Listen free for 30 days
-
Birth of an Assassin
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Series: Birth of an Assassin, Book 1
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £24.19
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Turkish Connection
- A Birth of an Assassin Novel, Book 2
- By: Rik Stone
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mehmet battles for daily survival in the murky Istanbul of 1951 while being forced to learn the craft of theft and violence alongside the other street children. Come evening, he curls up under a stinking jetty in a waterway off the Bosporus Strait. Desperation fills him as he yearns to break free from the life inflicted on him by his drunken, womanizing father, little knowing that his rotting body lies at the bottom of those same waters.
-
-
Unto the next generation
- By Norma Miles on 07-09-19
-
A Single Spy
- By: William Christie
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aleksi Ivanovich Smirnov, an orphan and a thief, has been living by his wits and surviving below the ever-watchful eye of the Soviet system until his luck finally runs out. In 1936, at the age of 16, Aleksi is caught by the NKVD and transported to Moscow. There, in the notorious headquarters of the secret police, he is given a choice: be trained and inserted as a spy into Nazi Germany under the identity of his best friend, the long lost nephew of a high-ranking Nazi official, or disappear forever in the basement of the Lubyanka. For Aleksi it's no choice at all.
-
-
A great story
- By Amazon Customer on 19-09-18
-
Awoken
- The Lucidites
- By: Sarah Noffke
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Klett
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Around the world humans are hallucinating after sleepless nights. In a sterile, underground institute the forecasters keep reporting the same events. And in the backwoods of Texas, a 16-year-old girl is about to be caught up in a fierce, ethereal battle. Meet Roya Stark. She drowns every night in her dreams, spends her hours reading classic literature to avoid her family's ridicule, and is prone to premonitions - which are becoming more frequent.
-
-
Awoken
- By S. Cole on 04-02-20
-
Prototype D
- By: Jason D. Morrow
- Narrated by: James Foster
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hundred years after the world is decimated by nuclear wars, humanity has been reduced to a surviving city of people called Mainlanders. They have food, water, and a wall that separates them from their enemies - the Outlanders.
-
-
Essential reading for all AI fans
- By Tony Bough on 27-01-16
-
Ethan Justice: Origins
- Ethan Justice - A Private Investigator Series, Book 1
- By: Simon Jenner
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Waking up beside the gorgeous Savannah Jones, John is shocked to learn she was for hire, and he can't pay the price - 1000 pounds or broken legs. In desperation, he turns to best friend, Mark, for the money. Only one problem - Mark has a dagger in his back.
-
-
A Perfect Combination!
- By Simon on 18-11-15
-
What Remains of Heroes
- A Requiem for Heroes Volume 1
- By: David Benem
- Narrated by: Andrew Tell
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lannick deVeers used to be somebody. A hero, even. Then, he ran afoul of the kingdom's most powerful general and the cost he paid was nearly too much to bear. In the years that followed, his grief turned him into a shadow of his former self, and he spent his days drowning his regrets in tankards of ale. But now an unexpected encounter casts Lannick upon an unlikely path to revenge. If he can just find the strength to overcome the many mistakes of his past, he can seize the chance to become a hero once more.
-
-
Brutal, gritty and powerful fantasy.
- By JPA on 30-07-16
-
The Turkish Connection
- A Birth of an Assassin Novel, Book 2
- By: Rik Stone
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mehmet battles for daily survival in the murky Istanbul of 1951 while being forced to learn the craft of theft and violence alongside the other street children. Come evening, he curls up under a stinking jetty in a waterway off the Bosporus Strait. Desperation fills him as he yearns to break free from the life inflicted on him by his drunken, womanizing father, little knowing that his rotting body lies at the bottom of those same waters.
