NIGHT TRAIN

Author and performer combine well here to produce a moody, tense recounting of a suspected suicide and its aftermath. Asked by her mentor to investigate the death of his beautiful and brilliant daughter, a female police officer with a history of alcoholism must oversee both a physical and psychological autopsy of the deceased. This process reveals as much about the lady cop who's seen it all as it does about the "victim." Police jargon abounds, and Hamilton handles it as easily, as she does the transitions between narrative and stream-of-consciousness styles. Her world-weary tone suggests that the ending will be less than upbeat. The shortened form of this psychological thriller requires careful listening. J.B.G. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 98]