CRY ME A RIVER

Upon release from prison after serving a ten-year sentence, a man discovers his son is eight days from execution for rape and murder. The plot focuses on the ex-con's need to discover a truth that will redeem both him and his son. Peter Jay Fernandez has an extraordinary ear for accents and dialects. He uses that proficiency to the hilt in this audiobook. Unfortunately, these linguistic gems cannot rescue an otherwise lackluster performance. The overall effect is an aurally jarring experience, with the characters' voices continually jumping out from a monotonous narrative voice. Fernandez's performance is more akin to a linguistic exercise than the performance of a skilled narrator. P.R. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 04]