CHICAGO

David Mamet's latest opus would work better as a play--the kind he won a Pulitzer Prize for writing--but it also succeeds as an audiobook. Skilled narrator Jim Frangione does his level best to help listeners keep track of who is speaking in a novel that is 99 percent dialogue. Still, it's a fascinating trip to the seedy side of post-WWI Chicago--even with its verbose, overblown conversations. Reporter Mike Hodge is obsessed with the murder of a young woman and uses all his skills to find her killer regardless of who is involved. Everyone talks like they are in a James Cagney movie, but there is some real passion here. M.S. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2018]