Dark Arena

The Frenchman Returns

De: Jack Beaumont

Narrado por: Victor Bevine

A high-stakes thriller that could be ripped from today’s headlines—from the bestselling author of The Frenchman.

Alec de Payns, espionage operative of the Y Division of the DGSE, France’s famed foreign intelligence service, is tasked with tracking down an agent of influence sending highly classified material against the Kremlin to embassies all over Europe.

A deadly conspiracy is aligning the West against Russia. But who is behind it? And to what end?

The clues lead to a secret meeting of businessmen, terrorists, and mercenaries on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean, which de Payns must infiltrate. What he discovers sets off a Europe-wide manhunt in a desperate scramble to prevent an international catastrophe.

Former DGSE spy Jack Beaumont’s Dark Arena is another chillingly plausible thriller delivering all the taut plotting, superb action, and authentic spycraft that made The Frenchman a critically acclaimed bestseller.

©2024 Jack Beaumont (P)2024 Blackstone Publishing

Wow..Just…wow

One of the best spy novels I’ve read/listened to. Combine Beaumont’s on-point tradecraft+emotional element of character experiences+character development+gripping plot has cultivated into one of the most realistic, thought provoking, and entertaining works in the genre.

My only hesitation on 5 stars all around is because I feel the performance could have been better. He wasn’t bad. It’s definitely worth the listen but, I definitely don’t think it gave the story what it could be.

Thrilling and compelling story!

Great story, characters and overall experience! 5 stars! Strongly recomend for fans of spy stories and DGSE. Wish it was available in french as well.

Jack Beaumont- wow!

Jack Beaumont is my new favorite spy novelist. Can’t wait for his next book! Great spy craft with human emotion

Engaging book read by a medicated depressive

The story is engaging, love the details of trade craft and the characters. But listening to the second book vs. the first is night and day. Where is the enunciation? It sounds like this time the narrator Bevine is medicated or profoundly depressed, slurring his words. The delivery is so flat and joyless.

A masterful plot that is hard to put down

Highly recommend story both for the intricate threads and excellent trade craft that bring the characters to life as if you were in the places described in the book. I sincerely hope #3 is with the editors and producers. Very well done 'Jack'

I kept falling asleep🤣

Ok the narrator's voice was so buttery and soothing. It was like listening to a grandfather who smoked his whole life and drank a rich,dark whiskey while tellling you a story by the fireside. He also had hardley any range,so all the characters got blended together. That being said (A) I LOVED HIM!!,but... (B) He lulled me to sleep!! 😅🤣😂

As far as the story goes..it was just meh. I mean, it was like "a year in the life of a spy", but in too many seperated snippets. There were several points that I said to myself "wait, what just happened?"

I would have loved a shorter plot line with a lot more fleashing out. A lot more detail on just one mission would have been great! Like I said in the begining, its lovely to listen to in the backround, but I just couldn't concentrate. Maybe it was just a "me thing".

I would read another

this book had alot more info then the last. at points I had hard time following everything putin was doing and info like that. It personally was hard to read about all the conflict between him and his wife . it sometimes slowed down the book for me trying to understand it all. overall i love the characters. love how it's written. like the book. ready for another.