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Fault Line (Ben Treven #1)

by Barry Eisler (Goodreads Author)

3.69 · rating details · 657 ratings · 132 reviews

Silicon Valley: the eccentric inventor of a new encryption application is murdered in an apparent drug deal. Istanbul: a cynical undercover operative receives a frantic call from his estranged brother, a patent lawyer who believes he’ll be the next victim. And on the sun-drenched slopes of Sand Hill Road, California’s nerve center of money and technology, old family hurts ...moreSilicon Valley: the eccentric inventor of a new encryption application is murdered in an apparent drug deal. Istanbul: a cynical undercover operative receives a frantic call from his estranged brother, a patent lawyer who believes he’ll be the next victim. And on the sun-drenched slopes of Sand Hill Road, California’s nerve center of money and technology, old family hurts sting anew as two brothers who share nothing but blood and bitterness wage a desperate battle against a faceless enemy.

Alex Treven has sacrificed everything to achieve his sole ambition: making partner in his high-tech law firm. But then the inventor of a technology Alex is banking on is murdered, the patent examiner who reviewed the innovation dies–and Alex himself narrowly escapes an attack in his own home. Off balance, out of ideas, and running out of time, he knows that the one person who can help him is the last person he’d ever ask: his brother.

Ben Treven is a military liaison element, an elite undercover soldier paid to “find, fix, and finish” high-value targets in the United States global war on terror.

Disenchanted with what he sees as America’s culture of denial and decadence, Ben lives his detached life in the shadows because the black ops world is all he really knows–and because other than Alex, whom he hasn’t spoken to since their mother died, his family is long gone.

But blood is thicker than water, and when Ben receives Alex’s frantic call he hurries to San Francisco to help him. Only then does Alex reveal that there’s another player who knows of the technology: Sarah Hosseini, a young Iranian American lawyer whom Alex has long secretly desired–and whom Ben immediately distrusts. As these three struggle to identify the forces attempting to silence them, Ben and Alex are forced to examine the events that drove them apart–even as Sarah’s presence, and her own secret yearnings, deepens the fault line between them.

A full-throttle thriller that is both emotionally and politically charged, Fault Line centers on a conspiracy that has spun out of the shadows and onto the streets of America, a conspiracy that can be stopped by only three people–three people with different worldviews, different grievances, different motives. To survive the forces arrayed against them, they’ll first have to survive one another.(less)

Hardcover, 306 pages

Published March 10th 2009 by Ballantine Books

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Apr 05, 2009

Jeffrey rated it

Recommends it for: suspence, thrill fans

Shelves: thriller, read-in-2009

A really superior thriller that grabs hold of you and takes you for a wild and satisfying ride. Unputdownable. Read it in a day.

Alex Trevian is a lawyer in California who has one client, who has invented a special technological project, but which also has a sub program inside it with a secret. Its a secret that some government and various nefarious people want to keep quiet permanently. The inventor is terminated with extreme prejudice is what looks like a drug killing. A patent o...more

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Mar 14, 2009

Becky rated it

Barry Eisler is the author of the series of thrillers featuring John Rain, assassin, loner, secret father, half-Japanese American living in--or perhaps between--two cultures. The Rain novels are stark and fast-moving, lyrical yet bleak. Fault Line, Esiler's first stand-alone thriller, shares many of these qualities

Alex Treven is a successful young lawyer in the San Francisco Bay Area. At story's beginning he's about to help patent Obsidian, a revolutionary encryption algorithm. I...moreBarry Eisler is the author of the series of thrillers featuring John Rain, assassin, loner, secret father, half-Japanese American living in--or perhaps between--two cultures. The Rain novels are stark and fast-moving, lyrical yet bleak. Fault Line, Esiler's first stand-alone thriller, shares many of these qualities

Alex Treven is a successful young lawyer in the San Francisco Bay Area. At story's beginning he's about to help patent Obsidian, a revolutionary encryption algorithm. In the opening line we learn that Obsidian's inventor is destined for murder ("The last thing Richard Hilzoy thought before the bullet entered his brain was, Things are really looking up."). Barely four pages later, he's dead, and the story takes off. Another murder, across the country, of someone involved in the patent process, then an attack on himself in his own home, spurs Alex into contacting his estranged brother Ben for help.

Ben Treven is a member of an Army Black Ops organization so secret that it changes its name regularly, to keep even the US government guessing. He's a shooter, unquestioningly performing assassinations, and when we first meet him he's just carrying out a mission in Istanbul, killing two Iranian scientist and two members of the Iranian secret police. Oh, and a Russian who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The reason for the simmering antipathy between the brothers is made clear as their back story unfolds between episodes. Each is so blinded by his own resentment that he has trouble seeing clearly the present day version of the brother standing in front of him, making it hard to trust sufficiently to make the partnership work.

But it does work, and after some thrilling action--and a lot of blood--the story builds to an extremely satisfying twist right before the end. There are a couple of sly and subtle references to the Rain series, which were also satisfying in a self-referential sort of way.

All in all, an excellent, action-packed read.(less)

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Mar 23, 2009

Raynar Ramsay rated it

Fault Line departs from the John Rain series that Barry is famous for but nerveless the story is wonderful. This is one which I finished off in only a few sittings within a day and a bit. Barry has created new fresh characters all with their merits and flaws as human beings they different beliefs and conflicts that help builds up a brilliant plot and creates tension between all characters in the story, This book is filled with Espionage, assassins, sex. It is all in here. I would highly recomme...more

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Apr 27, 2009

Debi rated it

I fortunate to pick up an ARC of Barry Eisler's new stand-a-lone novel Fault Line when I was at Bouchercon this year. You should know I adore John Rain, so I was a little miffed that Barry dared write about another character. I needed my Rain fix. So I'm biased.

His new character Alex Trevens, a patent lawyer at a prestigious law firm becomes involved in the murder of his client who wrote a new encryption program. As luck would have it Alex's big brother is a undercover operative wh...more

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Apr 20, 2010

Joyce Lagow rated it

A LibraryThing Early Reviewer book.[return][return]A software developer, who has invented a major new program for encryption of data, is murdered outside his home in California. His Silicon Valley lawyer, Alex, learns that an old friend who had been helping informally with the patent application for the new program, has suddenly died for no apparent reason. Then Alex himself comes under attack in his home, all within 24 hours of the developer s death. Frightened, Alex calls his brother Ben, ...moreA LibraryThing Early Reviewer book.[return][return]A software developer, who has invented a major new program for encryption of data, is murdered outside his home in California. His Silicon Valley lawyer, Alex, learns that an old friend who had been helping informally with the patent application for the new program, has suddenly died for no apparent reason. Then Alex himself comes under attack in his home, all within 24 hours of the developer s death. Frightened, Alex calls his brother Ben, a hit man for an Army covert unit that specializes in assassinations. Even though Ben and Alex have been alienated over events that occurred in their family years ago, Ben responds to his brother s call for help. Quickly, the two, along with Sarah, an Iranian-American associate of Alex s who had been helping on the patent application, are on the run for their lives.[return][return]I m very fond of the thriller genre, and high hopes for this book when I first opened it. But very soon it became obvious that the book suffered from a major fault of its own, and that that fault was lethal.[return][return]No one expects a thriller to be a literary masterpiece with characters that will endure through the ages. You read in this genre for entertainment, not for mind-blowing insights. But the best of the genre, such as, for example, Daniel Silva s series with Gabriel Allon, are tautly written with interesting characters and good to excellent plots. Yes, there s violence and sex, but the violence and sex are integrated into the plot, not there simply because that will somehow help sell the book. Each time I read such a section in Fault Line, however, I had the immediate feeling that it was there, at that page and plot point, because Eisler was following some formula for the genre. The romantic interest and its development can be spotted from a continent away, and is of no interest whatsoever. It s there because the demands of the genre dictate its presence.[return][return]Fault Line is not tautly written; the writing is mediocre. The plot attempts to be politically now and the protagonists, all matchstick figures who never make it to one-dimensional, take sides on today s hot questions of basically do the ends justify the means as far as illegal operations and political assassinations are concerned, throwing in Iran for good measure. Eisler attempts to give his characters some semblance of humanity by placing the brothers in a family situation that creates the hostility, and there is much agonizing over the incident that caused the family to implode decades before. Actually, I found this the most interesting, because each brother turned out to be right and I thought that was a nice touch. It s just that the resolution was so badly written that you really didn t care what happened.[return][return]There is a great deal of exposition in the beginning as Eisler lays out the back story, that actually isn t bad it s probably the best-written section of the book. But the writing can not sustain the plot. I suppose the descriptions of hand-to-hand combat are realistic enough the hype about the book makes a good deal over Eisler s CIA training in this area--but frankly I found them boring.[return][return]Read only if you re left with nothing on hand for written material but cereal boxes.(less)

