THE GIRL FROM VENICE

The latest audiobook from Martin Cruz Smith is set during the collapse of the Axis forces in northern Italy at the end of WWII. It's a fascinating place and time, in which no one knows whom to trust and there are spies, collaborators, and competing factions everywhere. Brothers betray brothers as people switch sides, wartime scams come to an end, and the innocent and guilty all try to figure out which way to jump, and how to survive. The dramatis personae have all kinds of accents as well as agendas, and narrator Zach Appelman generally handles them well. His pacing and line readings are also effective, though his delivery can be sloppy. Fans of international thrillers and WWII adventures will be delighted anyway. B.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2016]