IF DEATH EVER SLEPT

The magic of Rex Stout's novels is the stark contrast between the pompous, overweight master detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant, smart-aleck playboy Archie Goodwin. It takes a versatile performer to portray both Goodwin, the narrator, and Wolfe, the boss. Unfortunately, Michael Prichard, who has read 20 Stout titles for Audio Partners, isn't such a performer. Prichard has a strong and distinct style marked by wryness and a well-planned pomposity, but his wryness lacks the toughness of Archie's character, and his pomposity is missing the biliousness of the beer-swilling, orchid-raising Wolfe. The story, written in Stout's clever style, has the detectives hired to follow a slippery daughter-in-law. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 02]