HELL HOLE

Jeff Woodman's natural exuberance is a fine fit for HELL HOLE's ingenuous, smart-alecky cop, Danny Boyle. Woodman's Boyle is funny, appealing, and quick with the sarcastic retort. Additionally, Woodman creates a perfect foil in Boyle's NJPD partner, hard-nosed, by-the-book John Ceepak, a former military man. When a young soldier recently back from Iraq is found dead in a men's room on the Garden State Parkway, an apparent suicide, Boyle and Ceepak investigate. Woodman is especially good as the dead soldier's aggressive buddies, and he excels when the investigation leads to two small-time crooks, a chop shop, drugs, and a dangerous conspiracy by powerful people. Chris Grabenstein writes a tight, well-constructed mystery, and Woodman's performance keeps the interest high and the listening upbeat. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]