DIRTY WORK

Inhabiting the voice of ex-cop Stone Barrington with ease, Tony Roberts moves smoothly from one amusingly stereotypical character to another with broad strokes. When he's not dining in fine restaurants or having extraordinary sex with exquisite women, Barrington is tracking a ruthless terrorist who changes identities as effortlessly as she changes clothes. He needs to stop her before she assassinates the lovely British spy who happens to be sharing his bed. A twist in the resolution turns this into a morality tale with an underlying message about colonialism. But overall this is funny, fast-paced, and a bit gory escapist fare, which Roberts delivers seamlessly in just the right tongue-in-cheek tone. E.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 03/JAN 04]