The Reluctant Spy cover art

The Reluctant Spy

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

The Reluctant Spy

By: John Dryden
Narrated by: Nigel Lindsay, Aiysha Hart, Sarah Goldberg
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

A three-part BBC Radio drama about modern-day spying set in Cairo against a backdrop of the Arab Spring.

Hard-up Coptic art expert Duncan Kavanagh scrapes a living as a private English-language tutor and by showing tourists around the ancient churches of Cairo. He lives with his feisty, politically-aware, 15-year-old daughter, Ola, who is half-Egyptian, in a modest flat they can barely afford.

Since the revolution, the situation has become ever harder for Duncan, with tourists in short supply. When approached by seductive Canadian student Tara Moore to deliver a letter - for money - to a prominent Egyptian politician whose son Duncan teaches, he accepts. It's a decision that will solve his short-term financial problems but embroil him in a complex web of secrets and misinformation and a struggle for his own and his daughter's survival.

Written and directed by John Dryden. Starring Nigel Lindsay, Aiysha Hart and Sarah Goldberg.

©2013 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2013 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd Espionage International Mystery & Crime Mystery Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense
All stars
Most relevant  

What did you like best about The Reluctant Spy? What did you like least?

The performance is excellent, the cast cannot be faulted.

What was most disappointing about John Dryden’s story?

The story is constructed around a continual stream of stupid actions by the main character.
Although this may provide fuel for the plot, it becomes tiring for the listener.
And the ending is obscure, a series of disjointed sounds that baffled me.

Do you think The Reluctant Spy needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No

Any additional comments?

Not worth the effort.

A disappointing story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.