Rogue

I’ll admit, I went into *Rogue* skeptical. The ‘CIA operative turns fugitive’ trope is well-worn, but Sullivan makes it feel fresh by grounding Monarch’s rebellion in something uglier than patriotism—it’s personal. The opening act in Istanbul is a masterclass in escalation: a routine extraction spirals into a bloodbath, and Meyers’ narration sells every second of it. His Monarch isn’t a stoic action hero; he sounds like a man teetering on the edge, his voice roughening when he’s cornered, almost amused when he’s outmaneuvered his pursuers. That rawness makes the audiobook’s 12-hour runtime fly by. Where *Rogue* stumbles slightly is in its midsection. The cat-and-mouse game across Europe occasionally sags under the weight of its own intrigue—there’s a subplot involving a hacker ally that feels like a detour from the main event. And while Meyers’ performance is stellar, his female characters sometimes blur together, lacking the distinctiveness of his male roles. But the finale? Worth the wait. Sullivan ties the conspiracy’s threads together with a brutality that lingers, and Meyers’ delivery in the last hour is downright chilling. If you’re tired of spy thrillers that pull their punches, this one leaves bruises—intentionally. **Best for:** Listeners who want their espionage with grit, not glamour, and a narrator who makes every betrayal sting.