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The Light of Day

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The Light of Day

By: Eric Ambler
Narrated by: Oliver Dimsdale
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Small-time hustler Arthur Abdel Simpson ekes out a living in Athens by robbing gullible tourists. But when an attempted theft backfires, he finds himself out-smarted and blackmailed into driving a highly suspicious car across the border to Istanbul. Then the Turkish secret police get involved, and Simpson becomes embroiled in something far deeper, and more dangerous, than he could imagine. Featuring a heart-stopping jewel heist, this compulsive, morally complex thriller became the basis for the classic film Topkapi.

©2023 Eric Ambler (P)2023 Penguin Audio Classics Espionage Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

"The source on which we all draw." (John le Carré)

"He took the spy thriller out of the gentility of the drawing room and into the back streets of Istanbul, where it all really happened." (Frederick Forsyth)

"Mr. Ambler is phenomenal." (Alfred Hitchcock)
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Arthur Abdel Simpson is a hustler and rogue not to be trusted. He attempts a theft in Greece, gets caught, and is blackmailed into smuggling. This doesn't go well, and the Turkish secret police blackmail him again...
I ended up willing the anti-hero Simpson to get himself out of the mess he created. Simpson is a complex character, a conman, liar, thief, and trying to get by - hoping for a big pay day. A selfish man. But also polite, courageous, righteous, and respectful.
As with many of Ambler's protagonists, the ordinary person is thrown into extraordinary circumstances, and has to use whatever is necessary to get themselves out of the situation. I think Ambler is saying - everyone has the means within to rise to the occasion and do what is necessary.
... Simpson is encouraged/blackmailed into a gang planning a jewel heist, and has to use all his ingenuity and guile to come out unscathed. Simpson's duplicity and resourcefulness of his words and actions, make for a thrilling ending.
The narration is brilliant from Oliver Dimsdale, who captures the shady character of Simpson very well. The pace of the narration is perfect, and it makes all the difference to the audiobook. Overall, one of my favourite Ambler novels.

One of my favourite Ambler novels

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i really enjoyed this story and got through it rather quickly. It is an intriguing plot and darkly comic (in parts). However, my main reason for wanting to write a review, and what made the story such a joy, was the excellent narration from Oliver Dimsdale. I really do hope he gets other bookings. It is one of the best narrations i have come across in a long while. Although he has his unique voice, I would say if you liked James Lailey as a narrator (particularly in the Bernie Samson, Len Deighton series) there is a very strong likeiihood you will like Oliver Dimsdale. His style lends itself particularly well to the first person narrative that this book is written in. Unfortunately so far he only seems to have narrated this one book, so please Audible / Penguin get him to do more!

Great story, excellent narration!

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This was the first Ambler novel I've either listened to or read and I am glad I downloaded it. It is hugely enjoyable and it is easy to see why it is regarded as one of his best books. A special mention for the narrator Oliver Dimsdale who has done a brilliant job. As far as I can see, this is the only narration he has done for Audible; I hope he does many more.

A Hugely Enjoyable 1962 Classic

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listened to it in one sitting, brilliant book. The voice actor does very well, although I found his voice a bit young sounding for a book written from the perspective of a middle aged man

Another classic from Ambler

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