THE SUGAR HOUSE

A feckless young Baltimore man, convicted of a Jane Doe murder, is himself killed in prison. His sister wants to know why. When Tess Monaghan, a tough but charming Baltimore P.I., takes the case, her investigation runs the gamut from the city's ruling classes to its lowlife and most of the notes in between. Compelling and satisfying, this is a tautly worked thriller with an awfully sweet ending (note the title.) Laurence Bouvard runs out of male voices; when she gets to the bottom of her barrel, some of the men sound more like cartoon mice or ducks than the thugs they are, but she does a great job otherwise. B.G. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 03]