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Mar 24, 2009

Debbie rated it

Shelves: military-thiller

Overall, Fault Line was a well-written thriller. The characters had depth, but I didn't personally care for their personalities--they were all rather self-centered and self-righteous for most of the book.

The world was fully realized and made me feel like I was there and this could really happen. In my opinion, raising awareness about the potential dangers we face and questions about the morality of certain secret operations was one of the strengths of this book. It really made me t...more

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Feb 05, 2009

S.D. rated it

Shelves: mystery-thriller

Eisler has taken a break from his John Rain series to pen a "The Net meets The Unit" standalone. Two brothers with past issues are brought together after the murder of two men involved in an encryption application. Alex is the milquetoast patent lawyer brother and Ben is the special ops estranged brother. Alex is suspicious of the inventor's death and soon realizes he might be the next target. Thrown in to spice things up is Sarah, a legal associate who is working with Alex. I cou...more

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May 11, 2011

Sean Cronin rated it

Recommends it for: Mystry, spy, spec opps fans

This guy is as good as you hear he is.
"Fault Line" is a stand alone book. Mystery. It's a good one in the spy-mystery camp. What makes it so strong is that the characters propel the story.
Two brothers, Alex and Ben, haven't spoken in years. Hate each other. Each blames the other for younger sister's death (and neither had much to do with it at all).
ALex's computer wizard client is murdered. He was ready to launch a new cryptographic program, a protective sy...more

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Nov 18, 2010

Russell Brooks rated it

Fans that were hoping to see Japanese-American assassin, John Rain, in a followup to Eisler’s bestselling series will be in for something slightly different in Eisler’s first stand-alone thriller, Fault Line. The first paragraph opens up with a hook that will lock in Eisler’s fans and many more. Readers unfamiliar with Eisler’s work will be instantly drawn into a page-turning experience.

The story focuses on a young patent lawyer, Alex Treven, who expects to strike oil when his ...moreFans that were hoping to see Japanese-American assassin, John Rain, in a followup to Eisler’s bestselling series will be in for something slightly different in Eisler’s first stand-alone thriller, Fault Line. The first paragraph opens up with a hook that will lock in Eisler’s fans and many more. Readers unfamiliar with Eisler’s work will be instantly drawn into a page-turning experience.

The story focuses on a young patent lawyer, Alex Treven, who expects to strike oil when his latest client, Richard Hilzoy, presents him with a revolutionary technology called Obsidian. Alex anticipates being the talk of Silicon Valley and becoming partner in the firm. However, Hilzoy is murdered in an apparent drug deal, the patent examiner dies, and Alex barely escapes with his own life after an alleged burglary in his own home. When the police offer little assistance, Alex turns to his estranged brother, Ben—a special-ops soldier—for help. Ben rushes to Alex’s aid and forces Alex’s Iranian-American associate, Sarah Hosseini to go underground with them because of her knowledge of Obsidian. Ben distrusts Sarah and believes that she is working for clandestine powers that are bent at stealing Obsidian. As a result, Alex is thrown head first into Ben’s world and must follow his brother’s rules in hopes of surviving further attempts on his life by the forces they hope to expose.

Ben’s paranoia and methods of survival are reflected in Eisler’s experience as a covert operative. Eisler has mastered the art of creating situational tension while weaving in character tensions. Ben’s main objective of keeping Alex and Sarah safe is complicated by unresolved family issues that led to Ben’s estrangement. Further complications also result from the animosity Ben and Sarah have towards each other. There is excellent character development that is not overdrawn. There are also interesting plot twists which make Fault Line a gripping and easy read.

This review first appeared on my blog, The Big Picture.(less)

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Oct 02, 2010

Dale rated it

Shelves: adventure, fiction, politics

In Fault Line, Eisler introduces the character of Ben Treven, a special-ops soldier specializing in assassination. Gung-ho to the core, and convinced that he and the rest of his team are doing the work necessary to keep you and I safe, he does what it takes to do his job. Highly trained, he lives the life of a predator, always wary of traps, and focused on the job at hand.

Ben has an estranged brother, Alex, a patent attorney in Silican Valley, currently working with a software develope...moreIn Fault Line, Eisler introduces the character of Ben Treven, a special-ops soldier specializing in assassination. Gung-ho to the core, and convinced that he and the rest of his team are doing the work necessary to keep you and I safe, he does what it takes to do his job. Highly trained, he lives the life of a predator, always wary of traps, and focused on the job at hand.

Ben has an estranged brother, Alex, a patent attorney in Silican Valley, currently working with a software developer who has an encryption application that he thinks will revolutionize the security industry. When the developer is killed in an apparent drug deal gone wrong, and the patent office official that Alex had been corresponding with dies of an apparent heart attack, Alex gets worried. The developer didn't seem like the kind of person who could be a drug dealer, and the patent office analyst was young and healty. So Alex emails his brother for help.

Naturally there is also a love interest, in the form of the beautiful and talented Sarah Hosseini, a technical analyst in Alex's law firm. The novel takes the trio through a series of harrowing experiences as they fend off assassins and find out why anyone would be interested enough in the software to kill for it.

I can't say this is a top-rank adventure thriller, but it does keep your interest throughout. My initial interest in the book was that it is written by someone who is not himself a cheerleader for US imperialism, endless war, and so on. In fact, he is pretty much in the Greenwald camp - have a look at his blog at http://barryeisler.blogspot.com/ to see what I mean. This appeals to me, since I am also in the Greenwald camp. According to his official bio, he worked in CIA ops for three years, but is highly critical of the CIA's rendition program and torture. Imagine that! Someone can work for the surveillance state, and later believe that we should continue to live under the rule of law. Very refreshing. It must drive his former masters a bit mad.

My main criticism of the book is that much of the character exposition takes place by way of internal monologue, alternating between Ben and Alex. It just doesn't quite work. But Eisler had a problem: Ben is taciturn and solitary in the extreme, so trying to reveal character through dialogue would have been next to impossible. He would have had to become conveniently loquacious while, for example, sitting in an Istanbul hotel room waiting for his quarry. Still, I think a third-party narrator might have been a better approach.

Fortunately, the plot and the action kick in soon enough and often enough to distract from the rough edges, and the result is an exciting read.
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Aug 13, 2010

Jennifer rated it

Shelves: favorites

As it is my first time reading Barry Eisler, I wasn't sure what to expect. I often have trouble reading books written by ex-military or ex-agents as they tend to get a little too heavy with technical jargon for me ~this is certainly not the case here! He does an exceptional job of keeping things realistic yet accessible. Though I must say that I saw where he was going with the plot, I really enjoyed how he got there.

Eisler convincingly writes from the viewpoints of the three main cha...more

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Aug 01, 2010

Rickg rated it

This is a fine rollercoaster formula thriller. By that, I mean you go on a ride and it's enjoyable and things turn out more or less as you'd expect. Eisler is a good enough writer that this is a decent book, but it's simply not up to his John Rain work.

The problems are multiple:

First, the characters re very 2D. Ben's the Special Forces guy, Alex is the High Powered Lawyer On His Way Up, etc. None of them ever steps outside of their stereotypes.

