Alfred Hitchcock said, "Mr. Ambler is phenomenal," and Graham Greene referred to him as "our greatest thriller writer." This is an ideal title for introducing listeners to this master. Ambler brilliantly paints realistic portraits of his characters and the foreign landscape, mixing suspense with a subtle twist for added color.
When Arthur Abdel Simpson first spots Harper in the Athens airport, he recognizes him as a tourist unfamiliar with the city and in need of a private driver—in other words, the perfect mark for Simpson's brand of entrepreneurship. But Harper proves to be more the spider than the fly when he catches Simpson searching his wallet for traveler's checks. Soon Simpson finds himself blackmailed into driving a suspicious car across the Turkish border. When he is caught again, this time by the police, he faces a choice: cooperate with the Turks and spy on his erstwhile colleagues or end up in one of Turkey's notorious prisons. The authorities suspect an attempted coup, but Harper and his gang of international jewel thieves have planned something less sinister but much, much more audacious.
Eric Ambler (1909–1998) graduated from London University and established himself as a writer with five classic novels of intrigue published between 1937 and 1940: Background to Danger, Epitaph for a Spy, Cause for Alarm, A Coffin for Dimitrios, and Journey into Fear. During World War II he served in the British Army and was discharged as a lieutenant colonel. He wrote and produced a number of motion pictures and was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay of Nicholas Monsarrat’s The Cruel Sea. He then returned to writing novels, many of which became New York Times bestsellers. He is widely considered the father of spy-espionage thrillers.
Frederick Davidson (1932–2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFile’s Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings.