FADEAWAY GIRL

Twelve-year-old Emma Graham investigates the kidnapping of Baby Fay 20 years earlier. The sharp tones of Kim Guest's voice aptly imitate the whiny main character as she drones on about life in La Porte, Maryland. Guest favors high tones and Southern accents for the female characters and softer, deeper intonations for the male characters in Grimes’s story. In between working at Hotel Paradise, run by her mother, Emma traipses around town poking her nose into everyone’s business. If the listener has trouble following the plot, take heart—this is the sequel to BELLE RUIN, and the fourth in a series. Guest connects emotionally with the story, slipping into Emma’s persona. But the story is difficult to follow and tends to involve characters only Emma cares about. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2011]