The Reluctant Spy

by John Dryden

As the world waits to see what democracy will bring to Egypt, Nigel Lindsay plays hard-up Coptic art expert who becomes embroiled in (what appears to be) corporate espionage when approached by seductive Canadian student Tara to deliver a letter - for money - to a prominent Egyptian politician. But nothing in this tense three-parter from writer/director John Dryden is quite what it appears to be.

Genres: Suspense, Audiobook, Fiction

Audiobook

First published January 2, 2013

About the author

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Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

FRom BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Drama:
As the world waits to see what democracy will bring to Egypt, Nigel Lindsay plays hard-up Coptic art expert who becomes embroiled in (what appears to be) corporate espionage when approached by seductive Canadian student Tara to deliver a letter - for money - to a prominent Egyptian politician. But nothing in this tense three-parter from writer/director John Dryden is quite what it appears to be.

[Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this except for the lack of motivation behind what he did - was it really just for lust?

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked "The Reluctant Spy" in large part because of it was different from most audiobooks. Instead of a story narrated by a single reader, who may or may not do a good job of changing his voice when representing the different characters, this audiobook had several readers for different parts, and reminded me of an old-time radio show. It was manageably short, about the length of a typical movie, so it wasn't a major investment in time. The story has an Egyptian setting, and involves a professorial Westerner being drawn into spying by a Canadian woman with whom he becomes smitten. Probably not the first time an author thought to have a young woman entrap an older gentleman into spying, but that theme is used because it's believable. Of course, by the end of the story, things start to unravel, and the spy fears for his safety, and must try to escape from Egypt with his teen-age daughter before he's arrested, or worse.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know exactly how I ended up listening to this. It was a unique audio, played out like a radio broadcast so you actually had to listen carefully to catch everything (although the heavy breathing was pretty easy to hear!) Intrigued by the audio, underwhelmed by the story. It really came off as a short story? I was left wondering if I had not downloaded the whole thing!