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59th out of 200 books
—
193 voters
The Hostage (The Presidential Agent #2)
The second novel in W.E.B. Griffin's new bestselling series finds Presidential Agent Charley Castillo investigating the death of an American diplomat in Argentina, the kidnapping of the diplomat's wife, and a scandal tying the United Nations to Iraq.
Paperback, 768 pages
Published
December 26th 2006
by Jove
(first published December 29th 2005)
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I mentioned a while back that Close Combat was the first Griffin novel I had read; that turns out not to be the case. As I read through this one, I was bothered by a sense of déjà vu; I recognized many of the characters, knew their names, their relationships, the locale, etc., but not all—in fact, what bothered me most was thinking that I had read some of this book but not all of it, as there clearly were events that seemed completely new to me. The answer turned out to be that this book is a pr...more
Horrible writing style albeit old fashioned. Snail-crawling storyline, textbook-like sentences, every page was a tormenting, lot of italic paragraphs that were supposed to be the thoughts of all those moronic characters in this book. none of the characters looked realistic and capable. This book was more about logistics ("Get me a plane. Get me a cell phone. Get me a cellphone charger. Get me a car. Get me a parking space.") and all the assorted chatter that goes along with getting the logistics...more
Jun 07, 2013
Will
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Action/thriller fans
Shelves:
military-action
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is a great spy novel.
The author captures the inner workings of the US security and military bureaucracies with clever character building and a great deal of respect for the degree of difficulty officers are forced to operate within. The theme is fascinating. The President, a Tarheel like me, Is well aware of the problem with agencies not used to cooperating with one another, rivalries, power grabs, egos, ectetera. He has discovered a talented young major he can use to cut through rival bure...more
The author captures the inner workings of the US security and military bureaucracies with clever character building and a great deal of respect for the degree of difficulty officers are forced to operate within. The theme is fascinating. The President, a Tarheel like me, Is well aware of the problem with agencies not used to cooperating with one another, rivalries, power grabs, egos, ectetera. He has discovered a talented young major he can use to cut through rival bure...more
When an American diplomat's wife is kidnapped in Argentina, the President sends Charley Castillo to snoop around. Things go from bad to worse when the diplomat is himself murdered, the recovered wife is keeping secrets, and Charley's lady love is shot.
This is the second in Griffin's Presidential Agent series and can be found in the Mystery/Suspense section of your local book store or library.
Another engrossing read once Charley arrives on the scene. We run into some old friends as well as adver...more
This is the second in Griffin's Presidential Agent series and can be found in the Mystery/Suspense section of your local book store or library.
Another engrossing read once Charley arrives on the scene. We run into some old friends as well as adver...more
This book was really a guilty pleasure since at times the language was objectionable, which I realized going in would be the case, having read other books by this author. I did like it quite a bit better than the first book in this series since the main character had settled on one romantic interest. The bad language wasn't nearly as prevalent, either.
I got totally involved in the story, that of the murder of a U.S. diplomat in Argentina. The setting in Argentina also made it more interesting a...more
I got totally involved in the story, that of the murder of a U.S. diplomat in Argentina. The setting in Argentina also made it more interesting a...more
This is the 2nd Book in the The Presidential Agent Series.But i haven't read the first one.The one thing i loved in this book was that the lead character C G Castillo is not portrayed as one man army as is the case with many of the novels of this genre .He has doubts ,overlooks things ,forgets things.I did feel the novel was dragging at times.and more importantly the novel is not action packed, otherwise it was a good read.About 40-50 pages before the end , i was sure that there is not gonna be...more
Although this book became boring and the pace somehow managed to drag a bit, I found it an interesting novel. First, I found it to be a credible thriller and a decent and realistic spy novel. There were historical factoids dropped like booms from a b52 that were extremely interesting. Conspiracy theorists might also enjoy a few of the tidbits. Of course, there were a few times when I ha to suspend my disbelief slightly. The action sequences are a bit shorter than I would like. There was an awful...more
Second Griffin book I read. Great and interesting details in explaining the scenes and sequence of events. Rather weak on the 'main story (i.e. about the people behind the Oil for Food)'. In fact, the you don't get to the guy they've been looking for until the last 60 pages of the book. And the title 'The Hostage' is pretty misleading as there really isn't much of 'hostage' situation in the book. Maybe Griffin wrote this book to further set up his main characters for this series.
Jul 23, 2011
Mike Tueros
added it
Another solid effort - but there simply isn't enough action. Nothing like Vince Flynn or even Brad Thor - the characters are compelling though. This one focused too much on the developing relationship between Castillo and Schneider - and the writing was child-like and annoying. Aside from that - a 750 page book that forces you to read the next in the series (The Hunters) to get closure on the oil-for-food situation. I'm in for the third - reluctantly...
