The Ipcress File Audiobook By Len Deighton cover art

The Ipcress File

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The Ipcress File

By: Len Deighton
Narrated by: James Lailey
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A high-ranking scientist has been kidnapped, and a secret British intelligence agency has just recruited Deighton’s iconic unnamed protagonist—later christened Harry Palmer—to find out why. His search begins in a grimy Soho club and brings him to the other side of the world. When he ends up amongst the Soviets in Beirut, what seemed a straightforward mission turns into something far more sinister.

With its sardonic, cool, working-class hero, Len Deighton’s sensational debut and first bestseller The Ipcress File broke the mold of thriller writing and became the defining novel of 1960s London.

©1962 Pluriform Publishing Company BV. Afterword copyright © 2009 by Pluriform Publishing Company BV. (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd Espionage Genre Fiction International Mystery & Crime Military Mystery Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense War & Military Fiction Witty Middle East War

Critic reviews

“A stone-cold Cold War classic.” —The Guardian
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The book is a classic, so instead of reviewing it, I’ll save all my comments for the narration..which is absolutely fantastic!! This guy is amazing, and I want to listen to more of his work.

Only Michael Caine could read it better!

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Well read, clear and understandable. Spy sarcasm. Starts slow to build characters and finishes fast.

Good spy story

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Intriguing characters, well developed scenes and plot points. The Story is relevant today 60 years later as it was when written.

Excellent story writing and presentation

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I tried to listen to it sooo many times. It was so boring that I finally gave up. It appears on all lists of best espionage novels and I can’t figure out why. It’s just a guy explaining things. No relationships, no action, the choice of narration is also a question. Good reading, but in a cockney type accent that is difficult to follow if you aren’t used to it (which I’m not). Anyway a total waste of many key and I do not recommend it. If you want to read good Len Deighton books, read the Bernard Samson series.

Why is this such a popular book?

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Well written and narrated spy thriller set over half a century ago. I couldn't put it down and listened all the way through from beginning to author's note.

Len Deighton's First Spy Thriller

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