personality changed to the worse for no discernible reason.
I love this series, having read all but the last one. This one was good, but seemed way too complicated, and the second book that ended with Drummond solving the puzzle but losing in all other ways. He doesn't even get to say, "I told you so!" One more like this, and I think I will be reading another author's series.
Another thriller featuring Sean Drummond, the wise-cracking, masculine guy, working as a one-man CIA, FBI, JAG Lt. Col. Is Man In The Middle a who-done-it mystery or an essay on the strife within the Bush II administration regarding our involvement in Iraq? Regardless, I found Man In The Middle a story that should be read while wide-awake . This, because of the many characters and the involvement of each in this tale of intrigue. I found it fairly uninteresting (except for the colorful Drummond wise-cracks) until page 180 of this 450 page novel. From then on the book read like an his Drummond in a meeting with Phyllis, his govt. boss..."And that's the problem. At the beginning of this case" (a murder of a US official) "we had lots of chances to do the right thing. The chance to find out about and expose Charabi." (the possible new head of Iraq). "The chance to expose Daniels" (the murdered US official) "and his bosses, to expose the truth about the crooked intelligence, about a possible betrayal, and along the way, we stumble into a money scheme that implicates a government that is a titular ally. Instead, we settle for a few garden-variety terrorists. I think you can see where that might turn the stomach of a good soldier." Sean Drummond would put James Bond to shame with his priceless comments and wise-cracks that are often spoken at inopportune times. While a discussion was under way explaining the rivalries between the various Arab divisions (Sunnis. Saudis, and others) Drummond says "Even in America, our cities and reguons have their own quirks and idiosyncrasies; so if you're operating there, you need to be sensitive to that and adapt, or you stick out like a zit on the prom queen's nose. I mean, I once wore a Yankees cap and :Nixon's the One" t-shirt in Boston; I barely got out alive." All in all, a novel with a lot going on: murder, betrayal, love, bad guys, more bad guys, cover-ups, and, of course, the wise-cracks.
I picked up this book to read because I kind of liked Sean Drummond in "The President's Assassin". This book started out almost as a carbon copy, except throw in a lot of goobledeygook about Iran, Iraq, Shiiites, Sunis, Saudis, Arabs.. then sling that mess around and around. Brian Haig is right: We Americans don't really want to be told all about these other countries and all their betrayals and evil doing: we have enough of that at home. Add to this the fact that we're continually lied to, we can spend our days trying to figure out the truth in one situation while others keep popping up. I like mysteries, but based on the previous blueprint, figured out who killed the first guy.. just had to learn why. His boss, Phyllis, is not to be trusted and needs a convenient "accident" of her own. Predictably she's always telling Sean what to do and thrilled when he doesn't do it. Slogging through the "middle" of this book (So glad I know how to speed read), convinced me more and more that the USA needs to stay out of other countries trying to "fix them" and turn inward and fix our own country's problems. Republicans love war... they're profitable. They own the war making machines and they don't care if getting our soldiers killed is a great way to keep the population down. Republicans need to learn how to make addressing homeless and health care problems profitable so they stop thinking it's our way or the highway. (One way they've discovered is to invest in private prisons and lock up everyone they can on the taxpayers' dime)
Sean Drummond is a lawyer - a JAG officer. Sardonic, sarcastic, and self-deprecating at times, Sean is a good guy, a patriot that has taken his oath to "preserve, protect, and defend" to heart. Each book is a complex who-done-it murder mystery in a military environment - from Baghdad to South Korea to Washington DC to Abu Ghraib, Leavenworth, and more.
Intricate plots, no objectionable language, little sex - all fade to black; Brian Haig shopped around with regard to narrators. Preference? Scott Brick or Christopher Lane - but they are all acceptable. There is a bit of violence - Sean gets himself into some scrapes, but nothing gratuitous.
Written by Brian Haig, the Sean Drummond Series consists of seven novels - Secret Sanction, Mortal Allies, The Kingmaker, Private Sector, The President's Assassin, Man in the Middle, and The Night Crew. The novels range from 12-17+ hours in length, each story has a beginning-middle-end, and you can jump in anywhere, no need to read in sequence. Released over a period of 10+ years - several publishers.
