The Peacock and the Sparrow
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Pete Simonelli
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By:
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I.S. Berry
About this listen
THRILLER OF THE YEAR: The Times (London) • The Telegraph
BEST FIRST NOVEL WINNER: Edgar Awards • International Thriller Writers Awards • Barry Awards • Macavity Awards
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker • NPR • The Times (London) • The Financial Times • The Guardian • The Telegraph • The Diplomatic Courier
During the Arab Spring, an American spy’s final mission goes dangerously awry in this “crackling debut thriller” (The New Yorker) from a former CIA officer heralded as one of the “top spy novelists of the 21st century” (The Sunday Times, London).
Shane Collins, a world-weary CIA spy, is ready to come in from the cold. Stationed in Bahrain off the coast of Saudi Arabia for his final tour, he has little use for his mission—uncovering Iranian support for the insurgency against the monarchy. Then Collins meets Almaisa, a beautiful and enigmatic artist, and his eyes are opened to a side of Bahrain most expats never experience, to questions he never thought to ask.
When his trusted informant inside the opposition becomes embroiled in a murder, Collins finds himself drawn deep into the conflict. His budding romance with Almaisa—and his loyalties—are upended; in an instant, he’s caught in the crosswinds of a revolution. Drawing on all his skills as a spymaster, he sets out to learn the truth behind the Arab Spring, win Almaisa’s love, and uncover the murky border where Bahrain’s secrets end and America’s begin.
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- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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When Alex and Diane meet, there are instant, undeniable sparks. Both are single parents living in wealthy suburbia: independent, highly competent, and seemingly settled in their comfortable lives. She runs a successful catering business. He's a detail-oriented, rough-hewn thief who robs banks, casinos, and jewelry stores. They're immediately drawn to each other, but neither realizes initially that their lives have overlapped once before, under dangerous circumstances. Soon their shared history and burgeoning relationship will threaten everything they love.
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At the top of my list of favorites
- By Victor V. Cachia on 09-29-20
By: Stan Parish
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When a Stranger Comes to Town
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Cindy Kay, Janina Edwards, Fajer Al-Kaisi, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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It's been said that all great literature boils down to one of two stories—a man takes a journey, or a stranger comes to town. While mystery writers have been successfully using both approaches for generations, there's something undeniably alluring in the nature of a stranger: the uninvited guest, the unacquainted neighbor, the fish out of water. In the newest collection of stories by the Mystery Writers of America, each author weaves a fresh tale surrounding the eerie feeling that comes when a stranger enters our midst, featuring stories by prolific mystery writers.
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The narrators are outstanding here.
- By Jennifer Baratta She/Her on 05-16-21
By: Michael Koryta
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Picture in the Sand
- By: Peter Blauner
- Narrated by: Sean Rohani
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Ali Hassan, an Egyptian-American businessman in Brooklyn, reveals a secret past of activism and heartbreak in an attempt to keep his hot-headed teenaged grandson from making the greatest mistake of his life. In a journey that begins amid the high-wattage glamour of the sets of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments and leads to the deserts of Cairo and beyond, Ali describes how he landed a dream job as DeMille’s personal assistant and then found himself enmeshed in events that changed the course of history.
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Well narrated and worth the read
- By Mustella on 01-21-23
By: Peter Blauner
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The Murderer in Ruins
- CI Frank Stave, Book 1
- By: Cay Rademacher
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Hamburg, 1947. A ruined city occupied by the British who bombed it, experiencing the coldest winter in living memory. Food is scarce; refugees and the homeless crowd into shantytowns and sheds. There is a killer on the loose, and all attempts to find him or her have failed. Plagued with worry about his missing son, Frank Stave is a career policeman with a tragedy in his past that is driving his determination to find the killer.
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Wasn't sure at first, but...
- By John S. on 01-14-21
By: Cay Rademacher
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The Last Refuge
- By: Chris Knopf
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Sam Acquillo is at the end of the line: he's a middle-aged corporate dropout living in a ramshackle cottage in Southampton's North Sea. But then the old lady next door ends up floating dead in her bathtub, and it seems that Sam is the only one who wonders why.
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A hero who doesn't work and play well with others.
