MALLETS AFORETHOUGHT

Jacobia Tiptree and her friend Ellie have volunteered to restore one of Eastport's Victorian residences to its previous grandeur, but when they discover a desicated corpse underneath a floorboard and then a fresher corpse beside the first, their troubles require more than carpentry skills. Lindsay Ellison does good character voices, but her reading is erratic. She doesn't engage the listener in the story because her reading is bumpy and doesn't flow. Worst of all, though, is her attempt at a Downeast Maine accent. It is downright bad. Perhaps it would have been better to hire someone who is familiar with the sounds of the Northeast, rather than someone who simply offers a broad "a" every now and then. J.P. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 04]