THE SECRET HOUR

Barrett Whitener does a standout job of reading the narrative text and male dialogue in Rice's enthralling tale of two families brought together by a serial killer, but his women's voices sound contrived. Kate Harris is mistaken for a new babysitter for Maggie and Teddy O'Rourke, who miss both their dead mother and overburdened attorney father, who is busy making the family pariahs because he is defending the "Breakwater Killer." But marine biologist Kate is really looking for her missing sister, who disappeared at the same time that John's client was murdering young women. The pacing of the narration and the suspenseful story itself, with its exciting ending, will not disappoint Rice's fans. D.T.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 03]