The Deceived

By: Brett Battles

Narrated by: William Dufris

“Unputdownable.” (Tess Gerritsen)

“Brilliant and heart-pounding.” (Jeffery Deaver)

“A tightly written page-turner.” (Booklist)

Brett Battles won rave reviews for his debut novel, The Cleaner, which introduced hero Jonathan Quinn. A freelance operative and professional "cleaner", Quinn knows better than to get emotionally involved in any of his jobs. But in this superb powerhouse of suspense, Quinn's latest job is different. A friend and old colleague has been murdered. A woman has gone missing. And for Jonathan Quinn, this time it's personal.

Anonymity. Trust. Professionalism. In his world, Jonathan Quinn has a few rules. He'll get rid of bodies that have to disappear; nothing ever gets traced back to him. But when Quinn is called to a busy Los Angeles port where a shipping container has just come in from the sea, it's clear his rules have been violated. Inside the crate is a dead man - a man who once saved Quinn's life. And while no one knows how CIA agent Steven Markoff died, Quinn has to do more than clean. He has to find Markoff's girlfriend, Jenny. To tell her that Markoff is dead. To find out why someone sent Markoff's body to him.

Until a week ago, Jenny Fuentes was an assistant to an ambitious congressman. Now Jenny is missing, too, and a lot of man power is making sure she isn't found. But Quinn has his own man power. He has tools that can pry into secrets held anywhere in the world. He has the skill to trade blows with killers and spies. And he has covert weapons: his eager and smart apprentice, Nate, and brilliant Orlando, his closest friend, who's saved his life more than once.

Racing from the corridors of power in Washington to the bustling streets of Singapore, Quinn won't stop until he uncovers the truth behind his friend's violent death, the astounding reason Jenny has vanished - and what she knows about the most explosive deception of all.

©2008 Brett Battles (P)2008 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

Winner - Barry Award for Best Thriller, 2009

“Breakneck pacing, colorful locales and dizzying plot twists make the Quinn series a welcome addition to the political thriller genre.”—Publishers Weekly

“Plenty of globetrotting, nonstop action, plot twists, tight writing, whiz-bang high-tech devices, tradecraft, and a surfeit of dangerous women.” —Booklist

“Highly recommended….Lots of tradecraft.”—Library Journal, starred review

Great book

This is classic Quinn. If you like the other books in the series you'll love this.

Another edge-of-the-seat thrill ride

The only book better than this one is Brett Battles' first book. Both books are realistic but not predictable, informative without bogging down in technical jargon, in foreign settings that are well described, characters whose behaviors fit their personalities and plots that make sense while still keeping the reader guessing. Another one-sitting read ... even if the sun is coming up before the end. I couldn't put it down.

Dont understand the narration negativity

The narration of this book is fine. I don't understand why people marry a narrator to a series. I was able to differentiate the characters just fine, but then again I don't expect two people to read the exact same way. If you like the characters in the series, then this is worth a listen. I did do some eye-rolling here and there (not related to the narration), but I don't begrudge spending the credit.

Narration Could be better

Wasn't so much the narration but the production that was annoying. Volume fluctuations and the narrators bad inflection. Hate the way he made Quinn sound...like some arrogant jerk. Sounded like Clinton or Kronk at times. The women all sounded the same and southern.

Bad narrator

Story was all right but narrator blew it. Was hard to follow with his performance.

Not worth it!

Please don't waste your time &money. I really wanted to enjoy this series, tried to get into it. Failed, convoluted often, bad narration, little excitement, poor character development. Unable to list all the issues wrong with this novel and the whole series thus far. I will not be listening to the next one and will go back to the first novel and write a review to warn others not to bother wasting time and money on this series. Big disappointment.

Narrator is AWFUL

Would you try another book from Brett Battles and/or William Dufris?

Would I try another book from Brett Battles? Yes, absolutely. Narrated by William Dufris? NEVER. His narration was awful. Absolutely awful. He was not consistent with his voices or accents. He mispronounced words. I couldn't wait to finish this book so I could start the next one narrated by the fabulous Scott Brick.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was not consistent with accents and voices. His made the females sound whiney. He mispronounced words. It's awful. Read this book the old fashion way and listen to the rest of the series narrated by Scott Brick.

Marvelous suspense thriller with so-so narration

The Deceived is the 2nd novel in the wonderful Jonathan Quinn series by Brett Battles. There are 10 novels plus a novel length prequel in the series. The prequel was released at the same time as The Destroyed which is the 5th novel in the series. In the first novel in the series, The Cleaner, Quinn is a guy who cleans up assassination sites after the paid killer has completed his task. Through the first 4 novels Quinn simply removes dead bodies and cleans up and does any appropriate investigation. With the release of the 5th novel, The Destroyed, the series turns into an espionage series with the protagonist still being Jonathan Quinn and the key character group expanding. The Deceived is very different from The Cleaner (the first novel in the series). Quinn's friend (and CIA agent) is killed in Asia and his body shipped to Quinn in a shipping container. Quinn takes care of the body and goes to Asia to find the dead man's missing girlfriend.

This is the only book in the series not narrated by Scott Brick. Narration is not even close to the standard Brick set in The Cleaner.

The Jonathan Quinn series is one of the very best of its genre. I recommend every novel in the series be listened to in order released except that the prequel be listened to first.

Good Story - Lousy Narration

Would you listen to The Deceived again? Why?

Not by this narrator. He tried too hard and made it hard to buy into the story instead of just letting it unfold.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

See above.

Any additional comments?

I'm glad to see that Scott Brick is narrating the remaining books in the series. He's worth paying more money for because he makes the story come alive.

The true conspirator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Action, intrigue, caring and leaving the reader wanting more.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot did keep me wanting to finish as fast as I could. Conspiracy can make the reader wonder just who is doing what to whom and once I had it all figured out, I'd have to review my decision. Was I right, I thought so until I'd be questioning myself again.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance was read at a good pace, not fast nor slow. There were no inhales of breath before words. However, I did not like the voice of Quinn, it was too harsh and too loud. Nate's voice was too whiny for someone doing a stealthy, illegal job that required knowledge, ability to accept criticism in order to learn quite difficult tasks as well as deep concentration.

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

Yes. I thought the moment that moved me was the one that centered around Nate.

Any additional comments?

I am ready to read the next book in the series. There are loose ends that require more information in order to make the characters as well as occurrences come together to form tighter ends.

The story line was well developed and continued without any unnecessary or confusing episodes. The descriptive parts were short and sweet. I was able to put a name to a character and his or her part in the novel, including the lesser ones. They all played their parts well.