-
-
Unto the next generation
- By Norma Miles on 07-09-19
-
A Single Spy
- By: William Christie
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aleksi Ivanovich Smirnov, an orphan and a thief, has been living by his wits and surviving below the ever-watchful eye of the Soviet system until his luck finally runs out. In 1936, at the age of 16, Aleksi is caught by the NKVD and transported to Moscow. There, in the notorious headquarters of the secret police, he is given a choice: be trained and inserted as a spy into Nazi Germany under the identity of his best friend, the long lost nephew of a high-ranking Nazi official, or disappear forever in the basement of the Lubyanka. For Aleksi it's no choice at all.
-
-
A great story
- By Amazon Customer on 19-09-18
-
Awoken
- The Lucidites
- By: Sarah Noffke
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Klett
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Around the world humans are hallucinating after sleepless nights. In a sterile, underground institute the forecasters keep reporting the same events. And in the backwoods of Texas, a 16-year-old girl is about to be caught up in a fierce, ethereal battle. Meet Roya Stark. She drowns every night in her dreams, spends her hours reading classic literature to avoid her family's ridicule, and is prone to premonitions - which are becoming more frequent.
-
-
Awoken
- By S. Cole on 04-02-20
-
Prototype D
- By: Jason D. Morrow
- Narrated by: James Foster
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hundred years after the world is decimated by nuclear wars, humanity has been reduced to a surviving city of people called Mainlanders. They have food, water, and a wall that separates them from their enemies - the Outlanders.
-
-
Essential reading for all AI fans
- By Tony Bough on 27-01-16
-
Ethan Justice: Origins
- Ethan Justice - A Private Investigator Series, Book 1
- By: Simon Jenner
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Waking up beside the gorgeous Savannah Jones, John is shocked to learn she was for hire, and he can't pay the price - 1000 pounds or broken legs. In desperation, he turns to best friend, Mark, for the money. Only one problem - Mark has a dagger in his back.
-
-
A Perfect Combination!
- By Simon on 18-11-15
-
What Remains of Heroes
- A Requiem for Heroes Volume 1
- By: David Benem
- Narrated by: Andrew Tell
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lannick deVeers used to be somebody. A hero, even. Then, he ran afoul of the kingdom's most powerful general and the cost he paid was nearly too much to bear. In the years that followed, his grief turned him into a shadow of his former self, and he spent his days drowning his regrets in tankards of ale. But now an unexpected encounter casts Lannick upon an unlikely path to revenge. If he can just find the strength to overcome the many mistakes of his past, he can seize the chance to become a hero once more.
-
-
Brutal, gritty and powerful fantasy.
- By JPA on 30-07-16
-
Little Sister
- A James Palatine Thriller
- By: Giles O'Bryen
- Narrated by: James Clamp
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Sister has vanished. The prototype device - real name IPD400 - has powers of surveillance that governments and terrorist organizations would kill for. They might yet. James Palatine, a trained killer with a surplus of conscience, invented the device and is the only person who can operate it. He's determined to retrieve it, and so is Natalya Kocharian - the arms dealer who "inadvertently" sold the prototype to a rogue dealer.
-
-
Good idea, worth sticking with it
- By Jaye22 on 09-09-17
-
A Bitter Rain
- By: James D. Shipman
- Narrated by: David deVries
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
East Prussia, Nazi Germany, 1939. History professor Erik Mueller is a model citizen and a family man. He's also a decorated sergeant in the Gestapo. Proving his courage on the battlefields of Poland and the Soviet Union, and proud of the German army's victories across Europe, he embraces what he thinks is the righteousness of the Third Reich's cause. But his loyalties are soon tested when he crosses paths with his old university friend Trude Bensheim.
-
Darkmage
- The Rhenwars Saga, Book 1
- By: M. L. Spencer
- Narrated by: Simon Wright
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Darien Lauchlin has already lost everything. Now the only thing he has left to lose is his soul. When his own brother unseals the Well of Tears, Darien is the last Sentinel left alive to defend his homeland. Now he is faced with an impossible decision: either watch everything he knows shatter - or forsake his oath of peace to become an instrument of pure destruction. Accompanied by Naia, a priestess of Death, Darien embarks on a harrowing journey to save the people of the Rhen. But will he lose his own soul in the process?
