UNDER THE STREETS OF NICE

A sensational bank robbery in France earned the clever crooks millions in francs, gold, and precious stones. The suspense in this early Follett work starts when the bank finds it cannot open its vault door on a Monday morning in 1976. Hours later officials discover it has been "visited" over the weekend via a tunnel dug from the sewer below. The late Roddy McDowall adapts to the story, first published in 1990 and on audio in 1996, like he was made to read it. His flawless French embellishes the narrative to achieve maximum authenticity; his theater English pulls listeners into the villainy so much they will come to love the criminals. Within the first few minutes, the skills of McDowall and the author collude to achieve one of those rare true stories that tear one away from otherwise-urgent reality. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2009]