INTENT TO KILL

Ryan James, a washed-up minor-league baseball player, is now a shock jock on a sports-radio talk show. He uses alcohol and anger to get by and to ease the pain of his wife's fatal car crash three years ago. Now an anonymous tipster claims he knows the identity of the drunk driver who caused the crash. Jonathan Davis's skilled narration depicts the misery of Ryan's existence and his new agony at the revelation that the crash was not an accident. Davis depicts Ryan's autistic brother-in-law, Babes, with depth, portraying his strange intelligence and the devotion to baseball he shares with Ryan. Davis's well-paced narration eases the occasional slow spots in an otherwise fast-paced thriller. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]