NIGHT TRAIN TO MEMPHIS

The most noteworthy feature of this Vicky Bliss mystery is the breathless, almost frantic, pace at which it's read. Actress Turner is probably trying to capture Vicky's youth, impetuousness and hair-trigger emotions, but in the process she confuses the listener, blunts dramatic moments and mispronounces "ornithologist." To her credit, she manages several accents, from heavy German to light British, fairly well. Vicky is an art expert hired to foil a plot to rob the Cairo Museum. One of the suspects turns out to be her long-time lover, art forger John Smythe. By the time everything gets judiciously and romantically sorted out, the listener has gotten somewhat adjusted to the rapid-fire dialogue. Snippets of Roy Acuff's country music seem out of place in a story set mainly in Egypt, even if one of the songs is "Night Train to Memphis." Those whose ears do well in overdrive might like this production; otherwise, opt for Barbara Rosenblat's more tempered reading for Recorded Books. J.B.G. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 98]