Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Weaponized

Rate this book
A globe-spanning, wrong man thriller co-written by the screenwriter of the #1 film Safe House .

Kyle West is a wanted man. Having fled the country to escape the false charges filed against himself and his former boss, billionaire government contractor Christopher Chandler, Kyle's hiding in Cambodia, living on borrowed time and finding more and more reasons to be paranoid.

When a mysterious stranger named Julian Robinson walks into Kyle's favorite cafè and offers to swap passports with Kyle, Kyle can't believe his luck. Robinson looks so much like Kyle it's almost unreal, and seems in every way the yin to Kyle's self-assured, charismatic and wealthy beyond measure. Traveling on business, Robinson needs Kyle's passport to get to Africa, where a lucrative deal awaits. Kyle needs Robinson's passport to safely flee Cambodia. The swap seems almost too good to be true.

Unfortunately for Kyle, it is. This one decision plunges Kyle into a Pandora's Box of intrigue that threatens to swallow him whole. Suddenly he finds himself being pursued by Russian oligarchs, Chinese operatives, the CIA, and a beautiful woman trained to kill -- all because Robinson certainly isn't who he seemed. And time is running out for Kyle to discover who he is.

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Loading interface...
Loading interface...

About the author

Nicholas Mennuti

6 books20 followers
Author of "Weaponized" from Mulholland Books (a Little, Brown imprint).

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
26 (16%)
4 stars
48 (30%)
3 stars
50 (31%)
2 stars
26 (16%)
1 star
7 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Profile Image for Ed.
657 reviews59 followers
March 25, 2015
Ingenious plot premise about Kyle West, a computer analytic genius currently residing in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on the run from a Congressional committee looking into his development of illegal surveillance algorithms for his "too big to prosecute" employer. While having a drink in his favorite pub one night a stranger who looks exactly like Kyle, introduces himself and proposes they exchange passports to the benefit of both parties. Kyle could return to the US and his doppelganger, Julian Robinson, can complete his business deal in Africa, where he is currently wanted on trumped up charges. Sounds like a win-win doesn't it? Right up until Kyle discovers at the airport that Julian Robinson's name is on an international no-fly list and he's promptly kidnapped by bogus security officers. It gets wild and crazy from there in a page turning debut thriller that impressed me with it's originality and style. I sincerely hope Nicholas Mennuti's follows this up with a sequel.
Profile Image for Ubiquitousbastard.
801 reviews63 followers
September 28, 2013
I want to clarify: this is more like 2 1/2 stars for me, but I would feel bad if I knocked it down to 2, so it's getting a somewhat undeserved three. The reason I'm even rating it that high is because of the readability, which was mostly good and There were several issues with this book, in my opinion, the biggest being its predictability/unoriginal plot. I knew what was going on about three hundred pages before I was supposed to, and it was easy to guess at twists before they happened; that sort of takes a lot of the fun out of a book of this kind. Another reason would be the occasionally clunky dialogue, and several instances of over-explaining that were very jarring and snapped me out of my reading groove. Another issue I had was the amount of political grand standing done by every single character, and the clear anti-American slant. Even when characters had vastly differing politics, they could all agree that America pretty much sucks. It made me really just think that the author feels that way, and was using his characters to vent, which is kind of annoying.
52 reviews3 followers
July 22, 2013
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. It was a very quick, very exciting read (I read it over two days). The book is based in Cambodia and I could feel the heat, the humidity and the crowds. The plot follows the genre of many current thrillers - lots of action, lots of gunplay, lots of chases, but I did not have the story figured out until close to the end. I look forward to reading more books in the future by this pair - great first book, great summer read!
2 reviews86 followers
June 17, 2013
A unique, fast-paced and deeply timely thriller. Mennuti and Guggenheim display prescient insight into the National Security Surveillance state. Paints a rich portrait of gritty, sweating, lawless contemporary Cambodia and weaves some surprising twists into a tight and sharp storyline. A stunning debut.
Profile Image for Jean-Marie.
971 reviews46 followers
August 6, 2013
I received an advance reading copy of this book for review through a goodreads giveaway. This face-paced thriller’s release was well-timed with the recent headlines of Edward Snowden and the questions surrounding the NSA. In the story tech genius Kyle West has fled the U.S. to escape questioning by a Senate Committee about a network he allegedly built to filter through all of the private telecom information and eavesdrop on the American people. After hiding in Cambodia for about a year a mysterious stranger makes Kyle West an offer that might help him get his life back. West bites at the offer but nothing is as he expects.

