Agent Running in the Field

A Novel

By: John le Carré

Narrated by: John le Carré

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

"[Le Carré’s] novels are so brilliant because they’re emotionally and psychologically absolutely true, but of course they’re novels." (New York Times Book Review)

A thrilling tale for our times from the undisputed master of the spy genre.

Nat, a 47 year-old veteran of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, believes his years as an agent runner are over. He is back in London with his wife, the long-suffering Prue. But with the growing threat from Moscow Centre, the office has one more job for him. Nat is to take over The Haven, a defunct substation of London General with a rag-tag band of spies. The only bright light on the team is young Florence, who has her eye on Russia Department and a Ukrainian oligarch with a finger in the Russia pie.

Nat is not only a spy, he is a passionate badminton player. His regular Monday evening opponent is half his age: the introspective and solitary Ed. Ed hates Brexit, hates Trump, and hates his job at some soulless media agency. And it is Ed, of all unlikely people, who will take Prue, Florence, and Nat himself down the path of political anger that will ensnare them all.

Agent Running in the Field is a chilling portrait of our time, now heartbreaking, now darkly humorous, told to us with unflagging tension by the greatest chronicler of our age.

©2019 John le Carré (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"John le Carré, as author and narrator of this stand-alone spy thriller, serves up a wholly engaging audio experience.... It's a privilege to listen to this master author deliver his work." (AudioFile Magazine)

“Superb writing, precise portraiture, clever tricks of tradecraft - all Mr. le Carré’s hallmarks are present in this swift, surprising, bittersweet story.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“So topical it arrives with the beeping urgency of a news alert.” (The Washington Post)

“A word about le Carré's prose: Not only does it hold the coiled energy of a much younger writer, it fits the bitter, angry narrator's voice exceptionally well.” (NPR.org)

Enjoyable with one exception

Only one distraction which was in production. When the story called for a telephone conversation they would have the part try to sound like it was being heard over a telephone. All it really accomplished was to drop the sound level and make the person on the phone harder to hear. Please stop doing that. It adds nothing and makes it harder to hear for those listeners with hearing impairment issues.

A treat

Good as any of ‘em! Nice to hear the old boy reading his own words, I think he did a great job. In my experience with these audiobooks it’s not usually the case that the author is any good at narration, so it’s worth mentioning. As always his writing is a pleasure. I suspect the guy could write about anything and it would be good, assuming he knew his subject matter.

I was a bit surprised when the story ended before I wanted it to, but it was satisfying nonetheless.

The Master Returns

JLC returns with one of his very best novels. And there is no one on the planet who writes and reads as well as he. Just a compelling, superb tale and performance.

Brilliant spycraft!

I love all John LeCarre novels and this is true to form, beautifully written, great story, and all the twists and turns that draw you in and keeps you guessing. Bravo!

Well done

It’s not often an excellent book written by an outstanding author is read by that author to Audible. He does an amazing job but of course that’s what we expect of him.

Thoroughly Enjoyed This Book

I do not know how Le Carre manages to continue to write as interesting, enjoyable and thought provoking books. His current books have the same feel as his Cold War books. His characters whether likable or not, are very drawn and believable. I liked the protagonist in this book which makes the ending satisfying in a bittersweet way.

Another triumph!

Another triumph for LaCarre! He finally balanced out the fates for the ending of ...Came in from the Cold. Fantastic finale!

Gripping Story

Wonderful to hear it told in ale Carrè’s voice. He leans more truth to the story!

good as expected

Le Carre's view is always refreshing and maybe, even as fiction, a glimpse on a possible reality of a decaying, toothless empire trying to regain relevance on a modern fast moving unpredictable world.

He did it again

I read many spy novels but no one plumbs the depth of of his characters as leCarre. This book is a breath of clean air with a broad stroke of up to date.