THE REFUGE

Soon after independent Maxie McNabb returns to her Alaska home, she heads off to Hawaii for another adventure. There she helps an injured acquaintance prepare to move from the Big Island back to Alaska, but in the process finds herself in the middle of a strange situation. Someone is determined to frighten her friend into leaving even more quickly. The story spools out slowly as the author spends more time describing the sites of Hawaii than investigating the mystery. This slow pace makes it easy to follow the story but may frustrate some. Lee Adams reads the descriptions clearly, almost lovingly. But her weakness in portraying voices makes it hard to distinguish among speakers in extended dialogue. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 07]