FULL CRY

Rita Mae Brown is not a bad narrator, but she's definitely not the right one for this not-too-exciting fox-hunting mystery. All the minutia of the sport are revealed as her 72-year-old sleuth, Jane Arnold, Master of the Jefferson Hunt, delves into the mysterious deaths of a couple local drunks. Brown's love of the hunt and the Virginia countryside are apparent, and Jane's inquiries into performance-enhancing drugs are fascinating. Unfortunately, Brown just does not have the range to convey the voices of multiple talking horses, hounds, and humans, a failure that leaves the listener totally confused. D.T.H. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 04]