ONLY DAD

When Tom Drummond's wife dies suddenly on a family vacation, he's left to cope with his own grief, and that of his teenaged daughter. The months following their loss include a major career change for Tom, and Tally's first love, and well as the expected multitude of emotional extremes. Alan Titchmarsh's long career as a television presenter serves well to bring life to his audiobook performance. His rough voice becomes surprisingly gentle in the story's emotional passages, and one can hear his barely suppressed tears. The author's mastery of British wry humor translates well into his narration, without the flatness present in many author-performed audiobooks. Titchmarsh says in the interview following the story that he wants to write books that people are sorry to finish. Here he succeeds in text and audio. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB / MAR 03]