Second, the p...more

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Nov 10, 2009

gautami rated it

Shelves: reviewed-books

The Last thing Richard Hilzoy thought before the bullet entered his brain was, Things are really looking up.

Alex Treven, a top shot laywer is scared to wits when two of his associates are murdered and his house is burgled. All of them are in one way or other, involved in the invention of encryption application and patent for it is pending. Alex has no family, as they are all dead, except for an enstranged older brother Ben, who has not been in the vicinity for the last seven years, n...more

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Aug 02, 2009

Michael rated it

Recommends it for: Action fans, Lee Child fans, Eisler fans

Recommended to Michael by: Enjoy the author

Shelves: mystery, read-in-2009, reviewed, thriller, hardboiled

Alex Treven thinks he's really hit the projec he needs to move him into a partnership in his law firm. He's made connection with Richard Hilzoy, who has invented The Obsidian Toolbar, an encryption device that could be the most advanced thing out there. Alex gets his office to back the project, which it does.
Alex is estranged from his brother Ben after their sister died when she was in an auto accident and Ben was supposed to drive her home. Ben has joined the military and serves as an e...more

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May 27, 2009

Andi rated it

Yesterday, I had the privilege of reading Fault Line by Barry Eisler. Apparently, Eisler is quite well-known for his previous books, but to be honest, when I got asked to review the book, I had never heard of him (such is the life of an English professor, I suppose — too many literary novels, not enough thrillers). And a thriller this is. Set in Northern California (particularly Silicon Valley and San Francisco), the story pursues the life of Alex, a lawyer who has come upon the “hottest” softwa...moreYesterday, I had the privilege of reading Fault Line by Barry Eisler. Apparently, Eisler is quite well-known for his previous books, but to be honest, when I got asked to review the book, I had never heard of him (such is the life of an English professor, I suppose — too many literary novels, not enough thrillers). And a thriller this is. Set in Northern California (particularly Silicon Valley and San Francisco), the story pursues the life of Alex, a lawyer who has come upon the “hottest” software out there; in fact, it’s so hot that people connected to it are dying. In comes Ben, Alex’s brother and black ops agent for the U.S. government. Angrily, resentfully, but dutifully, Ben comes back across the world to “save” his brother. Meanwhile, Alex’s colleague, Sarah, is also in danger, and so the three become embroiled in a plot to figure out why people are killed for this piece of code and to keep themselves alive.

Eisler mixes in technology, military/spy technique, family pain, and a little romance to pull together a fast-paced novel that keeps the reader interested without leaving her with the feeling of manipulation or hyperbole that many thrillers do. The characters seem real and honest, and from what I know (remember, English teacher here), the guns, the fighting, and the technology ring true as well (although I admit that my knowledge of most of these things comes from watching The Unit on DVD from Netflix.) All in all, the book is very enjoyable.

I wouldn’t recommend this book if you are looking for something that you want to parse apart for glorious language or if you’re going to be studying complex character development - these things are not the purpose of a thriller, and thus, they suffer a bit. Yet, if you want a quick, fun, engrossing read that pulls you out of your world (I hope this isn’t your world) and gives you a way to think about new places (or revisit old ones like I did during the San Francisco scenes) and new adventures, then Fault Line is definitely for you. Take it to the beach; cuddle under a blanket with a cup of coffee; read it at the library while your kids go to story time; teach it (as I might) as a model of narrative arc that works well. It’s versatile and fun - a good summer read. (less)

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May 18, 2009

Cheryl rated it

Richard Hilzoy and his attorney, Alex Trevan have arranged a meeting with Kleiner Perkins. A company who is considered to have the Midas touch. Richard is really excited to meet with the people of Kleiner as he has come up with a really great inventor. It is called the Obsidian, the world's most advanced encryption algorithm, that is it will be the world's most advanced as soon as he and Alex can seal the deal. Alex has been striving hard for the past few years to move up in the law firm he wor...moreRichard Hilzoy and his attorney, Alex Trevan have arranged a meeting with Kleiner Perkins. A company who is considered to have the Midas touch. Richard is really excited to meet with the people of Kleiner as he has come up with a really great inventor. It is called the Obsidian, the world's most advanced encryption algorithm, that is it will be the world's most advanced as soon as he and Alex can seal the deal. Alex has been striving hard for the past few years to move up in the law firm he works for. He just might have received his biggest break with his latest client Richard. Alex has a bad feeling when Richard doesn't show up for their meeting. He tries calling him but just gets his voice message machine.

