GRASSHOPPER

Listening to a Barbara Vine, aka Ruth Rendell, is usually an even greater pleasure than a print reading. However, this narration by Bernadette Dunne is an unfortunate exception. Why an old-fashioned-sounding, American accent is applied to an entirely modern, non-American cast is puzzling and disappointing.The story is thrilling; a group of young people scales the rooftops of London, causing myriad incidents--both good and bad. Each character and incident are verbalized identically. The story moves back and forth over 11 years, but this is very difficult to follow because there is no differentiation to account for the time shift. This is a disappointing entry to the Rendell/Vine body of audio work. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 01]