The Tears of Autumn

By: Charles McCarry

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Spun with unsettling plausibility from the events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and featuring secret agent Paul Christopher, The Tears of Autumn is a tour de force of action and enigma.

Christopher, at the height of his powers, believes he knows who arranged the assassination and why. His theory is so destructive of the legend of the dead president, though, and so dangerous to the survival of foreign policy, that he is ordered to desist from investigating. But Christopher is a man who lives by, and for, the truth, and his internal compunctions force him to the heart of the matter.

The Tears of Autumn is an incisive study of power and a brilliant commentary on the force of illusion, the grip of superstition, and the overwhelming strength of blood and family in the affairs of a nation.

©1974 Charles McCarry (P)2005 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Charles McCarry...resides in the upper echelon of spy fiction's Mount Olympus." (Boston Globe)
"Fascinating, entirely credible....This political thriller catches the reader and commands him to finish." (Peter Benchley)

Classic Spy Fiction

One of the great spy novels tightly plotted and beautifully written. The narration is first rate the cadence just rolls over you

Far more than a great mystery, remarkable literature in its own right

The character development is excellent. The protagonist is complete and believable, as is the plot. Indeed the plot and the dialogue possess an authenticity that only comes from a writer with full grasp of his subject matter and real world experience. Gripping, but without artifice or hyperbole. A rare treat.

the author thinks too highly of the CIA

Ian Fleming and the like are propaganda, John LaCarre and the like are closer to reality.

Wow! Release the files!

A relatively shower read, this book presents a great storyline related to the JFK assignation. Narration is good and story keeps one’s interest along the way.

Without Equal

McCarry’s brilliance with the written word transcends the Espionage genre. Every time I repeat a reading of the Christopher series of books, I marvel at their freshness and insight, and always learn something new.

P J Harris

Intriguing

Well written historical fiction. Very interesting story line that is easy to entertain. Narrator does a good job as well.

Fascinating and creative story but....

Really interesting take on early involvement in Vietnam, JFK administration's hubris, CIA before it was reined in. Beautifully written. But, but, but, the takes on non-whites, on women, on sexual relationships, on non-hetero relationships are painful to read. It is jarring in this day and age. Still I highly recommend for the plot and the writing skill.

Great spy novel

Really moves along. Better than anything by Ian Fleming as more real even if plot is out there it’s plausible in this author’s hands. Terrific narration by one of my favorites.

A Fantastic Spy Novel

The Tears of Autumn is A brilliant story of espionage and conspiracy. The detail and attention to detail was refreshing, A truly compelling theory of the JFK Assassination.

Difficult character to warm up to

Stefan Rudnicki does journeyman work narrating this novel, which I believe was one of McCarry's earlier books. Rudnicki can't quite figure out how to portray Christopher, so he opts for a flat, wooden, one-dimensional tone when reading Christopher's lines. One comes away with a sense that Christopher is an automaton, which can hardly be the case given his operational brilliance.

McCarry seems as though he is trying to find his storyline. He spends the first half of the book telling me far more than I want to know about Christopher's personal thoughts and observations on the minutiae of everyday life. Once the plot gets rolling, however, McCarry does an excellent job portraying Christopher in action. Many of the operational details seem plausible and realistic.

Christopher's (and by extension McCarry's) answer to the question of who killed JFK seems rather far-fetched. I cannot imagine the persons named had the resources, connections, or expertise to plan and execute the entire job in 21 days. Nonetheless, it makes interesting reading and was written before much of the assassination conspiracy literature we have today.

Stefan Rudnicki really shines in his portrayal of LBJ's Texas troubleshooter J.D. Trumbull. He is Rudnicki's best character in the novel. I would not have thought Rudnicki could do a Texas drawl so well.