THE NIGHT WATCHER

After receiving a blow to the head in their apartments, victims wake up on the floor, bound in black, doused in stinging fluid, then suffer a horrible death by fire. Following a few false leads along the way, Detectives Ben Stack and Rica Lopez figure out the link between the murders. Scott Brick's quirky, humorous reading keeps pace with the rapid plot developments without using contrived vocal characteristics to capture the story's many characters. However, Brick's way of dropping his voice at the end of a question, which might work well to identify one or two characters, is odd and distracting when overused . Still, his in-your-face style of narration enhances this crime story, especially its Manhattan setting. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 03]