I really enjoyed all of the characters, including the supporting ones like Andrei and Ricki. Perhaps I’m too much of a feminist but I would have liked to have seen Rebecca have more of a role in the story. And I was very disappointed by Lara’s sudden termination of employment. I expected more from these women. I really liked Kyle West and the chemistry he had with Fowler. If there were a sequel, I would much prefer to see more of these two characters than more of Robinson. Although Robinson was like the Hannibal Lecter in this story, at some point I just stopped liking him. Lecter was a monster but there was also something enchanting about him. I didn’t get that from Robinson. Other characters said “good” things about Robinson, but I never really got much “good” from his behavior. Regardless of my own personal tastes, this was an enjoyable summer read full of action and suspense. If you are a fan of Hitchcock, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Bourne Identity and the cult classic TV show Chuck, then I would recommend this read for you.
Profile Image for Wayne McCoy.
4,042 reviews26 followers
January 24, 2016
'Weaponized' by Nicholas Munnuti is a quick read and will make you distrustful of strangers offering things that seem too good to be true.

Kyle West is a computer genius on the run in Cambodia. He's on the run from unauthorized surveillance charges, and now he's stuck in a foreign country and hiding. One night, a stranger, who looks a bit like him, offers him a chance to get home. They can switch passports and Kyle can find a way to get home, but there is a lot more to this kind stranger, Julian Robinson, than Kyle knows, and he's just stepped into a whole bunch of trouble. Can Kyle make things right and ever get back home again?

It's got a few nice twists and turns along the way, and it feels like there are plot threads that could lead to a sequel of sorts, which might be nice. The plotting and descriptions are fairly standard for this sort of genre, but it moves along quickly enough to make it a recommend for fans of action thrillers.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Mulholland Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
31 reviews2 followers
December 3, 2013
Perhaps one day I'll finish this, but it's been four months and I've hardly put a dent in it. I won it from goodreads and thus felt obligated to read it quickly, but alas here I am, posting a rare review of something I haven't finished. This book, and it's characters, doesn't have the connect-ability crucial for a good book. The characters aren't likeable or dislikeable at the same time - I'm indifferent to them and their situations, even when they're running through the streets with people trying to kill them. I want to be a writer myself, and so I hate to give poor reviews, but with countless books out there, I just don't have the time, patience, want, or need to read something that doesn't grab me. I get slow starters - Game of Thrones took me a few chapters to get into - but after passing that threshold in Weaponized, I still found it difficult to read. It just wasn't enjoyable.

I hope this doesn't kill my chances of winning another book goodreads!
Profile Image for Andie.
281 reviews
August 18, 2016
This book was cliched, incredibly sexist, and made me want to throw it against the wall. It is fast-paced, and there were engaging moments, but quite honestly the lack of meaningful female characters, and the treatment of the female characters that did exist, is deplorable. This is 2016. You can do better.
Profile Image for Rajee Ruchandani.
1 review35 followers
June 16, 2013
I loved this book. From the moment I opened it, I couldn't put it down. Its easily one of the best books I've read in a very long time. I can't wait to see what Nick and David come up with next. Well done gentlemen.
Profile Image for Donna Brown.
Author 7 books108 followers
Read
June 12, 2020
Rapid Review: Fast-paced, good storyline, great characters and very very engaging. If you enjoy action, thrillers, suspense or mystery, this is a book for you. Even if you don't, this might be the book to change your mind, so give it a shot.
Profile Image for Kevin.
371 reviews4 followers
October 30, 2013
this book had a lot of potential, and squandered a lot of it.
Profile Image for Nathan.
Author 5 books128 followers
December 14, 2013
STORIES RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES!!!~

I was curious to see what a Rushed To Print thriller inspired by Snowden would be. Answer: interesting but not gripping.
121 reviews1 follower
March 19, 2018
This book sucks. I see most of the reviews are positive, but I don't get it. I guess on the one hand it had pretty good action, but the plot didn't make a whole lot of sense and the main character was just idiotic. The book was VERY preachy and none of the characters were likable. While I understand the need to suspend belief at times, this one had one impossible scenario after another. There are narrow escapes that simply make no sense and are never explained how everything worked out.

