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A PRESIDENTIAL AGENT NOVEL

422 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2008

509 people are currently reading
1122 people want to read

About the author

W.E.B. Griffin

351 books1,298 followers
W.E.B. Griffin was one of several pseudonyms for William E. Butterworth III.

From the Authors Website:

W.E.B. Griffin was the #1 best-selling author of more than fifty epic novels in seven series, all of which have made The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and other best-seller lists. More than fifty million of the books are in print in more than ten languages, including Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian.
Mr. Griffin grew up in the suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1946. After basic training, he received counterintelligence training at Fort Holabird, Maryland. He was assigned to the Army of Occupation in Germany, and ultimately to the staff of then-Major General I.D. White, commander of the U.S. Constabulary.

In 1951, Mr. Griffin was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, interrupting his education at Phillips University, Marburg an der Lahn, Germany. In Korea he earned the Combat Infantry Badge as a combat correspondent and later served as acting X Corps (Group) information officer under Lieutenant General White.

On his release from active duty in 1953, Mr. Griffin was appointed Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation Test & Support Activity at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Mr. Griffin was a member of the Special Operations Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Army Aviation Association, the Armor Association, and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Society.

He was the 1991 recipient of the Brigadier General Robert L. Dening Memorial Distinguished Service Award of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, and the August 1999 recipient of the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, presented at the 100th National Convention in Kansas City.

He has been vested into the Order of St. George of the U.S. Armor Association, and the Order of St. Andrew of the U.S. Army Aviation Association, and been awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees by Norwich University, the nation’s first and oldest private military college, and by Troy State University (Ala.). He was the graduation dinner speaker for the class of 1988 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

He has been awarded honorary membership in the Special Forces Association, the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, the Marine Raiders Association, and the U.S. Army Otter & Caribou Association. In January 2003, he was made a life member of the Police Chiefs Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and the State of Delaware.

He was the co-founder, with historian Colonel Carlo D’Este, of the William E. Colby Seminar on Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic Affairs. (Details here and here)

He was a Life Member of the National Rifle Association. And he belongs to the Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Pensacola, Florida, chapters of the Flat Earth Society.

Mr. Griffin’s novels, known for their historical accuracy, have been praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for their “fierce, stop-for-nothing scenes.”

“Nothing honors me more than a serviceman, veteran, or cop telling me he enjoys reading my books,” Mr. Griffin says.

Mr. Griffin divides his time between the Gulf Coast and Buenos Aires.

Notes:
Other Pseudonyms

* Alex Baldwin
* Webb Beech
* Walker E. Blake
* W.E. Butterworth
* James McM. Douglas
* Eden Hughes
* Edmund O. Scholefield
* Patrick J. Williams
* W. E. Butterworth
* John Kevin Dugan
* Jac

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5 stars
2,441 (44%)
4 stars
1,914 (34%)
3 stars
897 (16%)
2 stars
165 (3%)
1 star
64 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
Profile Image for Abibliofob.
1,589 reviews104 followers
June 30, 2021
The Shooters is the fourth book about Charley Castillo/Karl von und zu Gossinger by W.E.B. Griffin and I still feel hooked after reading this for the 4th or 5th time. Castillo is still trying to get to the bootom with who is behind the oil for food program when a DEA agent is kidnapped. They have to try and find him before it's to late but there is some problems along the way. Whe also get a little more background on the characters and some surprises. Since I am a big fan of this author I can strongly recommend his work.
Profile Image for Todd.
2,226 reviews8 followers
October 2, 2024
In this 4th installment in the Presidential Agent series Charlie Castillo is still trying to root out folks connected with the oil for food program. When a DEA Agent based in Ascunsión, Uruguay is snatched political connections to his family pull strings to get the President to do something about rescuing him.

Enter Castillo, Presidential Agent. Charlie accepts the assignment, l mean what else could he do, and worries that he knows nothing about the drug trade.

Totally enjoyable, with just the right amount of humor to cut the tension of planning and carrying out this mission.
1,481 reviews4 followers
September 17, 2020
I did enjoy this book a little more than the others. It keeps me interested even though like the others they are still a lot of redundancy. This time was not as bad. You only knew what was coming when they showed his affair back in 1992. The writing was on the wall.
Profile Image for Karol.
771 reviews35 followers
October 10, 2009
I started reading the Presidential Agent Series by W.E.B. Griffin when an online friend enthused over the 5th book in the series, "Black Ops". He said, however, that to really enjoy that one to the fullest, I'd want to read the first 4. I've done that, and have enjoyed them all.

