English Teddy Mundy and German Sasha are the absolute friends of the title. Their intersecting lives and involvement in espionage create an uncommon structure for John le Carré's timely and provocative new novel. The first two-thirds of the flashback-laden plot focuses mostly on Mundy, his seedy life as cashiered double agent/current tour guide in a Bavarian castle and his past adventures with Sasha. The last third of the book concerns a scheme that the revolutionary Sasha ("I have the Lutheran curse. Conviction without action has no meaning.") presents to Mundy to undermine the American/British incursion in Iraq with the backing of a mysterious philanthropist. John Lee handles the many characters and accents well; he is at his best in pacing the book so that the listener enjoys complete clarity about the timeframe of the shifting events. Lee also excels in the dramatic final scenes.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2004
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Part of the joy of Tom Clancy novels is one's belief that the stories could come true. His latest entry stretches that some as we find international terrorists building a nuclear bomb which is used to set Americans and Russians against one another. Jay Robertson reads with a newscaster's voice, crisp and clear with a light touch of drama. However, he does little to help listeners identify Clancy's huge cast of characters, and dialects seem difficult for him as he occasionally slips in and out of character. Nonetheless, patient listeners are rewarded as the plot unfolds. This will be a welcome addition to any library justifying the price of the multi-cassettte volumes.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 16 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
John Sanford is back with another psychological thriller in his Prey series. Surgeon, psychopath and serial killer Bekker is on the loose again after the easiest jailbreak in recent memory. Ken Howard's reading moves along with all the brooding energy a reader could want from a suspense book. His narration is deep, clear and well-suited to the gravelly voices of retired detective Lucas Davenport and the other cops. While Howard manages good dialects and shifts in character, his female voices leave a lot to be desired. For the most part, the abridgment gleefully throws logic and characterization overboard in favor of thrills, but the basic flavor of many characters is still fairly well maintained.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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