Also, here is a spoiler that I am not 100% sure how to hide so I will just hide the whole review, at one point a guy who was just stabbed in the stomach and is nearly bleeding out overpowers someone who, just moments before getting stabbed, he says he could never overpower. He then jumps out of a 12 story window, lands on an armored car and survives.

Just a ridiculous book that I am glad I got from the library and did not have to pay for.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Alison Pashos.
390 reviews2 followers
May 20, 2017
Quick, action-packed and an interesting plot with plenty of twists. Only bad thing is that it's pretty much just like any other action thriller you can find, pretty typical and not really standout in any way.
437 reviews2 followers
May 26, 2017
This book was exciting to read. A good setup, a plot that moves smartly, very bad bad guys, a lot of action, and very unpredictable. This is a very fast read with a satisfying conclusion.
158 reviews4 followers
January 7, 2016
I enjoyed this book as it seems very timely considering revelations about the NSA, etc. eavesdropping the government has been doing on citizens. The protagonist, Kyle West, is living in Cambodia because he is wanted by the US government for his role in developing illegal surveillance techniques for his boss. Then, he thinks he has found a way out when a stranger who looks a lot like him approaches him in a bar and proposes they switch passports. It seems the stranger named Robinson is a salesman who needs to get into Africa for business but he's burned his bridges there and needs another identity to do it. Kyle is so desperate that he agrees to it without really thinking it through. That's when his problems really begin...being chased by Chinese agents, the CIA, Russian oligarchs and still wanted by the US.
I think this was a good first book and I liked how it ended.
10 reviews3 followers
July 25, 2014
This is an interesting book to rate. First, I enjoyed the flow of the book. Quick, to the point and didn't waste words describing something just for the sake of description. I prefer this style of writing. Second, I liked that the characters and found them interesting. Third I liked the story line. Some of it was a bit far fetched, and some of it took leaps of faith, especially as it relates to the main character. Also, there were times the writing seemed lazy and somehow the characters were getting from point A to B more through osmosis as opposed to good story telling, but overall, I was entertained. To me, even with the flaws, I found the book entertaining; ergo the four stars.
Profile Image for Susan.
999 reviews
December 5, 2013
Maybe more like 2.5 stars? It's a thriller and less than a week after I finished it I had to read the blurb to remind myself what it was about? Not good. Granted, I read most of it in the middle of the night and it's just a thriller but the "Talented Mr. Snowden Ripley" feel plot line just didn't really do it for me. None of the characters were likeable to me. None. But, usually a plot line ripped from the headlines will have a stronger pull for me but I was not enamored of this one. And now I can't even remember why.
Profile Image for Vanessa.
186 reviews3 followers
July 17, 2014
Loved it! Fast paced, straight into the story and no unnecessary information about the characters. Full of action, believable storyline and particularly well-researched.

The descriptive writing was spot-on, and the choice of Cambodia for the location gave me a chance to learn something about the country.

Many political aspects written about which are timely, given the state of the world these days.

For a first novel this was great and I look forward to the next one.
Profile Image for Kasey Cocoa.
954 reviews39 followers
September 23, 2013
High octane thriller full of the seemingly impossible being possible. Reminds me of Bourne, Reacher, Ethan Hunt types. Avoid if you don't enjoy such characters, grab a copy if you like them. Written like an adaptation from a movie with a few sentences needing a touch up but nothing too distracting. Familiar fast moving plot with a good cast of characters but with a more masculine feel.
Profile Image for Christa.
181 reviews
December 10, 2014
I enjoyed this book enough but there was a LOT of build up and then a very quick resolution that felt hurried/rushed to me. That being said, it held my interest for the most part and was a relatively easy read.
Profile Image for Julie.
328 reviews
October 29, 2013
I tried to finish but couldn't quite make it. It was a bit too raw/gritty for me.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.