Night Owl: A Trasker Thriller

Written by Andrew Mayne

Narrated by James Anderson Foster

A shocking act of sabotage draws a retired spy into a deadly conspiracy in an explosive thriller by an Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

After three decades in counterintelligence, Brad Trasker is retired, disillusioned, and dealing with a tragic loss. Spy games are behind him until he attends the launch of a next-generation aircraft. When the project of innovative aerospace CEO Kylie Connor explodes on the tarmac—nearly killing her in the process—Trasker is pulled back into the line of fire.

The mystery of the sabotage quickly deepens. All Kylie’s data has been wiped from the server. One of her engineers has disappeared. A seed investor has died in a suspicious car accident. And a cold-blooded murder raises the stakes even higher.

To discover who’s pulling the strings behind a dangerous conspiracy, Trasker needs to find a motive. Corporate espionage, revenge, or something he can’t yet see? Targeted by assassins, he finds himself overmatched when he realizes he can’t trust anyone—including Kylie. Too long out of a game he no longer understands, Trasker must adapt or die.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Dec 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798400148675

Andrew Mayne

Andrew Mayne started his first illusion tour while he was a teenager and was soon headlining in resorts and casinos around the world. He’s worked behind the scenes creatively for David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, and David Blaine. With the support of talk show host and amateur magician Johnny Carson, Andrew started a program to use magic to teach critical thinking skills in public schools for the James Randi Educational Foundation. Andrew’s “Wizard School” segments, teaching magic and science to children, aired nationwide on public television. He also starred in the reality show Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne.

[jamespurcell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fast moving, energetic and engaging thriller.

[ardaiel-573470 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the newest book out by Andrew Mayne, a spy thriller/adventure novel about retired CIA operative Brad Trasker. He crosses paths with genius aerospace CEO Kylie Connor and is quickly pulled into the thick of things when her newest invention explodes during launch, almost killing her. Is it an accident? Is it sabotage? As Brad investigates he begins to suspect a bigger conspiracy is at play, no one is safe, and he’s not sure who he can trust.

My rating: 3 stars (But really it’s about 3.5 if I could do partials.)

This book is exactly what you want from a spy thriller. It’s a fast and easy read, perfect for a day on the beach or your next plane flight. Sure, there’s plenty about the plot that stretches belief, but if you’re looking for a hyper-realistic book, then I’d argue spy thrillers aren’t the genre for you. I’ve given it 3 stars, but it’s a high 3, not a low – I enjoyed it and recommend it for anyone in the mood for a quick thriller.

[meredy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The turniest page-turner I've read in ages, maybe ever. Not my usual speed--I can still get into George Eliot--but I thoroughly enjoyed it and went straight to the sequel.

[cathygeha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Night Owl by Andrew Mayne
Trasker #1

Fast-paced, action-packed, thrill-ride that grabbed my attention immediately and kept it till I read the last page.

What I liked:
* Adam Trasker: retired counterintelligence agent, lost his son just as he hoped to spend more time with him, divorced, creates memory palaces to help him retain information, past his prime but still capable, takes on a job with Kylie Connor and can be rather ruthless
* Kylie Connor: aviation inventor and entrepreneur, owner of Wind Aviation, brilliant, her father died when she was young, cares about her employees, a bit ruthless
* Adam’s mother: in the spy game for decades, taught Adam much, intriguing, would like to know more about her
* The plot, pacing, settings, and writing
* The way Trasker figured out who was behind the sabotage
* That I cared about the outcome
* It was easy to dislike the bad guys and want to see them dealt with
* That there will be another book in the series

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about the damage countries and individuals can do for questionable motives or monehy

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

[edwardsgt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Complex technological thriller.

[kimkimkim-7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There was so much I liked about this book. Trasker, an aging retired spy who may not be up to the game he is getting sucked back into. A brilliant young woman who dominates her field, owns her own company, is about to own the latest and most brilliant technology and measures up to each and every male that she encounters. Murder, things blowing up, mayhem, bullets flying, bodies falling, but it just wasn’t enough - almost but not quite. We all have different ways of working out problems but mentally placing strange little miniatures on a time traveller’s writing desk was just a little too abstract and I never could connect those dots. And there were so many initial agencies it’s was hard to keep track of who was tracking who, and could the FBI really screw up so badly?!

The mental gymnastics were impressive but overdone when basically it all comes down to knowing when you should trust someone. But is seems as if there is no one that you can trust in this story and it is wearying. The game has changed, the superpowers aren’t the major player, the powerful are businessmen with all the money who can hire all the killers to procure anything and everything. But what is the endgame? I was never completely sure and what’s worse neither was Trasker and that was a problem. Chaos reigns supreme. And it looks as if he has signed on for another installment, so maybe it will all become clear and work out next time. From the other reviews I read it seems as if Trasker’s mother gets the high marks and we are all looking for an encore performance.

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for a copy.

[ibkennedy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great story. No fluff. All good stuff.