LORDS OF CORRUPTION

Despite his newly earned MBA and honorable intentions, Josh Hagarty's job search is looking bleak, no doubt due to his criminal record. In desperation, he accepts the only position offered, managing a farming venture in Africa for a charitable organization. Upon arrival in Africa, he discovers overwhelming obstacles to the project's success, including corruption, sabotage, and perhaps even the murder of his predecessor. Improving the middling dialogue, narrator Kevin Collins provides straightforward depictions of Josh and his associates, an attractive Scandinavian relief volunteer and a cynical American journalist. Collins also adds notes of menace in his voicings of the country’s terrifying dictator. Collins's judicious use of tempo enhances Josh's frightening confrontations with his opponents. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2009]