ONE SUNDAY

One Sunday in 1929, with the Great War against Germany fought and won but grief still palpable, deep-seated prejudices and secrets reveal themselves in a small Australian town after a young girl is murdered. Deidre Rubenstein beautifully narrates this well-written story, creating subtle nuances between the town's eclectic characters. While Rubenstein's natural Australian voice works for the leading female characters and overall storytelling, when she performs as nasty town gossips, she speaks quickly, using thick accents and high nasal pitches to create intrusive, irritating characters. She also uses a multitude of speech patterns and diverse dialects to differentiate children from adults, men from women, and one social class from another. Both story and narration are thoroughly engaging and thought provoking. A.R.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2010]