Some good characters and OK story but a lot of the scenes and the outcomes were so predictable. The book was a little too long. We know Sean Drummond was going to fall in love with his partner like usual and get played like usual. One of the scenes that I feel was so distasteful is when his partner took him for the first time to her moms Vietnamese restaurant and while walking in kept protesting how he does not like Vietnamese food and how the smell in there was worse than a rotting body. He kept saying hell fish discussed him. Next thing you know they surprise him by giving him a few beers and a couple of big Macs. I thought that scene was low class and like I mentioned very dissed tasteful. Vietnamese food has quite a bit of food that has nothing to do with fish and good regular meat that he would’ve been fine with. I know, I am picking but just had to mention that. And no matter what the main character says, I really do like the character of his boss, Phyllis.
The book is a pure entertainment - the story is gripping, the plot intense and unpredictable, dialogues witty, smart and funny and filled with memorable characters. What I like further is how Brian Haig uses his own experience in military, war zones and back in the corridors of power in the US so well. He knows his stuff well and paints a vivid picture of the military, terrorism and Iraq. The story educates and provides the readers deep insights into the complexities of the Middle East politics and Jihadists.
My only complaint is that some part of the plot is rather implausible. For example, the mission to Faluja - there is no way the CIA, military or the US government would authorise such missions led by people like Sean Drummond or Tran Bian. Some of the incidents that took place too fall into the same category.
However, on the whole this is a fantastic read for the discerning thriller fans.
finised 23rd may 2025 good read three stars i liked it no less no more kindle library loaner first from haig brian sean drummond #6 and another that fits on the "frontier justice" shelf this one with some interesting twists and turns to that theme and like many of the others one's view of the outcome has to concede the question is that okay? is that justice? and is this our fate, this the end result? and a quote that i'll hazard is motive for the direction of "frontier justice" as lawyer friends of mine say, in America you get all the justice you can afford.
and the story describes that "justice" in the american way both entertaining and frustrating so many big talking heads with a hand in the pot stirring things around...and ultimately one cannot help coming to the conclusion that all experience hath shown... and look forward to the day most likely long after i'm gone that justice will be applied across the board and the slate will be wiped clean.
Dla lubiących etykietki - miks kryminału, powieści szpiegowskiej z domieszką fikcji politycznej i muśnięciem modern military. Świetnie pomyślana fabuła, dobrze skrojone postacie. Jest tempo i akcja. Niestety polskie wydanie wyjątkowo niechlujne - chyba to efekt wspólnej pracy wszystkich zaangażowanych od tłumacza począwszy (kwiatki typu karabin maszynowy kalibru 50 mm), po redakcję i wydanie. Zwłaszcza pod koniec roi się od wszelkich możliwych błędów, nawet takich zmieniających niejednokrotnie sens zdania, co wybija czytelnika z rytmu i każe się zastanawiać co ci artyści mieli na myśli. Mimo wszystko pozycja naprawdę warta poznania - interesująca perspektywa spojrzenia na zagadkę amerykańskiej interwencji w Iraku.
Despatched to investigate thesuicide of one of DC's most influential defence officials- an ardent, early supporter of the war in Iraq -Drummond and his female partner find themselves in themiddle of a tug-of-war between Washington's mostinfluential power brokers and his own personal allegianceto the soldiers dying overseas. What he uncovers are thesecrets that led to the war, secrets that once exposedwould destroy public support and undermine thepresidency.Now, Drummond faces the greatest moral quandary ofhis life: What is the true meaning of patriotism
Absolutely & totally enthralled with Brian Haig's Sean Drummond character...as big a wise-ass as Nelson DeMille's John Corey, as astute an investigator as Lee Child's Jack Reacher & a skilled operator as Brad Thor's Scot Harvath...what's not to like...Drummond is pulled into an investigation of a questionable suicide of one of the architects of the US involvement in Iraq...plenty of twists & turns, human-social-military observations & just good characters...great fun!!!
I loved every book I read by Brian Haig. I love his main hero “Sean Drummond “. This book is different from the other 1st 5 book I read. It is not a pure “legal” story, it more an espionage political thriller. Sean is the same cynical funny trusted officer. Took me a while to read it all since I was occupied with other things. In spite of that I didn’t ditch the book and kept reading it, which is the best sign for its quality.
Interesting Sean Drummond case as it was more investigative with no trial. He is called to investigate the death of an individual connected to some high up defense dept officials pushing the war in Iraq. Teaming up with a Dept of Defense MP they see to determine whether or not it was a suicide or murder.
What a great book. You think you know what is going to happen and then the last 10% throws your reasoning out of the window. It's a great book and story line. It truly kept me guessing until the very end.