Call for the Dead Audiobook By John Le Carré cover art

Call for the Dead

George Smiley, Book 1

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Call for the Dead

By: John Le Carré
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $26.73

Buy for $26.73

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

After an unremarkable interview, Circus agent George Smiley determines the subject of a standard security check—a civil servant in the Foreign Office named Samuel Fennan—poses no threat, nor presents any reason for suspicion of espionage.

Hours later, Samuel Fennan is found dead by suicide. Suddenly finding himself under intense scrutiny, Smiley realizes the Circus intends to blame him for Fennan's death. Rather than remain idle, Smiley begins his own investigation into the nature of the man's demise. What he finds is a tangled web of secrets that connects not only to East German activity in Britain, but also his own past.

The beginning of a body of work that The New York Times calls extraordinary in its breadth, consistency, generosity and wit, John le Carré's 1961 debut introduces one of the most esteemed and iconic spies in the literary canon: George Smiley.

©2012 John Le Carré (P)2024 Dreamscape Media
Espionage Historical International Mystery & Crime Mystery Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Carnival
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup
Excellent Storytelling • Compelling Intrigue • Strong Plot • Brisk Pacing • Engaging Mystery • Clear Diction
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
John LeCarre’s novels are excellent spy stories from 1940’s and 1950’s. Reading them today shows the connections in the world between WW II and today.

Excellent story telling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Good stores, good narration. Started slow but kept we listening with its eventual tale of murder, espionage.

Great mystery & intrigue

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I really appreciate Lecarre’s conversational style of weaving a tale. His descriptions are captivating and make me feel like I am right there in the milieu.

An Understated Adventure that keeps you wondering.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Loved the narrator. Story was slow and very complicated in the end. I started over several times. His later books are great. Skip this one.

Too confusing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I decided to start on the writings of one of the creators of the modern spy genre. I was not disappointed. Being old enough to remember the cold war at its height and having learned enough history to understand the context, I found it a strong plot and good storytelling. LeCarre is clearly at the beginning of his career with this book, but already on solid footing.

Good, short, intrigue and mystery from the beginnings of the modern era of espionage.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is a great introduction to George Smiley, which is good that this is the first story in the series.

Good Story, Great narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Excellent story, excellent narration…I’m done but they want fifteen words…fifteen words…fifteen words.

LeCarre narrated by Simon Vance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Excellent story that gives insight into Smiley as a younger man. Well performed by Simon Vance!

Short but great intro to Smiley

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

kept losing track of the story and characters. not a great start to the series but the series itself is terrific after this one. too much in his head dialog.

later ones much better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The story was great. The narrator was perfect for the book. Nicely done all around.

Great story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews