Portrait of a Spy

Gabriel Allon, Israeli mastermind and art restorer, is a master of disguises, and his "vocal portrait" has been attempted by numerous narrators. Simon Vance takes on the task here in Allon's eleventh caper as a globe-trotting modern spy. Yet Allon is illusive, and Vance doesn't quite nail it. Could it be that Allon is such a complex changeling that even the highly skilled and perceptive Vance doesn't quite inhabit him? Can anyone? Fans of the series, or newcomers, will mind little as Allon and his compatriots outwit terrorists, and their espionage "partners." Very dull, slightly muffled sound mars Vance's usual crisp speech and makes his subtleties hard to hear. The definitive portrait of this spy is yet unpainted. R.F.W. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine