I listen to a lot of audio books, and sometime the reader can make all the difference. Stay away from Caleb Carr if he's doing the reading... he got a lisp. Edward Hermann is a good bet as well as Beau Bridges.
IIRC, you could always tell (in the audiobook rendition of "Rainbow Six") when the narrator was reading a bad guy's part, because his voice got all snarky.
I would note that although Carr lacks as a reader, he's a a decent writer. "The Alienist" and "The Angel of Darkness" are pretty good summer reads.