VODKA

A fascinating, convoluted British novel, as long as a Russian novel, is set in chaotic Moscow following the Soviet breakup. The tangled overlapping plot involves political turmoil, terrorism, gangsterism, vampirism, economic crisis and, uniting all, the Russian national drink. Leading the huge cast are a gangster/vodka mogul, an alcoholic (and, of course, beautiful) female American consultant, and an incorruptible, dogged Estonian detective. Except for sporadic moments of animation, reader Peter Marinker recites the narrative with monotonous flatness. In contrast, his dialogue is melodramatic and suffers from unconvincing American and Russian accents. Sound quality of the cassettes could be much, much better. Y.R. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 06]