THE RETURNED

Tom Stechschulte's smooth, almost prosaic, performance lulls the listener into accepting that the dead are returning from the grave all over the world--and not in a zombie creepy way but even more chillingly, just as they were on they day they died. He adapts his tone and pitch for children and the elderly and delivers regional accents that create an entirely believable community. He's most vivid as Harold Hargrave, who is shattered by the appearance of his 8-year-old son, who died tragically 50 years earlier. Mott's alluring prose explores the miraculous global events, which many come to fear and despise, with emotional depth. Stechschulte seizes the phenomenon, which may be a doomsday precursor, with perceptive stoicism. A.W. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2013]