THE ICE MAN Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer

Philip Carlo's book about real-life killer Richard Kuklinski is an example of how an audiobook can be superior to its written counterpart. Michael Prichard's rich, measured performance makes the horror of the words even more potent. And though he tries hard to hide his personal reaction to the words he's reading, Prichard's visceral reactions come through. Some of the murders described by the sadistic killer are beyond imagination, the stuff of nightmares. The bonus disc, capturing Carlo's interviews of Kuklinski, is interesting. The killer talks slowly and softly, in contrast to the horrors he describes. Kuklinski is a monster who has since died in prison, yet Carlo manages to show the human side of the ice-cold killer. M.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 07]