HOLD BACK THE NIGHT

In this British whodunit, youngish private eye Billy Rucker is assigned to find a teenaged runaway. Not surprisingly, he discovers she's been horribly murdered. Meanwhile, he deals with his reticent fiancée (who was once his brother's fiancée), publishing the poems of his comatose brother, and various liaisons and near liaisons. The first-person narrative rises above the humdrum, thanks to the author's charming depiction of his sentimental hero and the equally engaging narration of Gordon Griffin. Griffin sounds a bit too classy and mature for Billy; nonetheless, his lilting cadences and amiable, restrained personality more than compensate. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 04]