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September 30, 2021
SPY(Alex Hawke #4), by Ted Bell is the first book by this author that I have read. It certainly made no difference that I had not read the previous three in the series. It stood well upon its own merits.
SPY is a great thriller moving at a heart-racing pace between Royal Commander Alexander Hawke and alternately Sheriff Franklin Dixon of Prairie, Texas trying to bring down an evil force bent on the destruction of America.
Some might say that this book is steered towards the male reader. I’d like to think that everyone enjoys a good read, no matter the subject. I learned a lot and would enjoy reading the first book in this series.
This was a quick, free ebook that I read on Glose.
SPY is a great thriller moving at a heart-racing pace between Royal Commander Alexander Hawke and alternately Sheriff Franklin Dixon of Prairie, Texas trying to bring down an evil force bent on the destruction of America.
Some might say that this book is steered towards the male reader. I’d like to think that everyone enjoys a good read, no matter the subject. I learned a lot and would enjoy reading the first book in this series.
This was a quick, free ebook that I read on Glose.
March 19, 2017
This story is a good example of extremely poor editing. It is much too long and detrimental to the overall enjoyment of the novel. The ending is much better than the rest of the story, but it takes too long to get there. 3 of 10 stars
My original review was based on the abridged version. I listened to the unabridged version and although there are many various story lines, they don't necessarily all come together at the end because there are too many divergent ones. Still, the story should have been better edited and tighter. 6 of 10 stars
My original review was based on the abridged version. I listened to the unabridged version and although there are many various story lines, they don't necessarily all come together at the end because there are too many divergent ones. Still, the story should have been better edited and tighter. 6 of 10 stars
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March 13, 2012Actual rating: 0.5 stars.
A very dear friend - super-smart, a voracious reader who is a member of Amazon's book reviewing staff - told me I should read something by Ted Bell. Maybe I picked the wrong novel. Or maybe she had a different Ted Bell in mind. The Ted Bell I read is just another Clive Cussler, and his hero Alex Hawke is even less dimensional than Cussler's Dirk Pitt. Several cars speed away in this novel, fishtailing as they accelerate. And motorcycles, boats, even airplanes. All vehicles must fishtail! The plot relies on a familiar racist right-wing conceit: dirty brown Mexicans are invading our country, hoping to reconquer territory lost in the Mexican-American War. That notion is repeated, almost verbatim, by different characters at least 20 times. There's an abundance of military techno-babble as well, all of it firmly in the realm of fantasy. Clearly, Ted Bell is unfamiliar with the realities of warfare, where things don't ever work as advertised. Nasty stuff. Sloppily written nasty stuff.
A very dear friend - super-smart, a voracious reader who is a member of Amazon's book reviewing staff - told me I should read something by Ted Bell. Maybe I picked the wrong novel. Or maybe she had a different Ted Bell in mind. The Ted Bell I read is just another Clive Cussler, and his hero Alex Hawke is even less dimensional than Cussler's Dirk Pitt. Several cars speed away in this novel, fishtailing as they accelerate. And motorcycles, boats, even airplanes. All vehicles must fishtail! The plot relies on a familiar racist right-wing conceit: dirty brown Mexicans are invading our country, hoping to reconquer territory lost in the Mexican-American War. That notion is repeated, almost verbatim, by different characters at least 20 times. There's an abundance of military techno-babble as well, all of it firmly in the realm of fantasy. Clearly, Ted Bell is unfamiliar with the realities of warfare, where things don't ever work as advertised. Nasty stuff. Sloppily written nasty stuff.
September 12, 2013
There’s a blurb on the front of Ted Bell’s Spy from James Patterson. “Ted Bell,” exclaims the blurb, “can really, really write.”
And Ted Bell can really, really write. What Ted Bell needs is an editor who can really, really edit.
