Damascus Station

A Novel

By: David McCloskey

Narrated by: Andrew B. Wehrlen

Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

A CIA officer and his recruit arrive in war-ravaged Damascus to hunt for a killer in this pause resister that offers the "most authentic depiction of modern-day tradecraft in print" (Navy SEAL sniper and New York Times best-selling author Jack Carr).

CIA Case Officer Sam Joseph is dispatched to Paris to recruit Syrian Palace official Mariam Haddad. The two fall into a forbidden relationship, which supercharges Haddad's recruitment and creates unspeakable danger when they enter Damascus to find the man responsible for the disappearance of an American spy.

But the cat-and-mouse chase for the killer soon leads to a trail of high-profile assassinations and the discovery of a dark secret at the heart of the Syrian regime, bringing the pair under the all-seeing eyes of Assad's spy catcher, Ali Hassan, and his brother Rustum, the head of the feared Republican Guard.

Set against the backdrop of a Syria pulsing with fear and rebellion, Damascus Station is a gripping thriller that offers a textured portrayal of espionage, love, loyalty, and betrayal in one of the most difficult CIA assignments on the planet.

©2021 David McCloskey (P)2021 Tantor

Intelligent, exciting, and entertaining

This is one of the best spy thriller novels this reader has experienced. Intelligent, authentic, and exciting. Characters are well developed. The reader is hooked from the first page, and the story becomes consuming. McCloskey maintains the tension as he lets the characters act and reveal themselves in this well wrought and brilliantly constructed plot. The writing is minimalist and the author is unintrusive. This a gritty and entertaining novel that feels authentic from the details of spy craft illustrated. As a result, this is an author we can rely, and a story that rings true and compelling. Andrew B Wehrlen is well modulated to the wide-ranging characters and the narrative. This is a engaging page turner.

Meh....

Narrator talks to fast with odd inflection. Story was generic fodder. I wouldn't recommend it.

Great Story with Equally Great Narration!

I have to be honest, I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but this was especially good! The author pulls you in with a compelling story all the while remaining realistic.

Great listen !!

At first I was a little lost, but as the story played out it got more interesting, the small bit about the bomber and his sniper wife could have played more of a roll, I think.
But overall a good listen on long drives.

Awesome

Great book for spy novel enthusiasts. Proctor is a badass. Would love to read more books with her character!

The reading was tough to follow. I’ve had much better.

I expected a stronger story for all of the ratings. It was just meh. Would not recommend.

Gruesome details

The gruesome details around chemical weapons use and torture scenes were a little too lurid for me. I listen to or read many books with violent themes but this went beyond exciting or harrowing and into disturbing.

bad narration

the narrator read too quickly and Jump to new paragraphs really quickly and to new ideas really quickly without any real break to let you know that we've started a new paragraph or chapter. Bad voice inflections as well.

The story was great but in the end I don't recommend anyone listen to this until they fix the narrator.

I don't usually write reviews but felt like this needed to be said

Painful Narration

I eagerly purchased the book after the author’s interview on Jack Carr podcast.

Unfortunately the narration was painfully lackluster. The story is lost in uninspired audio.

Great story. Hard to put down.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the characters, and the plot twists. It kept my attention throughout. I’m surprised so much of this was cleared for release by the publication review board, which just tells me there has been a great deal of new tradecraft developed beyond what appears in this book.
I’ve seen some reviewers complain about the narration - I had no problems with the narrator. There is a lot to like here for fans of operational spy thrillers.