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)

Buried Treasure

This superb work of fiction captures the feel of the American Soviet rivalry prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall.. The plot varies from believable to fantastic, but it is always gripping. The Audible performance by Scott Brick is emotional and compelling. I am quite pleased that I “discovered” The Charm School and will look for more works by Nelson DeMille

My favorite Nelson DeMille book so far

This book has it all. I’m in awe of his ability to tell a story that covers every aspect of human emotion, all the while keeping one guessing as to how he’s going “get him, or her, out of this one”. I often find Scott Brick, although an excellent narrator, overly dramatic and distracting - not so here. The drama works because the characters and story line are tremendously dramatic. It all works! I’ll be back for more!

Love the reader

The story in Charm School was very good and intriguing . The story kept my interest through out the book and I couldn't wait to get back to it.

Superb

I have listened to 2-3 books per month for 3 years. This is a top 5, for sure. I am going back to see what other Nelson DeMille books I will download next!

A Wonderful Cold War Time Capsule

In his interview with Scott Brick at the end of The Lion, DeMille notes that one of the perils of writing ripped from the headlines fiction is that the headlines can change in the time it takes between outline and publication. Specifically, he says many authors were caught with partially completed Cold War thrillers as the Soviet Union rather suddenly ceased to exist. He dodged that particular bullet though and the result is that we are lucky to have this wonderful little tale combining many of the Cold War thriller tropes including abandoned POWs, horrid conditions in the USSR, morally ambiguous or downright bad actors within US intelligence, and the choice between doing the right thing and preserving the peace, into a sort of time capsule.

Readers familiar with DeMille's work will recognize the basic cast of characters: the guy and girl at the center of it all who are in over their heads by varying degrees, the CIA contact with questionable motives, the government mouthpiece only interested in preserving the status quo, and the bad guy who skulks around the shadows for a while before revealing himself and becoming a real pain to our heroes. What is different is that the attractive and plucky female lead this time around is far more ill-equipped to deal with the running and gunning than examples in later DeMille works. The hero of the story is to type though, ready to fling sarcastic asides and bullets in the bad guys' faces at a moment's notice.
The plot launches with satisfying swiftness, perhaps jarringly so, but may ware on people later as many later sequences involve a cycle of action and reporting to others that can get repetitive. There also quite a few, "but do they know that we know X" moments rehashing things in the characters' minds perhaps realistically, but not always enjoyably.
The tone of the book is classic DeMille, with plenty of atmospheric details that really help put the reader in late 1980's Moscow. The flow is also very engaging, and can go from absurdly ffunny to utterly depressing in the same breath. And even those scenes in which characters discuss their plight and speculate incessantly on what to do next are full of colorful little details, like eavesdropping countermeasures or the unique social dynamics of an American embassy in a communist state.
All in all, this story holds up now not as a tale of what could be but what might have been, with the end of the Cold War far from certain even in 1988, and people asking themselves "What would THEY do to avoid World War III?"

GREAT BOOK

Another great story from Nelson DeMille. Also like the reader. Recommend highly. ...won't be disappointed.

Adventure! Suspense!

Nelson DeMille bases this book on a long debated theory that living POW's have been transported to Russia rather than being returned home to America. I have read about this and debated it with military people that I know and still am not sure. But as far as the basis for a novel it makes an interesting story. I was lucky, as I am not qualified to judge the validity of the military events in the story but it is a story. And with Scott Brick reading it what a story it is!

I missed sleep over this one!

I was telling a friend that I had just read Child 44 set in 1953 Russia. I mentioned a show I had seen on PBS years ago called Sleepers about a couple of embedded Russian agents in the UK who had been forgotten. My friend said I had to read The Charm School. I have never read a Nelson DeMille book before, but I certainly will look up some of his others.

I had to check to see when the book was written to get a better orientation to the time and place. The writing was good, the characters were interesting. I'm not a fan of Scott Brick but he did a decent job on this book.

The only quibble I have with the book is the standard male fantasy of the 29-year-old woman and the mid-forties age man. I'd like to see a story like this where the ages were reversed.

I wondered how the story was going to be resolved. Nice job of that, though I felt a small bit of dissatisfaction at the very very end. But up to that point, I was on the edge of my seat. Very entertaining and I would recommend.

Wanted it to more...

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

Yes, but tell them it will leave them wanting.

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Scott Brick did a good job.

Any additional comments?

I just felt like the story could have been better. I keep thinking if another person would have written this story it might have been better. It had such great potential but didn't quite make it.

Good overall

I really enjoyed the first two thirds and the fact that the author weaves a lot of background and details into the narrative I enjoyed. I like a book that does that, that isn't only action oriented. One gets a unique view of the Soviet Union before its end in this book. Somehow in the last third it seemed to be slow, but it could have been me. The plot was intriguing, almost 'alt history'...unless it did happen, of course......and would we know if it had? I will probably read other Nelson DeMille (this was my first), but not right away.