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!!!

GOOD book and good reader

While the underlying premise (conspiracy theory) is a little shaky, the book is great. The main character (Edwin Kreiss) is a real Reacher type; his daughter Lynn is amazing - smart and totally together, and Janet Carter the "good" FBI agent is courageous, ethical, human and likable. While the lead character is a man, there are strong women who are key players, multi-dimensioned and strong. Dick Hill does a really good job at all the different voices.

Engaging

I bought this book on sale and I am glad I did. It is a story about a rookie female FBI agent finding her self aiding an ex-undercover "cleaner" FBI agent and his his daughter who was kidnapped by a couple of zealous bomb makers who want revenge for the Waco debacle which killed the son. There are layers of cover ups that will hopefully disappear as soon as the ex-agent is eliminated.

The story is somewhat believable and fast paced. Dick Hill is one of my favorite narrators. Yes, I would recommend this book no matter if it's on sale or not.

hero never wins ever

If you like a book where the hero is a hero and wins this might not be your book but if you don't mind the supporting cast cast saving his ass every time this is an excellent book

Too many voices needed

What aspect of Dick Hill’s performance would you have changed?

I love Dick Hill. I've chosen books just because he is narrating.
In this book, there were 3 characters where the voices were not up to his standard. The voice of the main female & a couple of agent.
I really think having another narrator in addition to Dick would have made it much better.

Any additional comments?

I would still recommend this book.