Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Whisper

  • By: Tal Bauer
  • Narrated by: John Solo
  • Length: 25 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (48 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Whisper

By: Tal Bauer
Narrated by: John Solo
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £17.99

Buy Now for £17.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

On September 11th, 2001, Kris Caldera was a junior member of the CIA's Alec Station, the unit dedicated to finding and stopping Osama Bin Laden. They failed.

Ten days later, he was on the ground in Afghanistan with a Special Forces team. On the battlefield, he meets Special Forces Sergeant David Haddad. David - Arab American, Muslim, and gay - becomes the man Kris loves, the man he lives for, and the man he kills for, through the long years of the raging wars.

When a botched mission rips David from Kris' life, Kris' world falls into ruin and ash.

After being captured, tortured to the edge of his life, and left for dead by his comrades, David doesn't know how much of himself is left. He vanished in the tribal belt of Pakistan, and the man who walks out almost a decade later is someone new: Al Dakhil Al-Khorasani.

Intelligence from multiple sources overseas points to something new. Something deadly, and moving to strike the United States. Intercepts say an army from Khorasan, the land of the dead where the Apocalypse of Islam will rise, is coming. And, at the head of this army, a shadowy figure the US hasn't seen before: Al Dakhil Al-Khorasani.

David is coming home.

Contains mature themes.

©2018 Tal Bauer (P)2021 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Hush cover art
Enemies of the State cover art
The Night Of cover art
The Murder Between Us cover art
Madison Square Murders cover art
INTEL 1 cover art
Temporary Partner cover art
Cronin's Key cover art
The Magpie Lord cover art
Four Kings Security Boxed Set cover art
The Assassin's Betrayal cover art
Burden of the Assassin cover art
Sandblast cover art
Lion of God: The Complete Trilogy cover art
Red Rising cover art
Sick Heart cover art

What listeners say about Whisper

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    37
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    39
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable Story

A well written story with and interesting  concept.  The characters are likeable and the narration is very good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

John Solo? OK I guess...

I know this will come as a shock but I quite enjoyed this one 😏, even though John Solo was narrating. His irritating habit of over-emphasising and inability to pronounce certain words correctly notwithstanding, I was as ever engrossed in this wonderful story which to this day, still remains one of my absolute faves. I'll leave the rating at 5 stars as I would've given 4.25 or thereabouts for the narration. It was indeed a whopper!!

***Book Review 2018***

Just as Hush was one of my fave reads of 2017, so Whisper already is and will remain one of my top reads of 2018!! All the stars for this blockbuster of a story, which unfortunately will not be to everyone's taste in view of the savagery of some of the scenes (view spoiler) AND the fact that the romance is not 'in your face' all day, everyday. This story spans nearly two decades and does not pull any punches...is brutally honest in fact in its retelling of the inhumanity used by BOTH the CIA and Al Qaeda. Tal really surpassed himself with the writing and it's definitely up there with Hush for me.

Kris and David [Dawood]'s love for each other was deep and abiding [Soulmates....they were indeed soulmates] and it had had to be in view of some of the awful things they'd had to endure [even from their own colleagues]; all of course due to the US's extremely tough lockdown measures after 9/11. I would say that at least 65-70% of this story is set before the time that we actually meet Kris in Hush, so it could therefore probably be read as a standalone cos Tom and Mike do make an appearance [but not until the last 10% or so]; however, you'd be missing out on a fantastic backstory of the evils of men and their wars, huge betrayals, and the shocking lengths to which some people will go to justify their own disgraceful actions.

Religion...or should I say Dawood's religious beliefs, plays a huge part in this story, and he was without doubt my favourite character. I can honestly say that I was quite shocked by some of Kris's behaviour, and luckily for him, he finally came to his senses at a critical moment. As far as the CIA 'mole' is concerned, yes I had him pegged from the time he was announced and have never wanted to happy dance more for the death of a character in a story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Extraordinary storytelling, bone-chilling suspense, agonizing emotions

The story weaves a view into the enormous historical event that shook the entire world, especially the West - but most of all the US - and beyond. As most people, I remember when the 911 planes hit the twin towers I was in a bus, listening to the extra news broadcast on the radio with the driver, bleaching at the face.

For some the long book may be intimidating an endeavor but for me it was enticing. Tal Bauer swept me along for the ride right from the start. This audiobook kept me at the edge of my seat, feeling the emotional ride of the protagonists in my body.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful and Deeply Moving

I feel my words will be totally inadequate to describe how profoundly moving, beautiful but also harrowing this book was.
Tal Bauer has always been a favourite author of mine but this story totally overwhelmed me. It was meticulously researched and despite being ex forces personnel myself, I learned so much I did not know about 9/11 and the following years of war on terror and the positive and true image of the Islamic faith.
Tal writs beautifully in an almost poetic way, his vivid descriptions immerse you totally into the characters and situations, which was delivered outstandingly by John Solo in his narration.
I wish I could give more than 5 stars for this audiobook but alas I can’t,
It’s definitely the best book of my year.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking and highly entertaining book

Brilliantly written with really deep characters, thrilling story and amazing research. A really page turner. The pace and quality of writing perfect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

WOW!!!!!

What a phenomenal audiobook! The story spans many years, enduring love and devotion, through tortuous war zones with strong beliefs of destiny. Hard listening in places due the the intense, emotional nature of storyline, laughter in places, broken hearts thankfully repaired. I've listened to hundreds of audiobooks, and this is one of my top. John Solo had the perfect narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

✨️Unforgettable✨️

Whisper kept my stomach clenched, pulse elevated and spat me out emotionally wrecked! I oversimplify that it is about twin flames whose love was forged in battle. Again, I oversimplify considered characterisation to say, David’s primary battle was spiritual, essentially his dark night of the soul. The elegant sentiment of ‘Whisper’ is revealed in David’s journey. Whip smart Kris’ primary battle was against bigotry in its overt and micro-aggressive forms. As always, Tal Bauer thoughtfully and maturely explores contemporary themes. My favourite? There is no homogenous ethnicity, language, culture, nation or region and this holds true in politics and Abrahamic religions ✝️🕎☪️ Why is this then always forgotten with the Arab World, Islam and Muslims? My words cannot articulate its full majesty but know this, Whisper is unforgettable.

🎧 John Solo gave David his deepest bass and kept his delivery contained with a slightly stilted speech pattern. Kris’ words are missiles and JS gave him a rapid, fluid, snappy sass. The narration is exceptional when they exchange their first ‘I Love You’ because it is a masterclass in soulful and multi-lingual vocal acting. The diversity of the human condition and the huge cast of characters was conveyed by Mr. Solo’s accents. I highlight the different rhythms of American accents but absolutely adored JS articulation of Rumi’s lyrical language so that when he snarled out the harsh diatribe of fundamentalists, it jarred.

✨️ I am unbothered that JS could not perform Hispanic accents or by his staccato modulation | vibrato when he read in the third person. Why? He magnificently breathed life into the dialogue by how naturally he switched languages or transitioned between accents and effortlessly shifted from high emotion to low. Mr. Solo tenderly performed romance; he reverently recited prayer; he furiously emoted anger and vitriol; and he choked out anguish and pain as though he too had unshed tears in his eyes. This Bauer/Solo collaboration feels like kismet.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

I enjoyed this book, though it did get a little theatrical at times. There were some 3 star bits, but loads of 5 star bits, so it balances out as 4 stars.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing!!

This was my first book from Tal Bauer and it certainly won’t be my last. It might be a bit early to say he’s a favourite author now, but Whisper was just that damn good!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Spellbinding

Whisper is one of the most amazing books brought to life by a fantastic narrator...love it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful