BASKET CASE

Carl Hiaasen's most recent novel concerns the dogged efforts of a hapless obituary writer to investigate the death of a faded rock star. The witty, self-deprecating remarks of this reporter-narrator create a profane and pert style that becomes the novel's chief appeal. This distinctive tone also calls attention to the unfortunate choice of reader. Former broadcast journalist George Wilson's measured, straightforward reading would better serve a writer whose work depends more on plot (Agatha Christie? Erle Stanley Gardner?) and less on such a juicy, idiomatic voice. The miscast Wilson drains many scenes of life and spoils one entirely (when the narrator is punched in the nose) with his listlessness. G.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 02/ JAN 03]