MISSION FLATS

With MISSION FLATS, William Landay joins the seemingly endless list of lawyers who hope to take down their shingles and become the next John Grisham. Although Landay's debut novel is an entertaining murder mystery, the plot is less than fully believable, particularly the conclusion, which is certainly unexpected but practically defies logic. The book is written from the perspective of Police Chief Ben Truman. Considering Landay's stilted writing and the choppy abridgment, Ron Livingston's reading is surprisingly good, especially his ability to use the pause as an effective narration technique. Livingston's major omission, however, is his failure to give any of the characters a New England accent, even though the book is set in Boston and Maine. D.J.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 03/JAN 04]