The plot is simple enough: Bell’s protagonist, Alexander Hawke is a prisoner of a deranged Arab terrorist in a jungle hideout in the Amazon. The terrorist is planning a big attack against the United States. Hawke escapes, makes it back to the UK and warns the Powers That Be of the madman in the jungle. Hawke then goes back to the Amazon and saves the day. Simple and exciting.
Except….
Spy clocks in at 699 pages. And that is probably about 300 pages too long. There are too many moving pieces that do not advance the story and seem to wander off on their own. It takes too dang long to get the story moving.
Elmore Leonard famously advised writers to omit the parts of a story that a reader doesn’t care about and will skip. Spy does not follow this sage advice. A good chunk of the novel has Hawk going from one meal to another as we deal with plot exposition. Hawke’s relationship with the US Secretary of State, Consuelo de los Reyes, has hit the rocks and there are chapters devoted the characters’ pining for one another. None of it is remotely related to the story.
There is a character in the novel whose only apparent purpose is to have sex with Hawke.
And there are the subplots:
We have a subplot involving Mexican machinations on the US/Mexico border that gives us a Texas sheriff and his deputy investigating not only ghost trucks, but also a white slavery ring and negotiating with a Mexican narco-terrorist gang. Most of this subplot has zero to do with the overall story and should have been jettisoned.
There is Harry Brock, CIA, and a meandering subplot that has him picking up pieces of intel about the madman in the jungle that feels like filler.
There is the laughable subplot of the terrorist attack being written in code based on the novel, the Da Vinci Code that no one in the NSA, CIA or MI-6 can figure out. Only Hawke’s pal, Ambrose Cosgreve can solve it.
Stokely Jones has an entire chapter devoted to buying a car. His subplot involving finding a crashed and submerged jet carrying missiles really doesn’t go anywhere. It seems to be part of a different story where Venezuela is preparing to invade the US.
And that seems to be the main problem with Spy: it is two novels smashed into one book: A madman in the jungle preparing to attack the US and a South American plot to destroy America. Had Bell picked one of the two stories and ran with it, the result probably would have been a better tale.
Provided he had an editor to keep him on track.
And Ted Bell can really, really write. What Ted Bell needs is an editor who can really, really edit.
The plot is simple enough: Bell’s protagonist, Alexander Hawke is a prisoner of a deranged Arab terrorist in a jungle hideout in the Amazon. The terrorist is planning a big attack against the United States. Hawke escapes, makes it back to the UK and warns the Powers That Be of the madman in the jungle. Hawke then goes back to the Amazon and saves the day. Simple and exciting.
Except….
Spy clocks in at 699 pages. And that is probably about 300 pages too long. There are too many moving pieces that do not advance the story and seem to wander off on their own. It takes too dang long to get the story moving.
Elmore Leonard famously advised writers to omit the parts of a story that a reader doesn’t care about and will skip. Spy does not follow this sage advice. A good chunk of the novel has Hawk going from one meal to another as we deal with plot exposition. Hawke’s relationship with the US Secretary of State, Consuelo de los Reyes, has hit the rocks and there are chapters devoted the characters’ pining for one another. None of it is remotely related to the story.
There is a character in the novel whose only apparent purpose is to have sex with Hawke.
And there are the subplots:
We have a subplot involving Mexican machinations on the US/Mexico border that gives us a Texas sheriff and his deputy investigating not only ghost trucks, but also a white slavery ring and negotiating with a Mexican narco-terrorist gang. Most of this subplot has zero to do with the overall story and should have been jettisoned.
There is Harry Brock, CIA, and a meandering subplot that has him picking up pieces of intel about the madman in the jungle that feels like filler.
There is the laughable subplot of the terrorist attack being written in code based on the novel, the Da Vinci Code that no one in the NSA, CIA or MI-6 can figure out. Only Hawke’s pal, Ambrose Cosgreve can solve it.
Stokely Jones has an entire chapter devoted to buying a car. His subplot involving finding a crashed and submerged jet carrying missiles really doesn’t go anywhere. It seems to be part of a different story where Venezuela is preparing to invade the US.
