SUPER IN THE CITY

Zephyr Zuckerman, the 27-year-old heroine of Uviller's debut novel, is a sexy cross between a slacker Nancy Drew and Walter Mitty. She's a hopeless romantic, a self-conscious daydreamer, and a habitual party-crasher. When the superintendent of her parents' apartment building is arrested, Zephyr becomes the new super, and chaos ensues. Emily Janice Card, daughter of author Orson Scott Card, is delightful in her narration of the novel. She interprets the text—and the author's many subtexts—with youthful energy and a furious pace that doesn’t sacrifice articulateness. The book is often sexually explicit, and some listeners may find the material silly, especially during Zephyr's frequent lapses into vapid daydreaming. But Uviller's punchy style and Card's lively interpretation make this chic-lit mystery a sexy laugh-out-loud treat. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2009]