TWENTY-FOUR HOURS

Were it not for Hill's exciting and sometimes flamboyant reading, this slow-moving story might have been entitled "24 Years." For five years in a row, a trio of child abductors has been successful at "the perfect kidnapping." They strike where the child lives, the parents don't tell the police, and the ransom is paid. Now, for the sixth time, they steal a doctor's child. This time, however, they encounter a family--parents and child--to be reckoned with. Though interesting at first, the plot bogs down as the 24 hours pass ever so slowly. But Hill's wonderful character development saves the day. He's solid as he alternates between the hysterical mother, the guilt-ridden father, and the ruthless mastermind. And he's superb as he switches from the 5-year-old victim to her captor. Another reader might not have been tolerated. A.L.H. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/JAN 01]