George Blagden offers a winning performance of travel writer Gabriel Dax, who finds himself a pawn in a game he never expected to find himself playing. Not long after Gabriel's interview with Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, she is killed. A series of strange coincidences occurs, and suddenly Gabriel is reluctantly up to his neck in spy craft. MI6, the CIA, and mysterious others are desperate for Lumumba's taped interview. Blagden delivers a not-so-naïve Gabriel, who frequently manages to outsmart the professionals. Blagden highlights Gabriel's inner world through his relationships with his colleagues, the women in his life, and his sessions with his therapist, which take him back to the traumatic fire he escaped when he was 6. Blagden's absorbing narration enhances this well-written audiobook.
Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668132357
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Lakin makes this globe-trotting thriller feel breathlessly personal.
Christine Lakin's narration transforms an espionage thriller into a taut psychological journey. Lakin captures Anna Vaughn's evolution from a B-list actress to a reluctant spy with remarkable vocal precision. When Anna goes undercover to rescue her missing friend, Lakin doesn't rely on dramatic vocal flourishes; instead, she conveys tension through subtle shifts in pacing and breath control that mirror Anna's mounting fear. Her portrayal of FBI handler Kevin Matthews balances authority with ambiguity, keeping listeners guessing about his true loyalties. Lakin maintains clarity during the fraught action sequences without sacrificing urgency, making combat choreography comprehensible. Her vocal distinctions among supporting characters, from menacing oligarchs to Anna's troubled sister, feel organic.
Lakin makes this globe-trotting thriller feel breathlessly personal.Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063393073
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2026
George Blagden's pleasant performance of William Boyd's second suspense novel about occasional spy Gabriel Dax floats equably along like a story told over a glass of postprandial whiskey. It's an adventure set in 1963 England and Berlin, where, between conducting MI5 jobs, Dax and his compatriots savor many cocktails and cigarettes. Blagden's vocal register rarely varies from mid-tenor, a range that risks sounding uninflected but seems right for our hero, who is a young man, a young man caught up in the Cold War and world-changing events, including President Kennedy's famous Berlin visit. Blagden's command of American, Russian, and Latin accents adds to the verisimilitude. While indistinguishable females all murmur softly, it makes them sound mysterious and of another era.
Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
Duration: 8 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668157763
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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