LULLABY

In this witty and gruesome fantasy, a journalist discovers an African chant that kills. Just speak or even think the verses, and whoever is on your mind drops dead. Our hero involuntarily becomes a serial killer. He sets out to destroy all 200 books containing the chant, simultaneously learning to control his power and his small coven of helpers, who include a practicing witch, a professional assassin, and a broker of haunted real estate. To impersonate the narrating protagonist, Richard Poe adopts a tone of jaded toughness, like a street-wise private eye. The tack works well in conveying the gorier passages and in keeping the listener alert, for his voice is strong and compelling. But it mutes the sly black humor and blunts the edges of the hero's complex personality. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 03]