Shortly after, Alex gets his answer as to why Richard Hilzoy didn't show up for their meeting with Kleiner Perkins. A detective Gamez with the San Jose Police Department informs Alex that Mr. Hilzoy's body was discovered outside his home. It looks like a drug deal gone wrong. Alex suspects something is up, especially when his good friend Hank Shiffman dies. Supposedly Mr. Shiffman died of a heart attack but Alex knows that can't be right as Hank was the healthiest man he ever knew. It just so happens that Hank was helping Alex and Richard with the Obsidian project. Alex is the only one left alive who has any knowledge of what Richard was working on. Alex arrives home to find someone is in his house. Alex scares the intruder away. It seems someone or somones would do anything to get their hands on Obsidian...even kill for it!

Alex is fearful that his last hour is rapidly approaching. He turns to the one person he can count on to help him...his brother. Ben Treven works for the military as a skilled killer for the Joint Special Operation Command. He takes out the bad guys. Ben hasn't seen or talked to his family in a very long time. So you can imagine his surprise when he receives an email from Alex asking for his help. Ben knows he can't ignore Alex no matter how much he wants to as Alex is his little brother. Ben doesn't know what kind of trouble Alex has gotten himself into this time but whatever it is it must be big.

While I have never read anything by Mr. Eisler before I did enjoy this book. I just wish I could have gotten into it more as it had good potential. There was lots of action and adventure. What I feel the issue was for me is that the characters didn't draw me in and make me want to stay. So I guess you could say I did find a little fault with Fault Line but not enough to make me not want to give Mr. Eisler a second chance. I do have to say that I can see why his books are being made into movies.

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Jan 28, 2011

Kaijsa rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: early, reviewers, thriller, galley, blogged

I haven't read any of Eisler's other work, but I probably will now that I've finished Fault Line. Thrillers aren't my favorite genre, but I enjoy them now and then when they're done well. This one's good--the plot, the characters, the pacing--it's all there. I particularly liked the way the story began from Alex's perspective and made him sympathetic and relatable, then introduced Ben, the real protagonist of the story. As the reader, it was possible to see things from both of their perspectives...more

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May 14, 2009

Becky rated it

Shelves: 999-challenge

I was a little worried when I first started this book that it wasn't going to be anything like what I had suspected. The story starts off by introducing and setting up a background for the characters. Ben, one of the main characters, has a background in undercover assassinations for our government. It starts out in Europe with the hired killing of several men. So, I thought that this book was taking that kind of international hit man sort of theme. I was wrong. That part of the story sets the st...more

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Aug 12, 2010

Laura rated it

Shelves: ebook, 2010, suspense

4.5 stars

POV: 3rd Person: Alex Treven, Ben Treven, Sarah Hosseini
Mystery: Above Average
Sensuality: Warm

First in a new series about Ben Treven.

Alex Treven lives a simple life. He wakes in the same house he grew up in, works as an ambitious lawyer, goes back home to sleep in his childhood house, and does it all over the next day. When the case of a lifetime drops into his lap, he sees himself becoming partner in his law firm. When his client winds...more4.5 stars

POV: 3rd Person: Alex Treven, Ben Treven, Sarah Hosseini
Mystery: Above Average
Sensuality: Warm

First in a new series about Ben Treven.

