AFFINITY

Juanita McMahon sensitively articulates this gothic tale of love and deceit. She is able to drop her voice to the whisper of a spirit medium, tune it to the hysteria of a woman unsure of reality, and convincingly rasp the tones of an aged prisoner. The other characters, ranging from a severe mother to a sympathetic jail matron, are also voiced with appropriate accents and intonation. The novel requires careful listening, as the story's point of view and time period change from time to time. McMahon's charged reading steadies the listener through chilling descriptions and the author's inventive plot twists. R.F. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 05]