And that seems to be the main problem with Spy: it is two novels smashed into one book: A madman in the jungle preparing to attack the US and a South American plot to destroy America. Had Bell picked one of the two stories and ran with it, the result probably would have been a better tale.
Provided he had an editor to keep him on track.
July 28, 2009
Can you say, "suspension of disbelief?" Could terrorists build a network of training camps in the rain forests of South America over several years and remain virtually undetected? OK. Super heroes need super villains.
What really bugged me though was getting little details wrong -- inconsistent chronology, characters playing gin rummy but the description of the hands don't make sense, and writing that the Washington bible is used for every inauguration. I once failed a history test (open book!) in high school (yes, I am ashamed) but even I know that's not right.
What really bugged me though was getting little details wrong -- inconsistent chronology, characters playing gin rummy but the description of the hands don't make sense, and writing that the Washington bible is used for every inauguration. I once failed a history test (open book!) in high school (yes, I am ashamed) but even I know that's not right.
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December 23, 2025Rated 4.5
“A border ain’t nothing but a law drawn in the sand.” So says a small-town Texas sheriff in Ted Bell’s most gripping espionage thriller to date. Things along America’s southern border are rapidly reaching the boiling point. American girls are being snatched from their homes, ranches are burning, and the number of deadly confrontations along the Mexican boarder grows daily. At night, armed Mexican troops cross the border at will in support of narcotics smugglers and illegal immigrants. By day, Americans take up arms and plan reprisals. An all-out border war is no longer inconceivable. It’s happening!
On assignment for the British Secret Service, a man leads a mysterious expedition into the heart of darkness. Sailing up the furthest reaches of the Amazon River, he is captured by a brutal tribe of indigenous cannibals. Forced into slave labor, he witnesses the unimaginable. Golden domes and minarets rise beneath the rainforest canopy. Vast terror armies are being recruited and trained in the jungle. Their goal: a vicious jihad that will unite one continent…and destroy another. They possess weapons only dreamed of by the Western allies. Somehow he must escape his captors and live to tell his tale.
With tensions on its southern border threatening to ignite into war, America must look to the one man who might be able to confront the demons in the jungle…and destroy them. Alex Hawke, with the aid of brilliant Scotland Yard Inspector Ambrose Congreve, and an unstoppable force of nature named Stokely Jones, begins a river journey fraught with peril. He must confront all the terrors that man and nature can hurl at him. From black magic, poison-tipped arrows, and blowguns to an awesome arsenal of the most advanced military hardware, Hawke must overcome insurmountable odds on his quest for victory.
Here is an author who gets you in the palm of his hand and then clenches his fist. And here is a saga loaded to the gunwales with action, glamour, and spellbinding suspense. Alex Hawke once again takes listeners right to that thin border between fear and overwhelming terror. It’s merely a line drawn in the sand. Cross it at your peril.
“A border ain’t nothing but a law drawn in the sand.” So says a small-town Texas sheriff in Ted Bell’s most gripping espionage thriller to date. Things along America’s southern border are rapidly reaching the boiling point. American girls are being snatched from their homes, ranches are burning, and the number of deadly confrontations along the Mexican boarder grows daily. At night, armed Mexican troops cross the border at will in support of narcotics smugglers and illegal immigrants. By day, Americans take up arms and plan reprisals. An all-out border war is no longer inconceivable. It’s happening!
On assignment for the British Secret Service, a man leads a mysterious expedition into the heart of darkness. Sailing up the furthest reaches of the Amazon River, he is captured by a brutal tribe of indigenous cannibals. Forced into slave labor, he witnesses the unimaginable. Golden domes and minarets rise beneath the rainforest canopy. Vast terror armies are being recruited and trained in the jungle. Their goal: a vicious jihad that will unite one continent…and destroy another. They possess weapons only dreamed of by the Western allies. Somehow he must escape his captors and live to tell his tale.
