The Third Bullet

Written by Stephen Hunter

Narrated by Buck Schirner

It’s not even a clue. It’s a whisper, a trace, a ghost echo, drifting down through the decades via chance connections so fragile that they would disintegrate in the puff of a breath. But it’s enough to get legendary former Marine sniper Bob Lee Swagger interested in the events of November 22, 1963, and the third bullet that so decisively ended the life of John F. Kennedy and set the stage for one of the most enduring controversies of our time.

Swagger begins his slow night stalk through a much-traveled landscape. But he’s asking questions that few have asked before: Why did the third bullet explode? Why did Lee Harvey Oswald, about to become the most hunted man on earth, risk it all by returning to his rooming house to secure a pistol he easily could have brought with him? How could a conspiracy that went unpenetrated for fifty years have been thrown together in the two and a half days between the announcement of the president’s route and the assassination itself?

As Bob investigates, another voice enters the narrative: knowing, ironic, almost familiar, that of a gifted, Yale-educated veteran of the CIA Plans Division. Hugh Meachum has secrets and the means and the will to keep them buried. When weighed against his own legacy, Swagger’s life is an insignificant expense — but to blunt the threat, he’ll first have to ambush the sniper.

As each man hunts the other across today’s globe and through the thickets of history, The Third Bullet builds to an explosive climax that will finally prove what Bob Lee Swagger has always known: it’s never too late for justice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jan 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781455815760

Stephen Hunter

Stephen Hunter has written over twenty novels. The retired chief film critic for The Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism, he has also published two collections of film criticism and a nonfiction work, American Gunfight. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Reviews for The Third Bullet

[jepeters333 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's not even a clue. It's a whisper, a trace, a ghost echo, drifting down through the decades via chance connections so fragile that they would disintegrate in the puff of a breath. But it's enough to get legendary former Marine sniper Bob Lee Swagger interested in the events of November 22, 1963, and the third bullet that so decisively ended the life of John F. Kennedy and set the stage for one of the most enduring controversies of our time.

[starkravingmad_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Intricate plot that starts out paced strong and interesting. As the story progresses, it gets more and more unbelievable.

[sharoncville3579 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well-written and thought-provoking. Not my normal cup of tea, but Hunter is an interesting writer who backs his story up with a believable interpretation of the known facts.

[labdaddy4 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It is not often I simply give up on a book - this was one of the rare occurrences. The lead character - Bob Lee Swagger - did absolutely nothing for me. I understand he is a recurring primary character in many of the author's novels. Compared to many of the recurring "thriller" characters (Reacher, Pendergast, etc.) he is a pale comparison. The plot centers of Swagger trying to solve the mystery of Kennedy's assassination. This is a tired and worn out issue. I have never bought in to conspiracy theories, so...Steven King's approach to the Kennedy assasination in 11/22/63 was much more novel and unique - of course it was written by Steven King !

[scottcholstad · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book. It was a real adventure to read and even though it plodded along at times (I wouldn't call it a "thriller."), I guess it was kind of a suspense novel. Bob Lee Swagger is a former Marine sniper who gained fame in Vietnam. Now, he's approached by the widow of a writer who was murdered in DC, potentially because he was on to something new with JFK's assassination. So Bob takes this on, goes to Dallas, and starts snooping around. And almost immediately is the target of an assassination attempt, which he thwarts through some good shooting. Ah, the author is a gun man. He's knows his guns and even though at times it feels like he's nearly arrogant about his knowledge, he does make things seem realistic. Since the dead assassin is Russian, Swagger goes to Russia to look into some things and is attacked there. He escapes through some good shooting and the help of a colleague, a fellow sniper. At this point in the book, the author does something odd. He starts narrating chapters through the "diary" of the mastermind behind JFK's assassination and it adds and takes away from the story. It adds, because we find out how it was actually accomplished and it's fascinating reading. It takes away because it's not entirely believable. As we go through the course of the story and Swagger gets closer to the truth, the diarist starts writing in "real time," which obviously can't be happening in real time. It stretches the imagination. Oh, there was indeed a second shooter, in a neighboring building. And there was a support team. And Oswald was a puppet. And the author is good. This really reads like nonfiction. Every tiny little detail is laid out for inspection, and then related to the reader as plausible, and it really works. While Swagger is debunking conspiracy theories, the author essentially creates a new one which is the best one I've heard/read yet. It's really possible, or so you're led to think. Of course, our hero -- Swagger -- has to track down the culprit and the final pages are action packed, so perhaps it's a bit of a thriller, but the book has a largely satisfying ending, so that's good. I've read a lot of reviews that say this book doesn't stack up to other books by Hunter and some that have problems with the mastermind's diary, like me, but I'm able to overlook that and enjoy, for the most part. Still, I've got to knock it down from five to four stars for that. However, it was a very detailed, well thought out book and I heartily recommend it.

[gatorhater · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this novel since I'm a avid J.F.K. assassination conspiracy enthusiast, the author gives his theory of what might have happened that dreadful day in Nov. 1963. Most of the things he talks about I've already read in other books about this assassination, but some of the subject matters that he talks about were new too me, getting me too more research too see if these matters had any validity to them. Hopefully some day these questions will be answered, since most that were there that day are passed away.

[rufusraider · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Third Bullet is a good book by Stephen Hunter. The story revolves around his character Bob Swagger. Swagger is a an old former Marine sniper from the Viet Nam war. The story is about an alternate theory on the JFK assassination. It feeds off some of the conspiracy theories around the assassination in Dallas. The Third Bullet is about a second sniper in another building with a similar site line to that of Lee Harvey Oswald.The story starts out with the murder of an author who writes thrillers involving guns. It turns out he has been given information that points to another shooter in Dallas. He has just gotten back from a fact trip to Dallas where he was gathering information for the story.His wife tracks down Bob Swagger and convinces him to look into the death. He finds just enough information to get his interest up and takes on the case. The story then revolves around his search for more information regarding this second sniper idea.Along with this story, there is a second perspective being told by the CIA agent and how he set up the assassination of JFK. The JFK assassination was a target of opportunity that popped up while he was preparing the team to assassinate a former right wing nut/US Army general. This CIA agent is another character from a previous novel that Swagger has had dealings with on another assassination on opposite sides.Telling you more would spoil some of the surprises in the story.

[cacky_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Clever plot. My only complaint was the on and on detailed technical stats on weapons and ammunition - but then I'm not a gun person and it probably is fascinating to someone with knowledge.

[jamespurcell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Insightful theory about the JFK assassination provides the plot for an excellent entry in the already very good Bob Lee Swagger thriller series. Lots of "gun stuff" for the NRA crowd with deft explanations, even a drawing, for those who are not aficionados. Bob, the 65 year old super sniper, continues to cut down potential assassins from Moscow to rural Connecticut. Hunter delves into the arcane world of Galton, Nabokov and Jorge Luis Borges and couples it with the New Criticism as an analytical tool to produce a puzzle for Bob to solve. With dogged perseverance, innate, untrained but excellent analytical skills seasoned by dogged rural orneriness; he does locate the rogue CIA officer who masterminded the "grassy knoll" murder scenario that set up Lee Harvey Oswald as a very willing dupe.