Transfer of Power

TRANSFER OF POWER. Vince Flynn. 1999/2004. Read by Nick Sullivan. 14 cds. 17.5 hrs. Sound Library, BBC Audiobooks America. 0-7927-3143-3. $110.95. Vinyl: plot, reader, author notes. SA

This is filled with all the spies, terrorists, and hairbreadth escapes that any Clancy or Cussler fan could want. Nasty terrorist Rafique Aziz and his team have taken over the White House and are holding a number of hostages. The president and his Secret Service people have escaped to the bunker. Safe? Well, of course not. The Executive Mansion is booby-trapped with bombs and Saddam Hussein has loaned Aziz a topnotch safe cracker who is drilling his way into the bunker. However, Mitch Rapp, the CIA's chief counterterrorism agent, has burrowed his way in and the outcome is never in doubt.

Nick Sullivan uses the texture of his pleasant businesslike voice to differentiate the characters and does it well. Male or female, young or old, terrorist or CIA, he manages them all and keeps them separate. The sleazy chief of staff for the vice president is especially well done; the listener hates him from the first word he utters. Mary Purucker, Beverly Hills PL., Beverly Hills, CA

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