PAYMENT IN KIND

Seattle homicide detective J.P. Beaumont explores a puzzling double murder; the bodies are found in the school department's central office. Recovering alcoholic Beaumont is a low-key kind of guy; the suspects, from an overweight harridan to a frightened lesbian to a teenaged girl, are not. At first, Engene's narration seems choppy; then one realizes that his slow, ironic voice could be Beaumont's own. It captures the portrait of the middle-aged cop perfectly. The fully voiced narration renders each character distinctively, and the deep voice creates an overall tone of quiet rumination. There are eight additional titles in the series. D.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 92]