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Portrait of a Spy
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Series: Gabriel Allon, Book 11
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Stuart C.
- 13-07-16
Bit wordy in places
Good story with excellent narration by Simon Vance. I found at times there was little action and too much description of people and places although this is necessary. I also found it hard to remember the many characters at times. overall a good story.
2 people found this helpful
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- a j green
- 31-07-15
Excellent
Yet again another really good listen, a gripping story, good plot line and very well read.
2 people found this helpful
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- Ilze
- 29-06-20
Absolutely brilliant.
Fast moving - thrilling - emotionally moving, too; one of the best stories that l have ever heard!
1 person found this helpful
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- Chris Underhill
- 03-01-18
An excellent adventure book.
This is a tense and exciting spy thriller with Gabriel Allon and full team working overtime.
1 person found this helpful
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- jackie
- 15-12-17
Gripping & faultless
Gripping & faultless story and narration from the beginning to the end. I enjoyed every moment.
1 person found this helpful
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- annabel
- 04-12-15
New series to enjoy look forward to it!
An author I did not know before with lots more to discover l loved all the twists and turns a compelling listen
1 person found this helpful
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- Robert Macdonald
- 27-11-14
First class narration and a good story
What did you like most about Portrait of a Spy?
I bought this book mainly because it was narrated by Simon Vance (from Peter May's novels) and the star rating. I was not disappointed. Vance forever excellent a real artist, and I have found a new series of books. I just hope the other narrators do the series justice.
What did you like best about this story?
Good plot, fast moving and full of intrigue.
What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
He brings the characters to life, from the quiet care of Chiara to the irascible old Israeli spy master. Top class!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I walk the dogs and listen to this book, they're both shattered!
Any additional comments?
Hope the next one is as good.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 20-08-13
Good story, great narration
Would you listen to Portrait of a Spy again? Why?
Probably not - there was nothing remarkable about the story itself. Don't get me wrong, it was a good, solid, thoroughly enjoyable spy thriller but there was nothing in it that made it stand out from the crowd. Or indeed the rest of the Gabriel Allon series. I've read a few in the series and they've all been cut from a similar cloth: pick any one at random and you're guaranteed an entertaining story but I suspect if you were to read them all back-to-back you'd quickly tire of them.
What did you like best about this story?
The narration. Simon Vance is a wonderful voice actor and is a joy to listen to; he really brings the characters to life.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
"Gabriel Allon has another brush with death"
1 person found this helpful
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- Jonathon
- 26-08-21
Well narrated and good thriller
As far as I can see, Book 11 is the earliest available in the series.
I enjoyed this so much, immediately downloaded 12 & 13.
Whilst I was not disappointed with the stories, I was dismayed at the changes of narrators which went from Good for 11, mediocre for 12 and downright appalling for 13. So bad that I won't be buying any books narrated by him.
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- Trixie
- 02-08-18
Strangely dull
My first Daniel Silva book so was unsure what to expect. To my mind it seemed to lack pace and I didn’t find any of the characters engaging. The plot was thin and moved along at a plodding pace.
Simon Vance always does a good job but even so I got tired of all the accents, which grated after a while.
Probably won’t bother with Mr Silva’s other titles after finding this one disappointing and, well, a bit dull.
1 person found this helpful
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- Joshua
- 24-05-17
Excellent performance but far fetched.
The performance by the reader is close to faultless and helps to make the story deeply intriguing and entertaining.
The story itself however, I personally found a little hard to believe. The key points in the plot seemed quite unlikely scenarios. On the whole though, a very entertaining listen
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- Judy Pereira
- 22-09-13
Not so riveting
This was a bit of a let down...not as captivating overall as the others in the series.
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- SharonJen
- 12-05-13
wonderful book
My second in the series only and another wonderful book - again i will be going back for more.