- By Cholmondeley on 04-04-13
By: Chris Knopf
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Tarantula
- A John Milton Short Story
- By: Mark Dawson
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet John Milton. He considers himself an artisan. A craftsman. His trade is murder. Milton is the man the government sends after you when everything else has failed. Ruthless. Brilliant. Anonymous. Lethal. You wouldn't pick him out of a crowd but you wouldn't want to be on his list. In this second dip into his case files (see 1000 Yards for a further novella), Milton is sent to Italy to investigate the death of a colleague from Group 15.
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John Milton tries to exit British intelligence
- By Wayne on 06-03-16
By: Mark Dawson
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Lachlan Kite is a member of BOX 88, an elite transatlantic black-ops outfit so covert that not even MI6 and the CIA are certain of its existence - but even the best spy can't anticipate every potential threat in a world where dangerous actors lurk around every corner. At the funeral of his childhood best friend, Lachlan falls into a trap that drops him into the hands of a potentially deadly interrogation, with his pregnant wife, also abducted, being held as collateral for the information he's sworn on his own life to protect.
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In the fall of 1863, the Union army is in control of the Mississippi river. Much of Louisiana, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge, is occupied. The Confederate army is in disarray, corrupt structures are falling apart, and enslaved men and women are beginning to glimpse freedom. When Hannah Laveau, a formerly enslaved woman working on the Lufkin plantation, is accused of murder, she goes on the run with Florence Milton, an abolitionist schoolteacher, dodging the local constable and the slavecatchers that prowl the bayous.
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In The Bell Ringers, England in the near future appears largely unchanged. There are concerns over the threat of terrorism, the press is feisty, and the prime minister is soon to call a general election. But quietly - and largely unknown to the public or even most in government - things have become undeniably Orwellian: cameras with license plate recognition software record every car's movements, and a sophisticated, top-secret data-mining system known as Deep Truth combs through personal records.
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Washington DC, 1953. The Cold War is heating up: McCarthyism, with all its fear and demagoguery, is raging in the nation's capital, and Joseph Stalin's death has left a dangerous power vacuum in the Soviet Union. The CIA, meanwhile, is reeling from a double agent within their midst. Someone is selling secrets to the Soviets, compromising missions around the globe. Undercover agents have been assassinated, and anti-Communist plots are being cut short in ruthlessly efficient fashion.
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After the violence of Kristallnacht (1938), European Jews, now desperate to emigrate, found the consular doors of the world closed to them. Only one port required no entry visa: Shanghai, a self-governing Western trading enclave in what was technically Chinese territory, a political anomaly that became an escape hatch—if you were lucky enough to afford a ticket on one of the great Lloyd liners sailing to the East and safety.
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Robert Harland ended his career as a British spy in an Austrian hospital, after being tortured and beaten by Czech security agents in the last days of the communist regime. He was young enough then to find a new life with the Red Cross and then with the UN.
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Story lost in Narrative
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Clive Franklin, a Russian language expert in the Foreign Office, is summoned unexpectedly to Moscow to act as translator for the British Prime Minister. His life is upended when he discovers that his former lover, Marina Volina, is the interpreter to the Russian President. Together they will try to stop the attack that could paralyse communications and collapse the Western economy.
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One wealth-obsessed man – who is also dead. One status-obsessed woman – who is the perfect accessory. Their four inheritance-obsessed children – each with a killer instinct. And a murder-obsessed outsider looking to expose them all. But there’s one thing money can’t buy… and that’s the truth.
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The Mercenary
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Moscow, 1985. The Soviet Union and its communist regime are in the last stages of decline, but remain opaque to the rest of the world—and still very dangerous. In this ever-shifting landscape, a senior KGB officer—code name GAMBIT—has approached the CIA Moscow Station chief with top secret military weapons intelligence and asked to be exfiltrated. GAMBIT demands that his handler be a former CIA officer, Alex Garin, a former KGB officer who defected to the American side. The CIA had never successfully exfiltrated a KGB officer from Moscow, and the top brass do not trust Garin.
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Beware: The Narrator Is Hard to Take
- By tthomson53 on 10-03-24
By: Paul Vidich
What listeners say about The Peacock and the Sparrow
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nancy
- 02-05-24
Better and better as the story evolves
Detailed and poignant nuanced description of life as a spy. Reads like LeCarre in modern backdrop of Middle Eastern conflicts.
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- Stephen86336
- 01-11-24
Nice writing slow start , long finish
The Writing is good but the organizatio of the story,fine in detail of place and character flows sometimes too slowly and sometimes like a to quick wrap up. I think still better work from the author. The beginning is not bad but slow. The middle flows well. But the ending coda contains too much of the plot that should have been woven into the story. The narrator is good but very downbeat rather than evocative or sorrowful. Do recommend it.
