Hunting Season

By: P. T. Deutermann

Narrated by: Dick Hill

When college kids hiking near an abandoned military industrial complex in West Virginia mysteriously disappear, special agent Janet Carter - earnest, honest, and fed up with the stifling chauvinistic environment at the Roanoke FBI headquarters - is called in to investigate. Unfortunately, there are no leads - it's as if the three just vanished into thin air.

The authorities at the FBI are quick to write off the case as teenage runaways, and order Janet off the case - but not before she has the chance to speak with the father of one of the missing, Edwin Kriess.

Kriess is an ex-"sweeper", a member of an elite CIA task force trained to track down and bring in rogue agents. To be a sweeper means to be expertly trained in the art of hunting and killing, and Kriess was not only a sweeper himself, but the agent in charge of training and leading the entire program. Only something went wrong - an assignment to track down an agent involved in a Chinese espionage plot ended in a bloody massacre, and threatened to reveal a monumental government cover-up. Kriess was quietly sacrificed to the scandal, and has since lived in solitude.

But now his daughter is missing, and he knows that she didn't run away - and he will do anything to find her and bring her abductors to justice. His search brings him back to the abandoned industrial complex, where two right-wing religious fanatics - tied to the Waco disaster and inspired by the Oklahoma City bombing - are building a hydrogen bomb.

When the FBI learns of Kriess' independent investigations, they fear the worst: he knows too many secrets already, and if his search efforts are successful, a scandal of epic proportions would unfold. They decide they need a plant, someone who has access to Kriess, and can win his trust. Someone who will report back what he knows, and what he finds - and that person is Janet Carter.

©2005 P. T. Deutermann (P)2005 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Deutermann's latest blast at the FBI/ CIA establishment [is] read with muscular intelligence by Hill." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A solid read from an author whose own tradecraft is every bit as good as that of his characters." ( Booklist)

WOW all action

Great story with plenty of non-stop action. This is the second book from Deutermann I have listened too. I am looking forward to many more. If you like heros who do good to the whole, in a very twisted way, this is a book you need to read.

Narrator is a distraction...

I have not finished this book, and I may not. The plot is arresting and the narrator is popular, I know. But his depiction of women is really abysmal. One of the main characters, whom the author clearly intends to be a competent and bold woman, is portrayed as speaking like a little girl, in a falsetto voice. Hill tries to differentiate among the other characters, but does not succeed well. I am about to give up on it, as I simply find this too distracting. Perhaps I'll purchase the book in print, and finish it that way, because I really like the story and the author.

Good Author, Excellent Narrator

This was is a good read by a great narrator. This is my first P.T. Deutermann novel, but I'm a big Lee Child fan, and this reminded me of many of his stories. Some of the decisions made by the main characters were questionable, as are aspects of the plot, but if readers can suspend disbelief and just go with it, I'm sure it will be much enjoyed. I liked it enough that I'm now searching for my next P.T. Deutermann book.

If you've never read Deuterman, a good start

If you could sum up Hunting Season in three words, what would they be?

Uber-hero seeks vengance

What did you like best about this story?

The sardonic humor of the protagonist

What does Dick Hill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His delivery allows the story to flow naturally.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The improbable rescue by the "redneck militia".

Any additional comments?

A nice introduction to Deuterman. It is especially rewarding to discover he doesn't backtrack on his characters, positioning each for a sequel that never comes.

entertaining in spite of a few issues

Interesting story, good narration overall. However, male narrators narrating women's voices by raising their pitch (and vice versa for female narrators and male roles) run a risk of seriously discrediting the character (best for male narrators to soften without changing pitch, in my opinion). FBI agent Janet ends up sounding like a simpering parody, a problem worsened by her frequent slow-witted lines. Kreiss is a cold fish whose love of his daughter seems one-dimensional (without giving away any of the plot). I'd give it a 3 overall, it was entertaining enough. I dreaded any possibility of a romance there!

WOWZZZZZA!!

I read Deuterman's Cam Richter series and love them so I thought I would sample his other offerings. So glad I did. First rattle out of the barrel, the action and suspense starts. Vanished teens, creepy woods, spooky governmnet installation, good ol' mountain boy's, a dad that wont give up, FBI who is one tough lady. So what's not to like here. And Dick Hill... oh my, what a great performance!!!

What a story!

This book will capture your attention in the first chapter and NEVER let go. Great characters! This was my first for P.T. Deutermann. So glad I got it!

Excellent story

I really enjoyed the story and I thought the narrator was excellent as well. The plot moves in unexpected ways and certain issues resolve unexpectedly, yet there remain other matters that must be addressed. I liked the characters in the story and I appreciated that there was no all-knowing character who reached grandly accurate conclusions based on little evidence as there are in some stories I've read.

Buckle Your Seat!! Hunting Season's On!!

Hunting Season doesn't take long to reel you in and then you need your seat belt on. It's filled with twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end. The contrast of Southwest Virginia characters with the intrigue of secret government agencies make for a realistic story. The narrator handled the accents and variety of characters masterfully.

Hunting Season

This was my first P.T. Deutermann book. I found myself looking up his bibliography before I was too far into the story. Excellent writer. Well paced suspenseful story. I'm always surprised when I read reviewers not liking Dick Hill. I find him to be one of the best at what he does. His voice brings me into lesser stories---so when it is as well written as this one---I was glad I'd made the purchase.