The Unlikely Spy

By: Daniel Silva

Narrated by: Michael Page

#1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva’s celebrated debut novel, The Unlikely Spy, is “A roller-coaster World War II adventure that conjures up memories of the best of Ken Follett and Frederick Forsyth” (The Orlando Sentinel).

“In wartime,” Winston Churchill wrote, “truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” For Britain’s counterintelligence operations, this meant finding the unlikeliest agent imaginable - a history professor named Alfred Vicary, handpicked by Churchill himself to expose a highly dangerous, but unknown, traitor. The Nazis, however, have also chosen an unlikely agent. Catherine Blake is the beautiful widow of a war hero, a hospital volunteer - and a Nazi spy under direct orders from Hitler: uncover the Allied plans for D-Day...

©2009 Daniel Silva (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Evocative...memorable...a classic World War II espionage tale.” (The Washington Post)

“Briskly suspenseful.” (The New York Times)

“Layers of depth and intrigue...Silva succeeds with panache.” (USA Today)

Super Entertaining

This was my first Daniel Silva book. I downloaded it based upon the other reviews, and I'm so glad I did! The story was riveting, the characters were well drawn, the narrator was "spot on," and I didn't want the story to end. I'm definitely going to download more Daniel Silva books.

Best Daniel Silva to date

Would you consider the audio edition of The Unlikely Spy to be better than the print version?

Yes! I think that the reader added a sharp edge to the experience. Audio books are usually kept in my car....this one came indoors. I guess that's the listening equivalent of "couldn't put it down".

What did you like best about this story?

I'm always drawn to World War II novels. There is something compelling about the pure low-tech genius of the conduct of wartime intelligence...radio signals, fires on the beach, photographed pages of documents, etc. And this story had characters who were all so vivid and approachable that, at times, you almost found yourself rooting for the bad guys...who weren't always so evil and who had backgrounds trapping them into the roles they carried out. Especially at the end of the novel, the lines between good and evil were blurred, and necessity emerged as the overarching motivation of conduct on both sides.

What does Michael Page bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Michael Page is a very good reader. I like that he doesn't over dramatize...just reads the parts clearly and honestly. And with this novel, the action rings through without a lot of hype!

Any additional comments?

My only negative reaction to what was a wonderful novel overall is to the way that it wrapped up with a bit too much explaining. The main character received a good deal of information about his role in the project by way of a final conversation. Some of this could have been more subtly delivered as the plot unfolded, allowing the reader to anticipate these important twists, turns and ironies.

Fantastic

Wonderful spy story set in wwii. Excellent narration. It is very detailed and quite believable.

Operation Mulberry, D-day History

Great basis for espionage.

I happened to read "The Needle" a few weeks ago. Thus story has many parallels to it. Tough to find ways to be different.

Magnificent Intrigue and Masterful Narration

Spy vs Spy vs. Spy! Loved the plot, in which spy agencies work against each other and perpetrate complex cross-spying, and found myself relating to both the good guys and the bad guys -- some of whom were of the female variety -- a rarity in books of this type. If you enjoy historical fiction -- particularly those related to WWII -- this book will please you greatly.

The plot was so good that I thought I had it all figured out, but the final 30 minutes proved me wrong. Great twists and turns right to the end. Highly recommend this read!

Interesting

Silva gives his reader a feel for what spys must of felt - the highs and lows they went through. It is pretty typical Silva, an educational entertaining story.

Title fits perfectly

This is a very intriguing book. It explores the personality of spies and the personality of the people who guide them. It kept my attention right from the beginning. I sat up late to listen to the last bit.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys: adventure, romance, intrigue and WW2 accounts. Just a really good story.

Spy

Overall good book and performance. Enjoyed the not knowing and the espionage within the espionage.

Great listen

Great story, and the narrator is quite good. Concern about the narrator from previous reviews was unfounded. Glad I took the chance, and will look into other Silva books.

Great story.

Very good story well told. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It would make an excellent movie.