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- april
- 10-20-23
Excellent, clever, and well performed.
One needs to pay close attention. No good guys or gals in here. Antiheroes abound. Could have happened just as the story suggests. The CIA and USN take the biggest hits
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- Rick
- 09-02-23
Well written story with interesting outcome
As someone familiar with the area and the characters depicted in the story, it took me a while to warm up to the characters. As the story progressed, the descriptive narrative dropped bread crumbs along the path towards the ending that seem to lay the groundwork for a series IF the author elects to pick up the story in another book. Shades of LeCarre in here. Both subtle and raw. Nice work.
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- Heidi
- 07-03-23
Riveting!
Unique, believable characters, vivid descriptions of a world I knew virtually nothing about, and a plot with countless unexpected twists!
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- Noah Geisel
- 07-09-24
More screenplay than spy novel
There are some clever turns and manipulations and I can see this working as a movie starring Danny Huston…. No awards or box office records, but profitable in the long run thanks to the 4:30pm spot on TNT. As a novel, I found some key characteristics in the protagonist to be unbelievable to the point of distraction. Luckily, I like spy novels. So while this one has flaws that prevent it from being highly recommended, I didn’t hate it and listened to the end. Just like some Danny Huston movie.
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- Masha N
- 06-23-23
Fantastic book. An insightful glimpse into a complex world of geopolitics and espionage through a lens of human vulnerability.
Title: "A Riveting Tale of Espionage and Revolution: Exploring the CIA and the Arab Spring"
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)
Review:
I recently had the pleasure of delving into a captivating book that sheds light on the intertwined narratives of the CIA and the Arab Spring. This thought-provoking account not only offers a glimpse of historical events but also keeps readers on the edge of their seats with its intriguing blend of espionage, political upheaval, and, most importantly, human drama.
The book masterfully sheds light on the complex web of intelligence operations, covert actions, and geopolitical maneuvering that characterized the CIA's involvement during the Arab Spring. The author skillfully navigates the intricate landscape, providing valuable insights into the agency's role in the region and its impact on the movements that swept across several Arab nations, including the setting of narration - Bahrain.
What sets this book apart is its ability to humanize the individuals involved, both within the CIA and those driving the Arab Spring. The author weaves together personal narratives and behind-the-scenes accounts, rooted in her own eyewitness experience, to create a vivid tapestry of human experiences amidst the tumultuous backdrop of political change. These personal perspectives lend authenticity and emotional depth to the story, making it resonate on a profound level.
The book not only explores the events as they unfolded but also lifts a curtain into the complexities of the Arab Spring. It offers a humane view of the socio-political landscape, shedding light on the aspirations, frustrations, and aspirations of the people who participated in the uprisings. By contextualizing the actions of the CIA within this broader socio-political framework, the book paints a bright and bold picture of a pivotal era in recent history.
Furthermore, the writing style is engaging and accessible, in the best traditions of espionage and geopolitical thriller genre, making it accessible to both casual readers and those well-versed in the subject matter. The author strikes a perfect balance between providing historical context, delivering captivating narratives, and offering insightful analysis. This combination ensures that the book remains informative, gripping, and intellectually stimulating throughout.
In conclusion, this book offers a riveting glimpse of the CIA's involvement in the Arab Spring, presenting a multi-faceted account that is both enlightening and entertaining. Its ability to humanize the events and provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics involved is commendable. It has it all - a tale of human tragedy, a love story, espionage and covert operations, stories of travel. Whether you are interested in geopolitics, espionage, or simply seeking a gripping narrative that delves into a pivotal moment in contemporary history, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
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- Nina L. deVilmorin
- 07-22-23
I can see this book being made into a movie
Loved the story and the language. Great exciting story, well-told! It’d make a great movie!
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- Sewing Friend
- 06-22-24
story too long
story too long, did not hold my interest, reader had little emotion in his voice
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- T.K. Cook
- 09-22-23
Fantastic reading of a stunning novel
I’m sometimes distracted by audiobook narrators (especially when I am reading the book simultaneously or have read it) but this actor did a phenomenal job of distinguishing the characters and letting the beauty of the prose shine through. I recommend this for fans of classic spy novels or literary fiction. The author deftly incorporates her background as a spy and her international travel experience into the story. The places and people pop. Highly recommend!
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1 person found this helpful