In pre-Accord Northern Ireland, self-made and self-destructive Farrell O'Phelan has begun an affair with American Estrin Lancaster, a woman who is attracted to both personal and global conflict. His unctuousness and her brittleness are deftly captured in Melanie MacHugh's butter-smooth delivery for the one and overly bright tones for the other. Farrell's nemesis, the politician Angus MacBride, masks his viciousness with a "hale and hearty" persona, which MacHugh succeeds in reproducing. Despite MacHugh's solid take on these primary characters, her narration can't seem to rescue Shriver's novel from its own "troubles": It ceases to be engaging long before it ends. Still, those set on reading it will be as well served by the audio edition as the print version. K.W. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2015]
Trade Ed. Harper Audio 2015
CD ISBN 9781504643511 $44.99 Thirteen CDs
DD ISBN 9780062431073 $27.99
Library Ed. Blackstone Audio 2015
CD ISBN 9781504643504 $59.99 Thirteen CDs
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