MURDER BY IMPULSE

Lawyer John Lloyd Branson and his summer law clerk, Lydia Fairchild, are the "odd couple" of the Texas Panhandle, but this slightly abridged recording of their first case does little to enhance their appeal. Actress Kim Brown's narration is high-pitched and fast-paced, appropriate for Lydia but totally wrong for Branson. It's impossible for listeners to distinguish among characters, and Brown barely takes a breath between reading the last word of a paragraph and the next chapter number or instructions to turn the tape over. Listeners who can persevere through the first couple of hours will enjoy the story in spite of the narration. J.L. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 94]