Alex Treven lives a simple life. He wakes in the same house he grew up in, works as an ambitious lawyer, goes back home to sleep in his childhood house, and does it all over the next day. When the case of a lifetime drops into his lap, he sees himself becoming partner in his law firm. When his client winds up murdered and Alex's life is threatened, he calls the one person he thinks can help...
Ben Treven lives a simple life. He wakes up in whatever city he is in, kills who he is told to, and moves on to the next city. When his brother calls his after 6 years of no contact, his simple life becomes complicated. He returns "home" to help his brother, but he isn't sure why.

This is my first Barry Eisler book and it was a savior for me. I've been in a reading rut and this one brought me out of it. I did not want to put it down. It was a face-paced story with many facets. Alex and Ben have been estranged since they were teenagers and the only family they have left. Their past is woven into the present as they both come to terms with what happened to their family.

The three main characters-Alex, Ben, and Sarah are all very different and very flawed. I can't say that I would like any of them in real life, but they were all very real. Each only sees things through their own experiences and thinks the others are idiots. Ben is so wrapped up in the idea that Americans don't understand the "dirty" side of politics/security, that he begins to lose sight of what he is really doing. Alex is so lost in his idea of achievement and intelligence, that he comes across as whiny and annoying when faced with an unknown situation. Sarah is young and naive and blunt with her opinions. They are three sides of a triangle that need to come together to work.

Overall, this was an excellent read. I was interested and intrigued and found the whole story very plausible. I highly recommend this to fans of suspense in the intelligence (CIA) political genre.(less)

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Mar 20, 2009

Rob rated it

An affluent, middle class family; two brothers who are opposites and a charming sister the whole family loves. The older brother, Ben, is a popular, athletic hunk; the youngest is Alex, a brainy nerd and Katie, the lone girl keeps the family together with her radiance. An accident claims the lives of teen Katie and her drunken boyfriend; Ben, who was supposed to drive her home, was out with another girl and never got over his feelings of guilt. The family disintegrates rapidly: father commits su...moreAn affluent, middle class family; two brothers who are opposites and a charming sister the whole family loves. The older brother, Ben, is a popular, athletic hunk; the youngest is Alex, a brainy nerd and Katie, the lone girl keeps the family together with her radiance. An accident claims the lives of teen Katie and her drunken boyfriend; Ben, who was supposed to drive her home, was out with another girl and never got over his feelings of guilt. The family disintegrates rapidly: father commits suicide; Ben, joined the army special forces and was never home; mother dies a lingering death from cancer, cared for by Alex who was studying to be a lawyer. Alex blamed Ben for the family's disintegration. Since their mother's funeral, the two brothers have never been in touch and never spoke to each other.
Years later, Alex is a successful lawyer, aspiring to be a partner in a prestigious law firm. Ben, is a top operative (read that as assassin) in an ultra-secret army agency that regularly changes its name to safeguard its secrecy.
When Alex's client, who has invented a new encryption program, was murdered and everybody who knew anything about the program starts to die, Alex turned to Ben for help. Ben, initially has second thoughts, but as everybody says blood is thicker than water. Relationship between the two brothers is stormy, recriminations against each other surfaces repeatedly, and is further complicated by the presence of Sarah, a beautiful Iranian-American lawyer, Alex is secretly in love with. Initially hostile to each other, Sarah and Ben, fall for each other (as expected) and causes the rift between the two brothers to widen even more. Then Ben finds out that his agency is behind the attacks on his brother and Sarah.
The resolution is a little bit too pat for me, almost incredible for me to believe in. I will still give this 3.5 stars, rounded to 4. Another thing, there was a mention about Barry Eisler's John Rain in the book, although not by name. Ben mentioned that a part Japanese who specializes in making assassination look like an accident is already retired. So I'm planning to re-read the last (assumption on my part) John Rain book, Requiem for an Assassin, to recall what happened on that book.(less)

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Dec 27, 2008

Monie rated it

Brothers Alex and Ben Treven are as different as two brothers can be. Alex is a brilliant, up and coming lawyer in a Silicon Valley law firm and Ben is a government assassin who hasn't had contact with Alex in over seven years. When an inventor Alex represents is murdered Alex begins to question if the murder has anything to do with the new encryption program his client was working on. Then within hours the patent clerk working on the invention coincidently dies of natural causes and Alex himsel...more

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Oct 08, 2011

Hans rated it

Picked this up because the characters in this book intersect with John Rain in Eisler's most recent book. My completist homework to read The Detachment is two Ben Treven novels (and maybe a couple short stories).

