SURFACE TENSION

Christine Kling creates an intricate puzzle and a feisty heroine in this debut novel. Seychelle Sullivan runs a salvage business in South Florida. She takes her tug, THE GORDA, out to answer a Mayday, discovers a murdered woman, and suddenly, Seychelle's the prime suspect. After run-ins with drug dealers, loan sharks, and a sleazy strip club owner and porn filmmaker, Seychelle manages to clear her name. Narrator Laural Merlington's interpretation of Seychelle is professional and charming, although her ladylike voice and precise pronunciation are not quite credible for a woman who captains a salvage vessel. However, Merlington's male characters are believable and appropriately eccentric. Kling offers some outrageous characters, as well as some clever plotting, but SURFACE TENSION never quite makes it into Hiassen country. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 03]