OPEN AND SHUT

Grover Gardner's narration is relaxed, natural, and easy to listen to. He turns Andy Carpenter into a likable, credible attorney with a strong ethical sense and a whole lot of attitude. Andy's mission this time is to win a new trial for a death row inmate accused of rape and murder. As Carpenter delves into the old case and discovers the evidence doesn't add up, he becomes convinced the man was framed—even though Carpenter's own father was the prosecutor who won the conviction. Gardner's voicing of minor characters gives them plausible personalities, and his performance smoothes over clunky plot contrivances. Gardner makes Rosenfelt's twisty story—especially the wisecracking defense counsel with his courtroom bag of tricks—extremely appealing. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]