Straight up men's formula fiction in which a man of action has to fight both external enemies and personal demons. The trademark ridiculous sex scene is in there, but we also get Eisler's remarkable ability to create a sense of place. This time, we get the Bay Area. His s...more

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Jan 30, 2009

Jen rated it

Shelves: male-author, mystery

Just when attorney Alex Treven is about to close a big patent deal for an encryption program, the software designer is murdered and the individual in the patent office reviewing the patent dies mysteriously. Alex begins to think he may be the next target. Is he just being paranoid or is there a conspiracy? To be on the safe side, he contacts his estranged brother Ben, who unbeknownst to Alex is a trained assassin for the U.S. government. When Ben reluctantly comes to Alex's aid, old family wound...more

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May 21, 2009

Michael rated it

Shelves: read-in-2009, audio-book

Brothers Alex and Ben Treven may have grown up in the same house, but they couldn't be any more different. Alex is a Silicon Valley lawyer who has found his fast-track at his firm when he allies himself with an eccentric programmer whose written a new encryption software. Ben in a special-forces operative, on assignment in the Middle East.

When the creator of the encryption software is killed and Alex narrowly avoids an attempt on his life, he's forced to reach out to his big brothe...more

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Jun 23, 2011

Jessica rated it

The book did engage me -- enough that I was annoyed when the characters behaved differently than I would have liked in the middle of the book. But I was annoyed because the behavior seemed inconsistent with the characters and made me dislike them -- in some cases so intensely that I was unable to forgive them by the end of the book. The author's attempts to write a woman's thought process were most flawed, particularly when it came to sex. I still don't believe that this character would have don...more

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Oct 10, 2011

Rick rated it

I like Eisler's writing style and his characters. I really appreciate that he's not afraid to use the English language with care and consideration. This book, however, seemed weaker in terms of overall character development than the first John Rain book I'd read.

It's not that this is a bad book ... it just didn't leave me as hellbent to pick up another Eisler novel like I was after reading Rain Fall. The plot starts fine as did the psychological tension between the two brothers and th...more

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May 03, 2009

J rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 28, 2009

Horizon rated it

Shelves: bob-in-petoskey-picks

I wish I had read this Eisler book first. The story is good, the characters are good, the action sequences are good, but they are not as good as the John Rain series. The story balances precariously between the action adventure aspects and the dysfunctional family aspects with out ever getting very deep into either. I feel that I am judging this one particularly harshly, because I loved the John Rain series and one the aspects that absolutely does not show up at all in this novel is Eisler's poe...more

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Sep 25, 2009

Jp rated it

Shelves: borrowed-books, recently-read

This is Barry Eisler's second series. The first was the fantastic John Rain series that started with Rain Fall. I like that the author is trying new things. He added more of a female viewpoint than he had previous used in the other books. Granted at times, it felt a little tonedeaf but I'm always impressed when writers try to expand their craft.

What worked, worked admirably. A solid thriller with a believable plot. All things that were clearly based on Barry Eisler's unique history a...more

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May 21, 2009

Randy rated it

Fault Line is written like a fleshed out screen play and would, no doubt, make an exciting movie. The author is supposedly an ex-CIA operative and he seems to know the trade. This book falls into the category of a "procedural" as our main character tries to figure out, outsmart and outshoot, the people who are trying to kill his brother. Eisler seems to specialize in assassins. His series of books featuring John Rain are about a half-Japanese, half-American assassin who specializes in ...more

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About Barry Eisler

Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position with the CIA's Directorate of Operations, then worked as a technology lawyer and startup executive in Silicon Valley and Japan, earning his black belt at the Kodokan International Judo Center along the way. Eisler's bestselling thrillers have won the Barry Award and the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller of the Year, have been included in numerous "...more

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Fault Line (Ben Treven #1)

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