Ted Bell's Monarch Audiobook By Ryan Steck cover art

Ted Bell's Monarch

An Alex Hawke Novel, Book 13

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Ted Bell's Monarch

By: Ryan Steck
Narrated by: John Shea
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Ted Bell's New York Times bestselling series returns with Lord Alexander Hawke facing his greatest challenge yet—to find the missing king of Britain.

Following a successful but costly mission to destroy an enemy outpost in Antarctica, Alex Hawke is looking forward to some quiet time at Teakettle Cottage, his home in Bermuda, along with his family. But he's not a man who can avoid trouble.

Former Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard Ambrose Congreve calls him with stunning news. Just days away from a controversial vote threatening to tear the United Kingdom apart at the seams, King Charles has disappeared while vacationing at Balmoral Castle. The prime minister believes she can keep the news quiet for no more than 72 hours. After that, Britain will be plunged into chaos.

With the fate of the kingdom hanging in the balance, it's up to Lord Hawke to find and rescue the missing monarch before it's too late.©2025 Ryan Steck (P)2025 Penguin Audio Action & Adventure Espionage International Mystery & Crime Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense

Critic reviews

“Monarch is that rarity in thrillers: first class writing, wit, and suspense. This is one of the best Alex Hawke thrillers and I’ve read all of them."–James Patterson, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Packed with twisting surprises and a double dose of action, Ted Bell’s Monarch marks the return of Lord Alexander Hawke, one of the thriller genre’s most captivating and electric heroes, as he races to not only stop a fiendish plot to attack London but also find the missing king before the UK is torn apart. Hawke has never flown higher!”—Nelson DeMille, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Blood Lines

"The smashing return of Alex Hawke in a pulse-pounding thriller of the first order. Relentless action, endless intrigue, and a masterful plot keep the pages flying."—Dirk Cussler, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Corsican Shadow
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I liked the idea of the story and the characters,particularly the voice of the protagonist.

The Story of how one person was able to escape the reality of life.

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Very happy that Ryan brought this back. Ted Bell did a wonderful job and Ryan picked up very nicely. Good thriller story with a good mystery twist. Look forward to more!

Great job by Ryan

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The narrator’s need to make Stokley sound like Scooby Doo, as has happened in previous Ted Bell novels, is at best irritating, and at worst a bit racist.

The Stokley Jones portrayal is problematic

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The story is outstanding and there are so many plot twists and turns it makes it hard to put down! It’s one of the best Alex Hawks stories to date and Ryan Steck does a great job of taking Alex Hawk and his team in directions they have never been!

Monarch is an excellent addition to Ted Bells Alex Hawks series of great books!

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This book could have been about Chief Inspector Congreve rather than Alexander Hawke. Bell loved Hawke, unlike any other character in his books. It came through from Bell in every story and sentence that he highlighted the main character. This recent book, while similar and pigtails off of the masterwork of Bell, missed the mark by a long distance; it seems the new author has decided to make the new Bell stories all British rather than a combination of American and British. Every accent in the book is a strong British accent that all sounds alike. The performance was boring. It was the same narrator as the original Bell books, but the speed of the story was ridiculously slow. Listening to the book at 1,25 made it better. Stokely Jones is not a British super spy but an x American football player. Congreve is not the main character. Hawk is. His morality was never in question in any of Bell's stories, and his terrorizing his family in the end cheapens him to disgrace. It was not great-barely enjoyable. Thankfully, we will always have Ted Bell!

There is a big difference in this book and Ted Bells books.

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Ryan Steck Saves Alex Hawke.
Ted Bell's last 3 books were disappointing. Good to OK stories but the inconsistencies really hurt those books. It was John Shea’s performance that kept me reading/listening the Hawke series.
Steck brings back many old characters. Tommy Quick makes a brief return at the start of the book, which brilliantly finishes the last book. Ross Sutherland is one of those beloved characters that makes a return but, spoiler alert, has a heartbreaking end. Will his end affect Alex’s future decisions? Pippa Guinness makes a big return and looks like she will return in the next book. At the end of the book you wonder what Pippa and Trulove are up to. No good? Who is the mysterious person that visits Pippa in the hospital? Even Alex’s beloved parrot, Sniper, makes an appearance.
Another sort of return is Harry Brock. He was in the previous 3 books but he was only mentioned. His smart-ass comments were gone. His witty banter with Hawke and Stockley were missed. Ryan does a great job bringing him back.
There’s a lot of interesting British monarch history in this book that helps explain this plot. It may be too much for some but I enjoyed it. I’m sure that took a lot of research.
In the prologue, Ryan right away proves he can write the epic battles that we are used to reading. He also gives us a jaw dropping ‘who done it’ in the end as only Ted Bell does. Proving that this series is in good hands.
Lastly, the Epilogue wow! It is the most personable Alex Hawke chapter in all 13 books that hits the nail in the head. A man who has endured so much loss and disappointment has a hard time accepting happiness. No wonder he is afraid of committing to Anestasia.
If you were an Alex Hawke fan, come back. You will not be disappointed.

Ryan Steck saves Alex Hawke and John Shea kept the interest

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This ghost writer is no Ted Bell. He constantly derails the story. I have listened to every Ted Bell but couldn’t get through this one. Deleted

Tedious

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