With tensions on its southern border threatening to ignite into war, America must look to the one man who might be able to confront the demons in the jungle…and destroy them. Alex Hawke, with the aid of brilliant Scotland Yard Inspector Ambrose Congreve, and an unstoppable force of nature named Stokely Jones, begins a river journey fraught with peril. He must confront all the terrors that man and nature can hurl at him. From black magic, poison-tipped arrows, and blowguns to an awesome arsenal of the most advanced military hardware, Hawke must overcome insurmountable odds on his quest for victory.
Here is an author who gets you in the palm of his hand and then clenches his fist. And here is a saga loaded to the gunwales with action, glamour, and spellbinding suspense. Alex Hawke once again takes listeners right to that thin border between fear and overwhelming terror. It’s merely a line drawn in the sand. Cross it at your peril.
November 6, 2021
A James Bond type of character with more money. And if you like James Bond.....
I thought the story was good, though the ending was tied up in a few pages with the bad guy confessing his plans too quickly and all was good. All that, after I had read 700 pages! Ha!
I thought the story was good, though the ending was tied up in a few pages with the bad guy confessing his plans too quickly and all was good. All that, after I had read 700 pages! Ha!
June 4, 2023
Compared to book 2 this was an improvement ( Yes I jumped books), yet it did tend to wander off in directions that was of little interest. Minor portions of bravado by Hawk were a bit much to swallow. The story began quite interestingly with Hawke running from his captors, but it slowly died down in pace from there, especially when jumping to different view points between main characters. The book in itself wasn't bad and worth for me a 2.5 star review, its not the worst nor the greatest in the series thus far.
March 25, 2016
"Spy" is the fourth story of Alexander Hawke written by Ted Bell. I really enjoyed this book because I just love to read thrillers and "heart-squishing" plot where as I read, I had to focus myself to picture each scenes. This book is about Alexander Hawke, a MI6 intelligence officer, who gets captured by cannibals and is forced to labor in the jungle of Amazon. He was hired in order to investigate why American girls were taken from their homes, security became way more strict than before, and ranches were burning in the borders of Mexico. The cause was in the jungles of Mexico so Hawke had no choice but to go there and find it out himself. During his captivity, he learns that the tribal people who capture him weren't normal; they were trained warriors who dedicated their lives to take down America. Also, he learns that South and Central America wants US to meet its end and begone. The story gets more intense as the chapters are read. Ted Bell uses great uses of language to describe each particular scenes with different tones. Also, he choice of diction fits well to the environment of the plot. I highly recommend this book to those who like thrilling and intensified stories.
May 28, 2015
Talk about a case for an abridged version of a story! There were way too many things going on in this story, and a large portion of the story was around a plot that was totally unrelated to the main plot. I was surprised with how the story came together and liked how the story ended; however, this high point does not make up for the unnecessary plot line and too many moving parts. 4 out of 10 stars for me on this 4th installment of the Alexander Hawk series.
June 30, 2014
Hawke is up there with warrior heroes like Mitch Rapp, Kirk McGarvey and Jack Reacher.
Totally unrealistic but great fun. Well, maybe not totally unrealistic, but close.
Totally unrealistic but great fun. Well, maybe not totally unrealistic, but close.
May 14, 2021
Interesting read, SPY 🕵️♂️ By Ted Bell.
I makes on wonder, just how much animosity other countries have towards the United States 🇺🇸, and what if anything are they doing with tg saihat animosity.
Another thing that was quite bothering, was our borders in Texas. How secure are they really? If it's not secure, what step are being taken to secure it.
Things that make you go, Hmmmmmm!
I learned some historical things reading 📖 this book.
Like the hatred radical Islamic extremists have against the United States 🇺🇸. Their Jidhadist mindset is truly terrifying, and mind boggling.
Well enough of that, good read for sure. I'm wondering what the next, Alex Hawke novel had to offer.