-
-
Multiple pov's
- By viktor on 21-10-21
-
The Nero Decree
- By: Gregory Lee
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the Nazis come to power in Germany, a violent argument over a secret key causes young Johann to lose the only parent he has left. Worse, it is his half-brother, Dieter, who commits this horrific act of betrayal. Though their fragile family bonds are irrevocably destroyed, the brothers’ paths are destined to cross again. Years later, in 1945, Hitler’s army is on the verge of defeat as Soviet forces enter Germany. Hiding in plain sight, Johann works to save German lives, secretly despising the Führer to whom Dieter has sworn his allegiance.
-
The Searcher
- The Ben Webster Spy Series, Book 3
- By: Chris Morgan Jones
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Isaac Hammer is under arrest. The police have proof that his company, a private London intelligence agency, has broken a dozen laws, and now he must face the consequences. But this wasn't Hammer's work or his style. This was all Ben Webster, and now Webster is missing. Released from custody, Hammer heads to Webster's house to persuade his old colleague to give himself up. But Webster isn't there. Hammer has no choice but to break bail to bring back the wanted man.
-
-
Story fell off a cliff and into quagmire in last 90 mins.
- By Kirsty on 06-04-17
-
The Complete Disruption Trilogy: Books 1 - 3
- By: R. E. McDermott
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 39 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ready for your next audiobook? How about almost 40 hours of non-stop action, brought to life by award-winning narrator Kevin Pierce? A corrupt president...A world without power...A handful of survivors battle impossible odds in the madness. Follow a cast of unforgettable characters as they navigate a societal collapse that threatens their very existence. These three pulse-pounding tales paint a harrowing portrait of a frighteningly plausible future, and are sure to keep fans of A.G. Riddle, Hugh Howey, and Justin Cronin resisting to pause long into the night.
-
-
Sounds familiar
- By chris cain on 06-09-19
-
The Foundation
- Jack Emery , Book 1
- By: Steve P. Vincent
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a corrupt think tank, The Foundation for a New America, enlists a Taiwanese terrorist to bomb a World Trade Organization conference, the US and China are put on the path to war. Star journalist Jack Emery is pulled into a story far more dangerous than he could have imagined. Because the Foundation's deputy director, the ruthless Michelle Dominique, recognizes that whoever controls the message controls the world. And she will take control, no matter the price.
-
-
Great foundation to a series!!
- By Julie on 25-11-18
-
In Pursuit of Platinum: The Shocking Secret of World War II
- Ben Peters Thriller Series, Book 1
- By: Vic Robbie
- Narrated by: Curt Bonnem
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Pursuit of Platinum is an action-packed thriller that keeps you wondering right to the end - and beyond. As the Germans are about to invade Paris in 1940, American Ben Peters attempts to smuggle a fortune in platinum out of the city in the legendary Bullion Bentley. But the Bentley is carrying an even more valuable human cargo, a mysterious Frenchwoman escaping with her young son and a secret that could change the course of the Second World War. Alena and Ben are the targets of Hitler's ruthless investigator, whose family will be executed if he fails.
-
Why You Were Taken
- When Tomorrow Calls, Book 1
- By: JT Lawrence
- Narrated by: Roshina Ratnam
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A troubled woman approaches Kirsten with a warning and a key and is later found dead. Was the woman just another victim of the Suicide Contagion, or is there something more sinister at play? The key leads Kirsten to the Doomsday Vault and a hit list of seven people - and her barcode is on it.
-
-
very dark very edgy
- By Anonymous User on 30-01-19
-
White Highlands
- By: John McGhie
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 18 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Johnny Seymour has seen too much war and seeks solace photographing East African wildlife. But when isolated white families are slaughtered by Mau Mau gangs, the British respond brutally, and Johnny is reluctantly pulled into the horror. After his African driver, Macharia, disappears, Johnny is forced to confront shocking truths about his own country and ask how far he'll go to help a friend.
-
-
Great story, shocking subject
- By Mahseer on 27-04-17
-
Altar of Influence: The Orsarian War
- A Prelude to the Dying Lands Chronicle
- By: Jacob Cooper
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sacrifice. The single act capable of bringing both death and life simultaneously. Thannuel Kerr is handsome, young, and brash, fumbling through childhood toward his inevitable inheritance: the next Lord of the Western Province. He struggles to accept his arranged marriage and to grow into the man he must become. The journey toward that end, however, is fraught with more peril than he could possibly imagine.
-
-
Loved It
- By Poppey on 17-08-19
-
The Lieutenants
- Book One of the Brotherhood of War Series
- By: W. E. B. Griffin
- Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were the young ones, the bright ones, the ones with the dreams. From the Nazi-prowled wastes of North Africa to the bloody corridors of Europe, they honorably answered the call. War - it was their duty, their job, their life. They marched off as boys and they came back - those who made it - as soldiers and professionals forged in the heat of battle....
-
-
Good read by great author
- By ST on 13-05-15
Summary
Amidst a murky underworld of flesh-trafficking, prostitution, and institutionalized corruption, elite soldier Jez Kornfeld is thrown into a world where nothing is what it seems, nobody can be trusted, and everything can be violently torn from him.
Ordered to disperse and arrest a crowd of Jewish demonstrators in Red Square, Jez is dismayed to find his sisters in their ranks. He sneaks them from under the noses of the secret police, but in doing so he has put his own security at risk; he has to get them out of the USSR. They cross into the Ukraine to a port on the Black Sea and he bribes passage for them from Soviet soil. Jez is happy in the knowledge that his sisters are safe, but he is unaware that his every move has been observed and that he has set in motion a chain of events that will plunge his life into a headlong battle to stay alive.
What listeners say about Birth of an Assassin
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Norma Miles
- 05-04-19
The future starts here.
Since childhood, young Jesse Kornfeld's one ambition had been to be a soldier. Jewish, growing up in a rural area of Russia, the only son in a family of four siblings, he had listened to his father's stories and anecdotal advice until, at 15, still small and scrawny, he set out for Moscow to enlist. Given the fitting synopsis given, there is no need to further advance the story.
Birth of an Assassin is an intelligently written thriller told in the traditional spy story format, making it both detailed and fast paced. Characterisation is minimal but sufficient, the reader taking the natures of the protagonists from the fast advancing story. And it is the story which holds centre stage as Jez fights against corruption, betrayal and for the love that might have been, himself an unwitting pawn in a greater conspiracy.
Narration is by Dennis Kleinman, whose pleasant on the ear British voice fits perfectly with the novel. As well as reading with appropriate pacing, with eloquence and good intonation, he also gives separate voicing to the various protagonists, and never goes over the top emotionally as he relays the text. A good performance and well suited to the book.
A most enjoyable listen, and one which, I hope, will become the first of an ongoing series.
I was fortunate in being freely gifted with a complimentary copy of Birth of an Assassin by the rights holder, at my request, via Audiobook Boom. Thank you. It was a satisfying adventure, well rounded and involving which I would certainly recommend to fans of historically based spy and military thrillers. Or anyone who simply enjoys a good, exciting read.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mille
- 27-09-18
Fast-pacing and well-written story
Having been born in Poland in the times, when the Russian influence has been felt and hated on the daily basis and when Russian as a foreign language was obligatory to learn at school for all children – it felt not that comfortable to be sucked into a story of the times when the regime held the grip of the giant country of the Soviet Union. It felt uncomfortable, but nevertheless I felt hooked to the story. The language is vibrant, and the story is presented in a way, that it becomes alive. There is a suspense in the book that, together with the spy-story atmosphere as well as the quick pace of the story, makes it entirely ‘s unputdownable. It’s a coming-of-age story with a twist: first a boy, then a soldier, and then, a deadly force.
I was not too thrilled with the narrator, though. Dennis Kleinman’s way of reading and my ears don’t seem to match. But the story was good enough for me to listen to the whole book despite my not liking the narrator.
An observation: Petrichova, being a man, should be called Petrichov. The A at the end of the surname suggests it’s a woman, not a man.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J Smith
- 13-08-18
Piqued my interest
Definitely enough to make me want to finish the series and find out what happens next.
A good story with plenty of intrigue and twists and turns!
Dennis is definitely a good reader and I enjoyed listening to the story but found his characters didn’t vary much from each other, so was sometimes confused as to who was speaking and was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a hint of Russian accent used despite all characters being Russian. This wouldn’t stop me from listening to him again though.
This is an honest review of a free review copy
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Joseph Bendoski
- 08-05-19
Forget Red Sparrow, read Birth of an Assassin
There are some books that the suspense keeps me gripped, and I have to know what happens next. Other stories I love because I enjoy being in the company of the characters. I’m in no hurry to get to the end, in fact, I hope it never comes. That’s how I felt about Jez.
When a story has problems, they stand out like stones, easy and clear to see, but when it doesn’t, it’s like watching a river. It flows and is hard to point a single piece of moving water and say, ‘that’s what made it great.’ This story is like a flowing river. Easy to follow and enjoyable. Forget Red Sparrow, read Birth of an Assassin.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Julie
- 27-09-19
The birth of a great book
I really enjoyed this book. The author has a way of writing that draws you in from the first page and doesn't let up until the last. I like the way that you never know what to expect or what is going to happen next, other than plenty of of action to keep you hooked and invested in the story.
The one thing Jez has wanted to do all his life is join the army. One commanding officer sees his potential and he quickly rises up throughout the ranks, until one fateful day he has to make a choice that will change his life and career path for ever. He chooses his family over his country and his one time good friend and greatest supporter washes his of him leaving him to his fate. When someone starts trafficking young girls Jez is sent to investigate and he quickly realises someone is copying his play book exactly, is this a coincidence or does someone known what he did? Then the bodies start to pile up and it looks like Jez is going to take the blame for it, unless he can clear his name and keep a witness alive long brought to prove his innocence.
It was quite a different narrator very American sounding but I like him.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Q Garcia
- 27-09-19
Assassin's Revenge
A Jewish boy dreams of becoming a soldier in Russia. He achieves his dream only to be faced with antisemitism in the military. A corrupt captain tries everything to discredit him, and failing, to murder him. This also is a failure. This story never slows down in a kill or be killed world. I was gifted this from the author.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Rebecca Azizov
- 01-04-19
unusual and fascinating
a very very good story it's not an easy one it will wreck you a little and it will pain you a lot but it's a wonderful book it's enjoyable and incredible and wonderful it was written in a very special manner that I liked
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Randy Murphy
- 24-03-19
Very well done
I was sucked into the story from the beginning. Both the author and the performer did an excellent job of portraying the love that was enough to cause someone to perform an act of treason. I will definitely have to check out the rest in the series. I was given a free copy of this audio in return for an unbiased review.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- vanita Thornton
- 24-03-19
this book was given to me for review
good cook and narrated well. suspense and love all in one place. enjoyed this book.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Virgil Perryman
- 06-09-18
the details and character development excellent
the careful details and understanding the environment is incredible. Excellent character development without losing the exciting action. Slow to start but hang on the pace increases exponentially.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall

- happyjo
- 16-08-18
The people who survived
This book was enjoyable and interesting. I found it to be well written and narrated.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jan M
- 06-08-18
Gripping Story, Awesome Narration!
I was pulled into this book by Rik Stone from the very beginning. There is so much going on with this book from the action, the treason, the motivation, love, and corruption. I absolutely loved the twists in the book. The historical descriptions also added to the book. I thought the narration was really well done by Dennis Kleinman. Both the author and narrator were new to me. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I would listen to more books by this author and narrator.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sheilav
- 21-04-18
A new look at murder
The story kept me wanting more information. I did enjoy the different inclusions of family life. The story line seems to show that corruption is everywhere and that blackmail will last like cockroaches.
1 person found this helpful