Thrilling Cities

Barnaby Edwards narrates Ian Fleming's travel pieces with the right accent (upper-class Brit), cadence (breezy), and timbre (Fleming-esque). His stylized emulation of the famed creator of James Bond gives this audiobook an authentic feeling. Fleming's global peregrinations in 1959 and 1960 for the LONDON TIMES reveal his sharp-edged observations, patrician tastes, and prejudices. American tourists are satirized; Germans are dubbed hysterical. Edwards performs Fleming's words unvarnished. His imitations of American speakers may not be as apt as his Fleming impersonation, but they serve their purpose. Full disclosure: This audiobook displays the author's misogyny. Nonetheless, whether he's in the company of exiled gangster Lucky Luciano or with Los Angeles law enforcers--Fleming is ever the writer and always worth hearing. A.D.M. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine