THIS DAME FOR HIRE

Faye Quick gets lucky when her boss joins the army and appoints her as his replacement. As a private eye in New York City in 1943, she deserves better understanding from reader Laura Hicks, who uses a caustic and brash tone for Faye's voice. None of the voices come readily or sympathetically to this narrator's lips. They are self-conscious and a beat apart from the story, so exaggerated at times that they break the author's rhythm and the listener's concentration. It's the mystery we want to hear and follow, not an awareness of how the reader will bring variety to yet another character. J.P. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 05/ JAN 06]