Robert Hanssen, un traître à la CIA

Patrick Blandin’s narration sells the absurdity of this saga with the gravitas of a noir detective and the pacing of a man who knows this story is ridiculous. His delivery of Hanssen’s self-important letters—where the traitor scolds his KGB handlers for perceived slights—is a masterclass in deadpan. The production hits all the right notes: a sense of creeping dread undercut by moments of dark humor (imagine hearing Blandin’s flat, weary sigh as Hanssen’s code names—‘Ramazon,’ ‘Father Joseph’—reveal themselves as painfully on-the-nose). My only real gripe is the runtime: 53 minutes feels almost too short, as if the editor feared we’d demand our money back after learning Hanssen once used a dead drop near a playground. Still, Blandin’s performance makes those 53 minutes pack the weight of a full novel. The audiobook’s strength is its refusal to romanticize espionage; it’s less ‘Mission: Impossible’ and more ‘how did this guy not get caught sooner?’ If Blandin’s voice doesn’t haunt your thoughts about institutional trust, you’re not paying attention.