With that being said, TSAR is up next.
Can't wait to see what is in store in this novel.
Until my next review, you already know. Happy Reading 📚!!!!!!!!!!
Ciao💋
I makes on wonder, just how much animosity other countries have towards the United States 🇺🇸, and what if anything are they doing with tg saihat animosity.
Another thing that was quite bothering, was our borders in Texas. How secure are they really? If it's not secure, what step are being taken to secure it.
Things that make you go, Hmmmmmm!
I learned some historical things reading 📖 this book.
Like the hatred radical Islamic extremists have against the United States 🇺🇸. Their Jidhadist mindset is truly terrifying, and mind boggling.
Well enough of that, good read for sure. I'm wondering what the next, Alex Hawke novel had to offer.
With that being said, TSAR is up next.
Can't wait to see what is in store in this novel.
Until my next review, you already know. Happy Reading 📚!!!!!!!!!!
Ciao💋
September 3, 2023
I must have read an unabridged version because about 700 pages later I've finally finished. I think overall the story was enthralling, but it could have been edited to cut out a lot of unnecessary details and parts that were thrown in for perspective - but really were just fluffy filler parts that didn't contribute to the story overall.
I've not read a novel like this before and enjoyed it overall. I would consider reading another from the series. It reads like a thrilling TV show and it was surprisingly easy to follow the story and relationships between characters despite not having read any other books in this series before.
I've not read a novel like this before and enjoyed it overall. I would consider reading another from the series. It reads like a thrilling TV show and it was surprisingly easy to follow the story and relationships between characters despite not having read any other books in this series before.
January 3, 2026
Rating: 2.3/5
Didn’t quite finish the book, and it’s not terrible and is perfectly adequate for a cruise ship library book, but since I would never read it outside of a cruise, it doesn’t crack 3 stars. Close second place of the three cruise ship books - better story than The Wrong Side of Goodbye and not nearly as much sexism as Eye of the Storm, but still too much sexism at times. Reading this the night of the U.S. attack on Venezuela w this book being about terrorist plots on the U.S. being hatched in the Amazon as justification for U.S. military activity in Latin America is horrific irony.
Didn’t quite finish the book, and it’s not terrible and is perfectly adequate for a cruise ship library book, but since I would never read it outside of a cruise, it doesn’t crack 3 stars. Close second place of the three cruise ship books - better story than The Wrong Side of Goodbye and not nearly as much sexism as Eye of the Storm, but still too much sexism at times. Reading this the night of the U.S. attack on Venezuela w this book being about terrorist plots on the U.S. being hatched in the Amazon as justification for U.S. military activity in Latin America is horrific irony.
September 8, 2023
The story is told from the perspective of three intersecting events with three groups of characters. Terrorists are plotting to disrupt America and create dangerous situations across the country with a focus on assassinating the President. Meanwhile Hawke’s friend Ambrose Congreve is kidnapped and tortured for the information he knows about the master plan of destruction and violence. At the beginning I found it a little slow and disjointed. By midway I could see how it was all coming together and it starting racing in pace towards the finish.
March 15, 2025
a high octane thriller
Wow this story starts out with a bang, Alex is prisoner and tortured in the Amazon jungle. Then the very believable story of creating chaos in Americas southern boarder and attempting to kill the president. I absolutely love the secondary characters. The CIA agent Brock is absolutely hilarious and determined. Then Sheriff Dixon and Homer. I just knew one of them would not make Utah to the end, heartbreaking. What a great read and a book that must also be listened to.
Wow this story starts out with a bang, Alex is prisoner and tortured in the Amazon jungle. Then the very believable story of creating chaos in Americas southern boarder and attempting to kill the president. I absolutely love the secondary characters. The CIA agent Brock is absolutely hilarious and determined. Then Sheriff Dixon and Homer. I just knew one of them would not make Utah to the end, heartbreaking. What a great read and a book that must also be listened to.
