Charlie's Apprentice [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Brian Freemantle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2007

Having outlived the Cold War, Charlie Muffin is put out to pasture by his director as a teacher of fledgling spies, until an apprentice is captured in Beijing, and Charlie is sent on the dangerous rescue mission.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British spy Charlie Muffin, the wonderfully unorthodox hero of several seriocomic adventures by Freemantle, has been put into semiretirement, reduced by his new superiors to training fledgling agents. Charlie adjusts as best he can, forming a personal attachment with his first apprentice, John Gower, and a platonic relationship with the new director's secretary. Meanwhile, in Russia, KGB agent Natalia Fedova, having realized that Charlie had saved her life and career by aborting her planned defection to the West a few years back, decides to track down the rumpled spy in order to let him know that she's borne him a daughter; at the same time, she must guard against the jealous manipulations of a subordinate who wants to destroy her. And in Beijing, a Jesuit who doubles as a British agent finds himself in increasing jeopardy of exposure but refuses to leave his post, prompting the London office to send the unseasoned Gower in to bring him home. When Gower is captured and imprisoned by the Chinese, Charlie must rescue him before an international incident erupts. As usual with Freemantle, secrets hide within secrets, and one way or another, Charlie will have his revenge on those he finds wanting. The delightful way in which that revenge dovetails with Natalia's own designs makes for a most satisfying conclusion, reached amid a flurry of surprises and revelations. Superior work from a master of the form.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

British intelligence officer Charlie Muffin, renowned for his unorthodox methods, has been grounded. Charlie's new female boss thinks his time is better spent teaching new operatives rather than working in the field. Although frustrated, Charlie does his best to instruct recent graduate John Gower in surviving as an agent-practical, life-saving tips of the trade that are not found in any of the training manuals. Charlie is suspicious when the inexperienced Gower is sent to Beijing on a tricky assignment; later, when Gower is arrested and imprisoned, Charlie is dispatched to China to extricate him. This latest Charlie Muffin adventure has several interrelated story lines to hold the reader's attention. Recommended for popular fiction collections.
Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Soundings Ltd; Unabridged edition (August 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845593472
• ISBN-13: 978-1845593476
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Brian Freemantle [b. 1936] is one of Britain's most acclaimed authors of spy fiction. His novels have sold over ten million copies worldwide. Born in Southampton, Freemantle entered his career as a journalist, and began writing espionage thrillers in the late 1960s. Charlie M (1977) introduced the world to Charlie Muffin and won Freemantle international recognition--he would go on to publish fourteen titles in the series.

Freemantle has written dozens of other novels, including two featuring Sebastian Holmes, an illegitimate son of Sherlock Holmes, and the Cowley and Danilov series, about an American FBI agent and a Russian militia detective who work together to comabt organized crime in the post-Cold War world. Freemantle lives and works in London, Englad.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charlie Muffin is Absolutely the Best Spy in the Biz, July 30, 2005

By 

Kiwi Bango (Edmonton, AB Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charlie's Apprentice (Hardcover)

There's a new boss at England's spy shop and he's got Charlie Muffin working for his number two, a woman. This is a new experience for Charlie, but one he tells himself he can live with. When he finally gets the call to meet with her, he hopes she's going to give him a field assignment, but alas, she tells him that it's time for him to pass on his vast experience to another and she assigns him an apprentice. Charlie's job, to teach him what he couldn't learn in spy school, those little secrets that are so vital in the field, in short, how to survive.

Charlie doesn't fancy himself as a teacher, but he's determined to do the job to the best of his ability. Maybe if he does exceptionally well, they'll put him back on the active duty roster. However when his apprentice graduates, they send him to China to try and get out a priest-spy whose cover has been blown and they leave Charlie in place in London. The apprentice is captured and now Charlie's bosses send for him to go in and get out the priest while the apprentice languishes in a Chinese prison.

Meanwhile in Russia Natalia, Charlie's old flame, is living with his child, a son Charlie knows nothing about. While he has often wondered what had become of her, he'd never believe that she is now the head of Russian intelligence and she's using her power to try and find out what happened to him.

Back in China, Charlie fails to get the priest out and barely escapes with his life. His plan had been sound, so he knows somebody has betrayed him. Who? And will he find out about his son? And if he does, what will he do about it? As I used to say all those years ago when I gave book reports in grade school, "You'll have to read the book to find out."

As usual Brian Freemantle has delivered up the kind of book that will leave you with a laugh and a thorough respect for his knowledge of how the secret world of spies integrates with politics and every day life. Muffin is a delightful character who has been around for almost ever and hopefully will be around for a long time to come. There is absolutely no spy, living or dead, who understands the trade craft as well as Charlie Muffin.

3.0 out of 5 stars does charlie need a holiday?, April 29, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (canberra, australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charlie's Apprentice (Hardcover)

perhaps not charlie at his best, good beginning and end, lost it a bit in the middle. got to go bombgrade calls

3.0 out of 5 stars does charlie need a holiday?, April 29, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (canberra, australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charlie's Apprentice (Hardcover)

perhaps not charlie at his best, good beginning and end, lost it a bit in the middle.