This story built on the relationships that seem to grow more intriguing with each book. Castillo is an entertaining character, with his dog Max, his wise-guy comments, and his sly ways of cutting through the inevitable government red tape.

There wasn't a whole lot of plot to this book: the presidential order is to find and rescue someone. Most of the 400+ page book is about what the team goes through to plan the mission. The "action" all takes place in about the last 20 - 30 pages. The agents for whom the book is titled take up probably 5 - 10 pages of the story. Maybe less.

The author may have used this novel as a build-up for the next one. Although the plot was not nearly as interesting to me as earlier books in the series, it was still fun to read as the author painted a more detailed picture of Castillo, Pevsner, and other characters. I look forward to finally reading the book - Black Ops - that was originally recommended to me next!
Profile Image for Jim McCulloch.
Author 2 books12 followers
January 16, 2019
The page after page of dialog going nowhere caused me to skip much of this. I enjoyed the story but just couldn't get into the slow pace due to excess dialog.
Profile Image for John Ready Reader One.
785 reviews7 followers
January 1, 2021
Read this as part of the house cup challenge. Book #4 picks up in Argentina where the team has loose ends that start coming unraveled and could lead to their existence and point back at official US Govt activities abroad. Things get tricky when they have to put a hold on their current activities and help rescue a DEA agent that has been abducted. Castillo doesn't want to but has to follow the wishes of the president. I keep enjoying this series. Keep 'em coming.
Profile Image for Kevin Goodrich.
49 reviews
November 7, 2017
Starting to hint at the nose dive that ends up in the final volume of the series. I'm a huge fan of Griffin but the final volume taste so bad that as I get closer to it I start to get tempted to quit reading the series. But I like the series so much happen till then that I keep rereading.
Profile Image for Nari Kannan.
51 reviews
November 19, 2018
This is the first time I read a W.E.B.Griffin book and I am afraid will be the last one! What a bore! For about 98% of the book, it is just talking, talking, talking with Army guys insulting the Air Force, Air Force insulting the Marines, Marines insulting CIA. And the hero - OMG - half the book is about how great he is, what blue eyes he has and he behaves like a white person even though his heritage is Texican and how he seduces every woman that he desires. What a load of BS! The whole book is about planning a hostage rescue and that is the anticlimax of the whole book. Over in two pages in a 400 page book. The rest is all a bore! This may appeal to 70 year old white people who have grown up on Tom Clancy - We-Good-Guys-Them-bad-guys pablum but not my cup of tea. What an anachronism!
377 reviews5 followers
December 13, 2018
Not my typical genre and again I'm reading number 4 in a series without reading any of the previous books.

Charley Castillo is a handsome, charismatic, highly skilled leader of a group of special ops.
He has a one on one relationship with the President and is asked to head a operation to rescue a DEA agent in South America who has been kidnapped.

The vast majority of the book is the planning and coordination between different branches of the government. They also have to coordinate with government officials from the South American countries they will have to work in. This is probably a very realistic scenario. There is a lot of banter and insults between the various characters. They are constantly giving the finger to each other. Charley seems to have an unlimited budget as he flies from on part of the country to another and then to South America.

There is also a retired US Ambassador, Lorimer, who for some reason is going to live in
Equador and gets into the middle of the planning. Also, the friend of the kidnapped DEA agent who slips in Castillo's safe house is also name Lorimer, but no relation. I believe it mentions that
one of the organizations that funds Castillo's operations is the Lorimer organization??
Profile Image for Jo-Ann Fitzgerald.
753 reviews2 followers
December 16, 2018
This is the 4th book in the series. I started to read this because it sounded like a great series based upon a special ops character.

If you want to know what the book is about please read the blurb above the reviews.

The hero throughout the series is an interesting guy who seems to have experiences all over the place. This is a follow on from the last book in the series. The hero is confident and has friends all over the place. The inner circle group is an interesting bunch of misfits that all seem to work.

They had created their own little department to get things done. Some of the people our hero has to work with are slimy like you wouldn't believe. I felt like I needed a shower after reading some of their scenes.

Our hero seems like he never gets to sleep, eat or go to the bathroom. This just isn't realistic. I do know people go for days without sleep, and I've done it myself, but to go for as long as this guy does and not crash? Nope, not buying it.

Overall, the book is ok and it does move, but bouncing around and the amount of extra character's floating around makes you crazy to keep track of. I'm not sure if this is one to keep reading the series or not.
29 reviews
September 3, 2024
Expectations were high for this thriller with Charley Castillo and his group of ex-military fighters tasked with the rescue of a kidnapped DEA agent in South America. This is not my first book by this author, so I anticipated action and a good plot line. Unfortunately, W.E.B. Griffin uses this book to explore the art of conversation. Castillo quickly becomes annoying by repeatedly discussing the classified black ops mission to anyone who asks why he needs a plane, weapons, helicopter, or anything else related or unrelated to the mission. No wonder the element of surprise was lost when the team finally assaults the kidnapper’s compound to rescue the DEA agent. All 411 pages leading up to the action are filled with dialog that does not move the plot forward while describing everything and everyone. So many unnecessary character developments also serve to bog down the story.

Once the action commences it is descriptive and good, but only lasts a page and a half. I almost abandoned this book but felt confident Griffin would certainly resolve this promising plot line but again I was disappointed. Even reading this novel on the beach was not helpful. Skip this one and move on to another by this author.
327 reviews1 follower
May 30, 2021
Another great tale

Castillo makes a great hero, even when he is acting like an arrogant bleep. He seems like a real person as well as the guy you would want your own son or daughter to serve with or under. This story seemed like it went on a bit long for the final assault to free the captives. A little less detail about some of the equipment, planes, and weapons would make the story move on a bit faster. It's nearly enough to make me stop reading, but I realize that some of the ex fliers and soldiers appreciate reading all those details, so it's just me. You can read any of Griffin's books alone because they do give you some of the background in each book, but it means more if you know all of the characters from the previous books. Plus, you really almost feel like you know all the characters by the time you complete a series and miss them when the series ends. My favorite character in this one is the dog.
493 reviews3 followers
November 20, 2021
Another one of Griffin's excellent action/adventure books, this time in the Presidential Agent series. I found this one not quite as enjoyable as others of his - it takes a long time to get ready for a fairly short burst of action. Another problem is that he keeps adding characters, to the point that it sometimes is difficult to remember who is who, and why they are involved in the story. This one is a follow-on to the previous book in the series, and is complicated by the addition of a new task from the President to rescue a DEA agent in Paraguay who has been kidnapped by "the bad guys". The lowly agent in question is well-connected politically through the mayor of Chicago. Our Hero is thusly saddled with some players not of his choosing, but of course, everything works out. The plot on this one gets a bit far-fetched (even for a Griffin book), but still makes for an enjoyable read. I hope later books in this series come back to Earth at least a bit.
Profile Image for Dan Smith.
1,803 reviews17 followers
March 14, 2023
in Argentina tying up loose ends from his investigation into the UN oil-for-food scandal, Castillo is startled when a young man is marched into his office at gunpoint, caught trying to sneak through the fence. It turns out he's an American officer, a lieutenant assigned to the embassy in Paraguay.
A key agent for the DEA has disappeared while trying to interdict drugs and very little is being done about it, for phony diplomatic reasons. The lieutenant's heard of Castillo, knows what he's done, and wants his help in getting the agent back. More than that, he's got an innovative plan for dealing with the drug lords themselves. Intrigued, Castillo gets permission to try it, but the President has just one warning for him: Don't get caught. Charley couldn't agree more-but it might turn out to be something easier said than done. . . .
Profile Image for Alex Shrugged.
2,753 reviews30 followers
February 11, 2022
This seems like a side-step from the previous books in the series. The action, if you want to call it that, takes place in the same area, but instead of the food-for-oil scam we are talking about rescuing a DEA officer from drug gangs. Charley has no idea how he is going to do this. It is clear that this story is going involve a lot of politics.

Any problems with this story? As other reviewers have noted, the book is mostly about planning some sort of assault on the place where the DEA agent is being held. While the dialogue is interesting enough, there really isn't very much action until the end.

Any modesty issues? The F-word was used over 50 times. That seemed a little excessive.

The ending was rather exciting when it came. I wanted a little more detail, though.
Profile Image for Mark Easter.
680 reviews11 followers
May 27, 2022
The intripid Lt Col Costillo is once again dispatched to the Southern Cone to clean up the mess and loose ends left after the previous operation in Uruguay.

Lots of wholly unexpected humorous turns of phrase and witty reparte, etc. in the last 60 minutes ofthis installment. Thoroughly amusing, entertaining, and enjoyable. Plus, the good guys beat the bad guys yet again. Huah! Who knew Griffin had a sense of humor (maybe I just have not read the right Griffins yet???) I have an idea copious amounts of alcohol were consumed in the writing of the last 80 or so pages. I can see Lester with a white cane clear as can be in my mind's eye. What a hoot!

