The Ipcress File

By: Len Deighton

Narrated by: James Lailey

A high-ranking scientist has been kidnapped, and a secret British intelligence agency has just recruited Deighton’s iconic unnamed protagonist—later christened Harry Palmer—to find out why. His search begins in a grimy Soho club and brings him to the other side of the world. When he ends up amongst the Soviets in Beirut, what seemed a straightforward mission turns into something far more sinister.

With its sardonic, cool, working-class hero, Len Deighton’s sensational debut and first bestseller The Ipcress File broke the mold of thriller writing and became the defining novel of 1960s London.

©1962 Pluriform Publishing Company BV. Afterword copyright © 2009 by Pluriform Publishing Company BV. (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Critic reviews

“A stone-cold Cold War classic.” —The Guardian

Good spy story

Well read, clear and understandable. Spy sarcasm. Starts slow to build characters and finishes fast.

Not len’s best

I am a fan of Len Deighton and have lived in England. I have experienced working man’s English dialect but whether it’s the recording or the narrators articulation , I had too much trouble with too many phrases to enjoy

Only Michael Caine could read it better!

The book is a classic, so instead of reviewing it, I’ll save all my comments for the narration..which is absolutely fantastic!! This guy is amazing, and I want to listen to more of his work.

Excellent story writing and presentation

Intriguing characters, well developed scenes and plot points. The Story is relevant today 60 years later as it was when written.

Why is this such a popular book?

I tried to listen to it sooo many times. It was so boring that I finally gave up. It appears on all lists of best espionage novels and I can’t figure out why. It’s just a guy explaining things. No relationships, no action, the choice of narration is also a question. Good reading, but in a cockney type accent that is difficult to follow if you aren’t used to it (which I’m not). Anyway a total waste of many key and I do not recommend it. If you want to read good Len Deighton books, read the Bernard Samson series.