BLOODSUCKING FIENDS

Anyone who knows Moore's funny, sexy, sometimes-gory novel, about a newly made female vampire in San Francisco living with a slightly goofy wannabe writer, will at first find Susan Bennett's voice a bad match. She sounds too weak and wavering, and at times prissy and petulant, to be acting out this racy book, with its increasingly powerful heroine who is struggling against her mentor and nemesis, who is also a vampire. But the persistent listener will find that Bennett's skills—excellent pacing and expressiveness, good modulation, easy variation of character voices—mostly make up for any vocal flaws. The novel moves, the humor comes through, and the result, if not impressive, is satisfying and enjoyable. W.M. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2009]