MARAZAN

Pilot Richard Stenning vows to help the escaped convict who saved his life in a plane crash in the English countryside. Stenning soon finds himself pursued by police while he pursues a drug-smuggling ring. David Collins reads this adventure story with tongue-in-cheek glee, giving first-person narrator Stenning a tone suitable for Bertie Wooster. His Stenning takes risks and missteps on a higher scale, remaining true to his own code of conduct. This 1926 novel was the first for Nevil Shute, best known for ON THE BEACH and A TOWN LIKE ALICE. Collins takes this work, notable mainly for its author, and elevates it to great fun. Several racial slurs uttered by the hero mar an otherwise good story. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 01]