ISTANBUL PASSAGE

After WWII, tobacco company representative Leon Bauer’s side job is working as an operative for the CIA in Istanbul. What looks to be a routine pickup of a foreigner being smuggled into the country goes horribly wrong and leaves Leon in the precarious position of playing bodyguard to a man he doesn’t know. Jefferson Mays’s best voice is for a friend whose conscience makes him question Leon’s mission. His disdain comes through in every syllable. Alexei, the man Leon is guarding, has a slightly deep, controlled voice that works well. Mays’s voices are consistent, and characters’ attitudes are reflected in his tones. A sometimes slow plot is enlivened by sporadic action and Mays’s narration as Leon determines whom to trust. M.B. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2012]