Product Description

“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.

Cross it if you dare.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5932551 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-28
• Released on: 2007-07-28
• Formats: Abridged, Audiobook, CD
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 5
• Binding: Audio CD

Review
"Think Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum meet Stephen King...Spy is THE BOOK of the summer!" -- -- Glenn Beck, CNN Headline Prime

"This time, however, Bell ups the ante, and involves Hawke in what might be termed terrorism's perfect storm." -- -- Palm Beach Post

Review
"Ted Bell can really, really write."-- James Patterson

"This time, however, Bell ups the ante, and involves Hawke in what might be termed terrorism's perfect storm."

-- Palm Beach Post

"Think Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum meet Stephen King...Spy is THE BOOK of the summer!"

-- Glenn Beck, CNN Headline Prime

About the Author
Ted Bell is the former chairman of the board and worldwide creative director of Young & Rubicam, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hawke, Assassin, Pirate, Spy and Nick of Time and makes his home in Palm Beach, Florida.

Customer Reviews

What a gripping story!
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the Alex Hawke series to date. This latest is the fourth in this series and the best yet, in my opinion. No one can build up a suspensful plot like Ted Bell, and he leaves no dangling threads and unanswered questions. Oftentimes current thriller writers have a sloppy style and drop storylines like hot potatoes. Not Ted Bell. And he has obviously done his research. This book's action is set deep within the Amazon, and Alex as well as his closest friends face unimaginable dangers while they try to bring down a truly terrifying terrorist. Bell introduces a new character too, that I hope we see again. His name is Franklin Dixon, and he's a Texas sheriff who finds himself playing in the big leagues with a horrifying terrorist plot. I highly recommend this book.

Whew, no time to catch a breath...
I listened to SPY as a download from my local library and I'm going to purchase it just because it was so good. John Shea did a GREAT job as narrator and is a marvel with different voices...I loved Sheriff Dixon and I would love to see an entire series with Dixon as the lead character, especially if read by Shea. Just a good ol' boy who hasn't lost his common sense.

I'm not a techno-geek so I have no idea if the events that happen in the book could actually occur, but it made me uneasy to think my country could be infiltrated so easily. This is more Harrison Ford than George Smiley, but I loved most every minute of it. I did have to bypass some of the violence (Ambrose's torture), but all in all it was a breathtaking read.

I don't like to discuss plot because the Publisher's summary above does that, but this is one of the most intricately plotted books I've read. I need to actually read the book rather than listen again because I need to page back and forth to catch the weavings of the plot line. This first go-round was just to hurry up and see what happens!

I am, for sure, going to check the rest of Ted Bell's books...this one was a great edge of your seat thriller.

THE NEW AXIS OF EVIL
The feature attraction in SPY is Sir Alex Hawke, British Lord, jet-setter and free-lance secret operative out to deal with the depraved bad guys and save the free world.

The story itself presents us with a little "todays headlines" coupled with " what would happen if this were going on". Bell gives us squeeky clean good guys and the evilist of evil terrorists and co-conspirators. His tale has minarets rising under the rainforest canopy, terrorist armies being trained in the jungle, and the most destructive WMD's on this or any planet. Couple that with a weak, easily infiltrated U.S./Mexican border and you have the perfect scenerio for international espionage, and vicious jihad.

This is not the type of book that usually interests me since I am not, nor have I ever been, a fan of Ian Fleming's James (stirred not shaken) Bond. Sir Alex, however, is another matter. Mr. Bells creation is a man so downright mysterious and rugged yet suave and exciting that he makes Bond look like Gomer Pyle.

Suspend your belief system for several hours and come along on a no-holds barred journey as presented by an exceptionally talented author. You will find yourself completely immersed in the Hawke character as well as his unimaginable adventure.