January 11, 2018
Spy is more of a "guy" book. The action adventure type. I don't mind reading a book like this occasionally. My biggest problem with this book was the amount of errors.
For example, on page 459 of the hardback edition is the following paragraph:
He saw the familiar face of Agent Hecht standing there on the ground with all the other agents, every of them looking up at him and shaking their heads, all with a big smiles on their faces.
For example, on page 459 of the hardback edition is the following paragraph:
He saw the familiar face of Agent Hecht standing there on the ground with all the other agents, every of them looking up at him and shaking their heads, all with a big smiles on their faces.
March 8, 2020
The multiple story lines, fast moving action, technology and tactical descriptions got this book a three star rating. However, if I rated it on sexist remarks, it would have gotten one star. Why are women, despite their abilities and toughness objectified? I'm struggling to believe that in a life and death situation a man would think about the curvy breasts on his female compatriot. Several times this blatant sexism ruined an otherwise exciting book.
November 30, 2020
Of the five in the Hawke series I have read, this was by far the best. Some of the others were unnecessarily drawn out and boring in parts. The subject matter explored, with the Mexican and South American themes is not one I have seen. Even though this book was written in 2006, the issues with border security still are a concern today.
August 13, 2018
A good book by Ted Bell. This book kept all it's different story lines moving to the same end.
This is the fourth book in this series and the first one that keeps the story lines together all the way thru. The previous books were a little jumbled.
This is the fourth book in this series and the first one that keeps the story lines together all the way thru. The previous books were a little jumbled.
October 1, 2019
It was better and the time line was mostly believable. Still it doesn’t connect with the overall timeline for the series. He is not old enough to have had all the experience needed that the series has said he has had.
January 5, 2020
Excellent!
I love this series. Alex Hawke was recommended to me on a whim, and I’m glad I jumped into the book. The British aspect offers a different perspective, and political thriller lovers will not be disappointed! Highly recommend the adventures and escapades of Alex Hawke.
I love this series. Alex Hawke was recommended to me on a whim, and I’m glad I jumped into the book. The British aspect offers a different perspective, and political thriller lovers will not be disappointed! Highly recommend the adventures and escapades of Alex Hawke.
January 23, 2020
An incredible terrorist plot against the United States and the heroic band of brothers sent to thwart it are central to the theme. The thrilling story builds slowly to a resounding and satisfying conclusion whilst myriad well crafted characters vie for center stage.
September 25, 2021
That anyone gave this book more than 2 stars is pathetic.
It's like the author took every bad spy/action movie cliche ever and stuffed it into one book.
I'm still shocked I managed to get through the whole thing. WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD BOOK? WHY DID PEOPLE ACTUALLY PAY MONEY FOR IT?!
It's like the author took every bad spy/action movie cliche ever and stuffed it into one book.
I'm still shocked I managed to get through the whole thing. WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD BOOK? WHY DID PEOPLE ACTUALLY PAY MONEY FOR IT?!
February 27, 2022
Alex Hawke, a British spy, whose research ship was blown up, finds himself captured and enslaved deep in the Amazon jungle. Once he escapes from the unknown army he finds they are on a quest to destroy the U.S.
December 22, 2022
I think this was the first book I've read by Ted Bell. I thought it was a little slow at times but never enough for me to DNF it. The climax was spectacular. I'll be looking for more of Mr. Bell's work.
October 10, 2023
Fun book to read. Enjoyed it immensely. Take a ride through the jungle, hang out in Key West, go to England, visit a friend on the border in Texas! This book goes many places. The threads all converge on Washington, DC. Have fun.
June 15, 2018
My first Ted Bell (Hawke) book. I just ordered three more. Great page turner.
As other reviewer have mentioned, I don't understand all the typos.
As other reviewer have mentioned, I don't understand all the typos.
December 12, 2018
From Giorgio
Displaying 1 - 30 of 203 reviews