THE CHARM SCHOOL

There’s never a dull moment in this book for fans of spy-thrillers. The setting is Moscow during Glasnost. American agents are sent in to destroy a secret Russian "charm school," in which American POWs from the Vietnam War are being forced to train Russian secret agents how to appear American and infiltrate the U.S. The death toll is staggering, implausible actions are commonplace, and the good guys win, more or less. Scott Brick holds the listener’s attention throughout. He reads the numerous Russian language passages (translated in the next sentence) as confidently as he reads the English, and gives the many Russian characters’ voices and accents as credible as the ones he gives the Americans. A challenging narration well done. R.E.K. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 03]