THE LAST GOOD DAY

After 9/11, Barry and Lynn Schulman move from New York City to be safe. They move to Riverside, a thirty-five-minute train ride up the Hudson. Once there, Barry secretly invests most of the family's savings in an "iffy" Alzheimer's drug; Lynn's best friend is murdered; and her old flame, a cop with anger management problems, is stalking her. Jonathan Marosz's friendly tones draw the listener in, making the chaotic chain of events even more horrific. Marosz's performance of children is unsentimental, while the adults' rationalizations sound painfully familiar. Blauner's plotting is fresh, his characters original, and his action sequences brilliantly cinematic. But the story suffers from too many self-conscious similes. The writing is strongest when it's simple, allowing Marosz to make the most of every action-packed moment. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 03/JAN 04]