THE HANGING TREE

How much you enjoy this well-made tale of small-town corruption and pigheadedness may well depend on how enthusiastic you are about ice hockey. It’s always fun when a storyteller makes artful narrative use of the insider details of some subculture, and Gruley does just that with both the Peewee hockey league in Starvation Lake, Michigan, and the dedicated rivalry of the adult amateur teams. Gus Carpenter, a newspaper reporter and ardent hockey jock who no longer plays goalie (it’s a plot point), becomes determined to understand the hanging death of his cousin, Grace, when he figures out just which scumbag wants him to drop it. Regardless of your level of hockey interest, you’ll relish Rich Orlow’s subtle vocal technique, his unflagging attention, and persuasive performance. B.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2011]