THE EIGHT

Characters in settings that are decades apart hunt for rare, hidden chess pieces that once belonged to Charlemagne. Two people--a young French woman in the 1790s and an American computer whiz in the early 1970s--find themselves in desperate chases across several countries for the pieces, which hold an ancient secret. Both evolve into brave, unassuming heroines, but the real star is narrator Susan Denaker. She has so many characters to keep track of--from young and old French women to assorted New Yorkers and Algerian men. She expertly differentiates them with changes in tone. The story is well done, though characters could have been pared more carefully for the abridgment. Overall, Denaker's performance and the story's twist at the end make it worthwhile. M.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2008]