A MENDING AT THE EDGE

Kirsten Potter's vocal skill and range are so versatile that she sounds like multiple narrators as she portrays Emma Wagner Giesy and her four children, as well as Emma's disapproving parents. In the final book of Kirkpatrick’s trilogy, Emma separates from her abusive husband and travels to a colony in the Oregon Territories to raise her children alone. Manipulating pitch and tone and, in some scenes, German accents, Potter gives give authenticity to Emma's frustration at the colony's prejudice towards her and with calm certitude portrays Emma's fight for her boys and a house of her own. Emma's faith in the Lord never wavers, even when her boys are taken from her. Kirkpatrick fans shouldn't miss this one. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2008]