Fans of A Presidential Agent are going to love this one.
5 reviews
July 13, 2023
Terrible book. Out of 732 pages there was exactly two pages of action toward the very end. The rest of the book was very boring planning with a lot of macho BS thrown in for no apparent reason. I retired from the Army with over 22 years of service and am a Viet Nam vet. I have heard all the macho BS before it adds nothing to the book. I read one of Griffin's books about 12 years ago and it was the same boring story line even though the title sounded interesting. That is why I just now read The Shooters, I though I would give him another try. Still disappointing. I don' t understand how he has received so many awards and honorary awards from military organizations. Anyone who thought this book was interesting must lead a very boring life. This was my last chance with Griffin.
Profile Image for wally.
3,636 reviews5 followers
November 22, 2025
finished 22nd november 2025 good read three stars i liked it no less no more kindle library loaner and i've read twenty or so from griffin w.e.b. almost all of them include pilots of one sort of another and there are numerous flights in the story. story centers in south america where a dea agent is missing and presumed kidnapped. grifin gets into a lot of detail, characters talking or walking through a future action whether it be how a funeral and that process happens or the movement of the various characters often involved in some sort of clandestine or military-type action. there's a dog in this one that provides some comedic relief. all in all, entertaining fast-paced story.
158 reviews1 follower
May 20, 2022
The review would probably be higher had I read, not listened to, this overly long, poorly fact checked (The Famous Grouse is an excellent whisky, but it is a BLENDED whisky, it is NOT a single malt), sloppily edited book … read by a person who felt a personal need to Act Out Every Sentence, complete with painful accents, with an apparent need to announce mere chapter headings with the ponderance of Papal Pronouncements.

It would have been SO much better to paragraph (or page) read … with significant skimming …
434 reviews3 followers
July 2, 2022
No action. I picked up this book due to the title and I had read the author before. This droned on for the entire book about the set up and family. The entire book! I have no idea of how this book could have become any more boring. The only action in the book was the mention of each new team member got an introduction from one of the previous books with a short suggestion of action. I will not be picking up any other books in this series. This is the only book that I have ever given a one star rating to and completed.
Profile Image for Richard G Colwell.
14 reviews
October 23, 2022
Another fine book by one of my favorite authors

WEB continues to suck me into his intrigue on every book he authors. I love the continuity of chacters and scenarios that prevail. Being a retired combat arms officer I have been amazed at how he waves intrigue and seat of the pants realism into every story.
After I finished all of the Brotherhood and Corps books, I waited too long for the new breed to get started. Amazing how the all of them tie together I have been very pleased.
Profile Image for Ann Amadori.
551 reviews10 followers
December 9, 2023
When I started reading the books in this series, I should have made a list of each of the characters and who they were/worked for. The list keeps growing and names are repeating, ie: Alex, Alec, Charley Charles, another Charles and a Lorimer family and a Marine who's last name is also Lorimer, apparently not related. With abundant repitition in the text it was not too difficult to follow the story line, although some of the details were murky. Usually this would be boring but this author has a gift and I have enjoyed each book.
Profile Image for James Thomas.
424 reviews1 follower
July 1, 2024
This is the five-star rating system I use:

★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish.

If for whatever reason, I go back and reread a good book, I will change the rating to five-star because I read it again.
14 reviews
May 25, 2025
I applaud the author for his attention to detail but the book and title itself is very misleading, with a title and cover and dust jacket describing a story of rescuing someone they spend the whole book planning and talking with less than 8 pages actually describing action . To me the whole book was like an episode of The West Wing
170 reviews
August 10, 2018
Good story.

The story was good and the plot interesting. The writing seemed to jump around and at times would have information that had already been read. I did enjoy the book and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good action story.
2 reviews
December 23, 2018
As usual excellent wordsmith, conversation, characters and situations.


Mr. Griffin probably the most knowledge and entertaining writer I have ever had the privilege of reading. My only complaint is he does not use the objective form of "who."

3 reviews2 followers
November 13, 2019
Fabulous

As with every book I've read by Griffin, The Shooters is fast paced and exciting. Keeping up with the next order Charley has been given is enjoyable! Looking forward to The Outlaws next.
19 reviews1 follower
February 23, 2021
Too long

This book was about two to 300 pages too long. Too much character building and redundancy. This is my first read with this acclaimed author and the last. Life is too short.
Profile Image for Adrian Ramos.
186 reviews2 followers
April 1, 2021
Really good story. Like all web griffins books. Everybody knows everybody, everyone is related. Depicted black ops and military in general as a small town. Had a happy ending but was really anti-climactic. Planning,recon, equipping then on “go day” - mehhhh. Covered in 1-2 pages. Bummer.
1,336 reviews8 followers
September 27, 2021
Probably would be better if I’d read the 3 before this one first. It was confusing; I had a hard time keeping the characters straight. There were too many details about some things and not enough about others.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews

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