This is a very exciting book, hard to put down and easy to read. Unfortunately he wraps up the ending too quickly, almost like he gets tired of the story. It's still good though, and it leaves you waiting for the next in the series. It's a very long book, almost 800 pages, but not difficult to read and it goes fast.
The characters are similar to those in his previous books, although through some of my experience I now have a little bit of a different impression of them. There are certain parts (...more
The characters are similar to those in his previous books, although through some of my experience I now have a little bit of a different impression of them. There are certain parts (...more
Though I dislike 700 page paperbacks, I found Hostage to be a really good read. The story is pretty fast paced and has a interesting plot. This story is complex but told in a manner that explains itself. The characters are not covered very deeply, which is a good thing or else this would have been a 900 page book. I appreciated the lack of in-depth details about the firearms, ammunition, cars, trucks and planes use throughout the story. I liked how events seen as unrelated can caused interaction...more
I listened to this book on tape, driving down to Florida from Cape Cod, MA. It sufficiently held my interest so that the drive went quickly but it got bogged down in details too often. If I was reading it, I would have been skimming and turning pages too often. As a book on tape it was okay, as a book to read, I don't think I would care for it.
this is book two in the presidential agent series. it end abruptly, then the next in seqquence is off and running.
i've been enjoying this series. I like the presidential stuff and the clandestine stuff of one guy. it does bring back ollie north memories, not all of them great memories.
characters are engrossing.
i've been enjoying this series. I like the presidential stuff and the clandestine stuff of one guy. it does bring back ollie north memories, not all of them great memories.
characters are engrossing.
Typical Griffin but a bit more slow moving than the first book in this series since he uses the same characters and spends a lot of time bring the reader up to date in case they didn´t read the first one. I did enjoy his descriptions of Buenas Aires and Argentines.
Audio Book. Charlie Castillo is back working with all his buddies from the first book. He's tracking down kidnappers who set their hostage free but kill her husband Jack Masterson who works at the US embassy in Argentina. When he gets Mrs. Masterson ba
I really enjoy this series. I found it perhaps a little cheesy in a few spots, a few spots that went on for way too long, but mostly it's very fun to read and I was left wanting more when I finished. Just as good as the first book of this series.
The wife of the assistant ambassador to Argentenia is kidnapped and then her husband is murdered. Major Charley Castillo, the president's agent, is tasked to find and render harmless those responsible. During his investigation, he uncovers an Iraq oil-for-food scam.
Standard W.E.B. Griffin fare. Tough military guy with a complicated past, but wealthy with resources at his disposal not usually available. Nothing too heavy or complicated, just a good story about an Army guy making something right.
This is the first book that I have read from Mr. Griffin. With his background in military communities, he draws from his experience to create a contemporary storyline that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat until the end.
Charley Castillo is an agent for the Department of Homeland security, when something happens on assignment in Argentina. Recalled back home, Castillo is asked by the Pesident to find out who killed the US Ambassador to Argentina. Castillo and his team find out a detailed...more
Charley Castillo is an agent for the Department of Homeland security, when something happens on assignment in Argentina. Recalled back home, Castillo is asked by the Pesident to find out who killed the US Ambassador to Argentina. Castillo and his team find out a detailed...more
I'm enjoying the presidential agent series. Like the first book, this one takes a long time to get there and it requires a lot of running around but ultimately it was well worth the read.
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10430789
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10430789
Este libro esta situado en Buenos Aires, y nombra muchos lugares y calles conocidos por todos.
globe-trotting espionage mystery with a heavy dose of bureaucratic in-fighting
good. a little slower than the first in the series.
Anything by W.E.B. Griffin gets five stars from me!
Good, slightly better then By Order of the President.
This is number two in the series, and the fun continues
So far, Griffin has been fascinating to me.
Feb 25, 2010
Terri Hazzard
added it
Great Read.. one you just can't put down.
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W.E.B. Griffin is one of several pseudonyms for William Edmund Butterworth III.
From the Authors Website:
W.E.B. Griffin is the author of thirty-six epic novels in six series, all of which have been listed on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and other best-seller lists. More than forty million of his books are in print in more than ten languages, including Hebrew, Chine...more
More about W.E.B. Griffin...
From the Authors Website:
W.E.B. Griffin is the author of thirty-six epic novels in six series, all of which have been listed on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and other best-seller lists. More than forty million of his books are in print in more than ten languages, including Hebrew, Chine...more
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