THE HISTORY OF JANE DOE

Narrator Michael Crouch ably meets the challenge of portraying a man named Ray in this complex psychological novel. Crouch masterfully guides the listener through Ray's memories and feelings, meandering between "the days before" and "the days after" a catastrophic event that changes his life forever. We're "on the couch" with Ray as he interweaves his memories of his slowly developing relationship with Jane in "the days before" with his anger and confusion in "the days after." As Ray reluctantly begins to share with his therapist, Crouch's smooth delivery lets us hear Ray's happiness as his friendship with Jane grows and his hurt when she pulls back. In the author's note, Belanger compares talking about mental illness to a riddle. With Crouch's careful delivery, the listener begins to unravel that riddle. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2018]