The Charm School

By: Nelson DeMille

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 24 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Something very strange -- and sinister -- is going on in the Russian woods at Borodino. In a place called Mrs. Ivanova's Charm School, young KGB agents are being taught by American POW's how to be model citizens of the USA. The Soviet goal -- to infiltrate the United States undetected.

When an unsuspecting American tourist stumbles upon this secret, he sets in motion a CIA investigation that will reveal horrifying police state savagery and superpower treachery.

©1999 Nelson DeMille (P)2009 Hachette

Critic reviews

"Riveting." ( Publishers Weekly)

Twists and turns

As always, Scott Brick makes a book come alive and Nelson DeMille writes a story that will intrigue you, have you guessing and at the end have you questioning the right or wrong of things from a different perspective. All in all, a book well worth the credit. If this is your first Nelson DeMille, be prepared to list him as a favorite, and try his John Corey series starting with Plum Island, it's amazing. If this is your first Scott Brick listen, be prepared to want to try anything he narrates. Sometimes a narrator can ruin a good book, but Scott is awesome. He can take a so-so story and have me listening because he is so good at what he does.

One of the best spy novels I've heard.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would because of the interesting storyline and characters

What other book might you compare The Charm School to and why?

One of Tom Clancy's novels. Just as good as one of the late authors books.

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favorite?

All of them, but Burov in particular. Brick's excellent at different accents.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

None.

Performance

Scott Brick is the best reader on the Planet and the book is one of the best.

A Gresat Soy Thriller

If you are a fan of The Americans TV series you will love this book. It's got the KGB, CIA, and Military, along with history and romance. The reading was terrific with all the right accents.

Good but overly long

Good story that is too long by half. It takes about half the book to get really invested but worth the listen. Narration is top notch and what you can expect by Scott Brick.

Incredible club! Outstanding narration!!

I read this book many years ago before audiobooks were even created. I became interested in it again after noting that Scott brick was narrating.His Russian accent was exemplary and he brought the story to life. This is fiction, but it is an insightful look at Russian American relations in that era.

What A Ride

The Charm School is now my favorite spy novel. I thank Nelson DeMille for a book that made me think about our world with a more expanded view. That’s what a good book does in my opinion; takes the reader/listener to a place beyond previous input, ideas and conclusions It’s not always pretty but always thought provoking
This book is not all dark at all, good premise with many interesting characters and Scott Brick gives his usual 5 star performance. Definitely worth a credit and the time flies by as you go on this ride

The Charm Shool

What a great book, don’t know why it took me so long to pick it up and read it , best I’ve read in a long time.
DeMille is a wonderful writer .

Another Great Book by Nelson DeMille

As always Nelson DeMille kept me interested and completely engaged throughout this entire book. Great storyline with lots of twists and turns.

So frustrating - possible spoiler.

First of all I do love this author and the narrator… And I’m generally a big fan of longer books when I purchase an audiobook because I hate spending so much money on the short ones ;).

This book was too long though… Not because I didn’t enjoy the time, but because there was so much unnecessary filler and in so many places it droned on about unnecessary and uninteresting details. There were a few places where I realized I had zoned out and had to go back and listen. The character development went on and on but the characters never actually really developed. The female character never made any sense. It’s like they were so close to creating depth in characters but never quite got there.

It did finally get really interesting towards the end thank goodness! And overall it’s an interesting concept. But the ending was ridiculously depressing, took entirely too long to get to the point, and wasn’t very clear when it was finally over. It was like every time it was starting to get interesting he would add a bunch of unnecessary drivel to drag out the scenes to the point where they weren’t interesting anymore and you just wanted to get to the next one. Also, while I appreciate that not every book has a happy ending and I do love that his stories have surprise endings… This one just sucked and made me irritated that I listened to the first 20 hours of the book.