Inside Out

Ben Treven, Book 2

By: Barry Eisler

Narrated by: Barry Eisler

Torture. Ghost Detainees. And a massive cover-up that continues even today. Marooned in a Manila jail after a bar fight fatality, black ops soldier Ben Treven gets a visit from his former commander, Colonel Scott Horton, who explains the price of Ben's release: find and eliminate Daniel Larison, a rogue operator from Ben's unit who has stolen 92 torture tapes from the CIA and is using them to blackmail the U.S. government. But other players are after the tapes, too, and to find Larison, Ben will have to survive CIA hit teams, Blackwater mercenaries, and the long reach of the White House. He'll also have to find a way to handle Paula Lanier, a smart, sexy FBI agent who has her own reasons for wanting the tapes and is determined to get them before Ben does. With the stakes this high, everyone has an angle - everyone but Ben, who will have to find the right alliance if he wants to stay alive.

©2010 Barry Eisler (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Surprise in store for J Rain stories.

I generally enjoy Barry’s novels , but I ALWAYS enjoy his reading performance. This is no exception.

Another winner from Eisler!

I was captured by the professional and authenticity of the characters and the matrix - smart story writing.

Solid thriller with excellent tradecraft

Inside Out is the 2nd installment in the Ben Treven series, although Eisler has overlapped the main character, Ben Treven, within the larger Rain series. In this story, "enhanced" interrogation tapes have gone missing and become blackmail. Ben is called in to track them down. In addition to Ben, CIA and FBI as well as mercenaries are involved and the field gets rather crowded. Ben displays his physical and mental skills to crack the case wide open.

The pacing is excellent with a good admixture of action and detective work. Ben encounters comparable rivals for the first time and must also deal with some troubling revelations about his work and how the world operates. There are sufficient plot twists to hold interest to the end.

The narration is superb; all the more remarkable because the author himself is doing the reading. The tone and mood of each character and situation are accurately portrayed which adds to the listening enjoyment.

Solid

Great second installment of the new series. Looking forward to Ben's search for **Spoilers**. I particularly enjoyed the details describing DC, it made me feel like I was back there again. Hort's oligarchy discussion is very important, and everyone should read it.

Re Inside Out/The Detachment

I understand The Detachment better now, unfortunately cannot redo my review. I highly recommend you read the John Rains s & the Ben Trven books in order. I didn't do that and while I have enjoyed all of them. I believe I would have appreciated the nuances and events better if I had read in proper sequence. This story was tense & makes us paranoid about government. But the relationships are the story. Excellent narration.