Body of Lies
The writing is sufficient. The three readers are professional and effective, the audio quality decent. The story unfortunately is a tough cookie to swallow: Three well-educated American twenty-something year-olds think they are hiking a hundred miles or so from the Iraqi Kurdistan border, or so they say. In reality they are 3 miles away, and unknowingly cross the border. They are immediately captured by a patrol agent, accused of espionage, and interrogated harshly. They’re thrown into solitary confinement, where they whittle down the days by lying and scheming, acting and misleading--Argo style. They finally get out and write books and go on shows, like heroes, and everyone lives happily ever after through their unique suffering and bravery. Slow down, Sparky. Are we supposed to believe three intelligent globetrotters had no basic understanding of geography, let alone one measly map? It’s extremely hard to swallow. They had no camping gear or hiking equipment at the time. They went out after 10pm, in the dark. Why? Are they crazy, or just mentally challenged? And the three of them demand odd things in their cells--like birthday cake and televisions. I couldn’t shake the feeling that most of the audiobook may have been a bunch of juicy fat lies, their bravery a prank that never happened—a final last hurrah, if you will--for three bored, over-privileged youths. How heroic; they should bow now, and hurry off the stage.