Late Audley

What made the experience of listening to For the Good of the State the most enjoyable?

I love Anthony Price's books so it was always going to be enjoyable. Some of the books are better than others and this is one of the best. It has all the elements I enjoy, a background of espionage, political manouevering, the story told from the viewpoint of a character other than one of the long-running protagonists and a bit of an historical theme that Price generally puts into his books. In this case, it was castles. Occasionally, there is more historical background than espionage in these books and they can become unbalanced but this one was spot on.

What did you like best about this story?

I especially liked the character of Tom Arkenshaw who takes the lead in this story. He is the son of an English baronet and Polish mother who researches motte and bailey castles in his spare time. He is brought in to protect David Audley who works for "research and development", an ill defined government organisation, because he is going to meet his opposite number in Russian intelligence. Tom's difficulty in working out what Audley, his political masters, the Russians and the CIA, are up to is compelling and his potentially divided loyalties are well done. This book has all of the marvellous sharp dialogue that I have come to expect of Price's books and it drives the story but you always have to be careful not to take what people say at face value.

Which character – as performed by Dan Morgan – was your favourite?

They were all fine, distinctly characterised, which is quite hard when they are mostly speaking Received Pronunciation.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really that sort of book but this is a late one in the series so there is some poignancy owing to the fact that the characters I love may be nearing their retirement.

Any additional comments?

These books are seriously addictive. I tried one, The Labyrinth Makers, on the off chance and have become hooked. This is my tenth.

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Hard Going

I found this tale very hard to follow, as if l were a fly on the wall during conversations where l wasn't allowed to be privy to any of the back stories of the plot.

It was also difficult to discern which character was speaking as the narrator didn't vary his tone anywhere near enough, and that contributed to its being so heavy going.

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1 person found this helpful