North from Rome cover art

North from Rome

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North from Rome

By: Helen MacInnes
Narrated by: David Colacci
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About this listen

A phone call prompts Bill Lammiter, a young American playwright, to follow a former girlfriend to Rome. There, Lammiter saves a mysterious Italian girl from a beating and the fat is in the fire. A kidnapping, a battle in a Renaissance villa, a shrewd gamekeeper, a chance snapshot and a touring preppy contribute to the excitement and suspense of this Cold War thriller.

©2013 Helen MacInnes (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing Espionage Historical Mystery Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Fiction Rome

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There’s something very dated sounding about the way this is written. I can’t put my finger on it but it sounds like the author is trying to write a Philip Marlow book and not a spy thriller. The attitudes of the author to government and loyalty are unquestioning and the men patronise the female characters. The worse sun is that the last couple of hours narration drag and pad out the story before the denouement. Odd but not unenjoyable overall.

Not bad but a bit of a pastiche.

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In my younger days I was a big fan of Helen McInnes, so was delighted to see one I was unfamiliar with on Audible.
I wasn’t too sure of the narrator initially - he’s quite different to the narrators I usually listen to- British actors- but he grew on me as the novel progressed.
The story itself was a very slow burn, with lots of attention to character, setting and post WW2 politics. No fast- paced action here, but yet, compelling- for me anyway.
Wasn’t sure if the women , well Eleanor anyway, were ‘pathetic’, or was the narrator suggesting this by his tone- couldn’t quite decide. I had to remind myself that these novels were written at a time when perhaps it was mainly men who read spy stories, and a somewhat swooning female on the sidelines was standard policy. Perhaps it surprised me more because the author was female, but then, perhaps she was advised by her publishers to stick to the standard spy formula of the day.
Glad I stumbled upon it though.

A slow burn

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Listening to this novel is like watching a high-class Hollywood film from the 1950s. The author knew about espionage, she also knew and understood Italy, therefore this novel is very accurate and authentic. You can really picture Rome in 1956 with its fashions and its customs. The narrator has a lovely voice; he reminds me of the great Hollywood stars of the 1950s such as Cary Grant. The narrator expertly performs all the characters, all the different accents, both male and female. In addition, the narrator pronounces Italian names and phrases correctly. This book is excellent and I highly recommend it.

Excellent

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