THE INTERPRETATION OF MURDER

It's 1909, and skyscrapers "higher than anything built by the hand of man before" are beginning to blot out the sun over Manhattan. This really happened. Sigmund Freud "distinguished, immaculately groomed" is passing through on his only visit to the United States. This also really happened. A woman is strangled with a silk tie. This, too, has doubtless happened from time to time, but here it's also where the story begins. Murder, romance, and a primer on history are all built into this clockwork plot. Actor Ron Rifkin masters the obstacle course of narration flawlessly. He's man. He's woman. He's an Austrian Jew, an American heiress, an Irish sandhog. Clever entertainment, cleverly performed. B.H.C. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 06/ JAN 07]