THE GUARDIAN

Four years widowed Julie, a hairdresser in a small Southern town, has been trying to choose between an attractive visiting engineer and Mike, local nice guy and her late husband's best friend. She and they share every thought with us as the agonizing courtship progresses. Just as you want to scream "get on with it!", the action picks up. Isabel Keating's soft voice and reading style give you a sense of Julie's vulnerability and the strength she has shown in overcoming a dysfunctional upbringing, but other characters aren't vocally well defined. The guardian of the title is Julie's Great Dane, Singer, a posthumous gift from her husband. It's too bad he can't talk as he seems to have better sense than most of the humans. These reservations aside, Sparks's many fans should listen with pleasure. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 03]