THE SHADOWS

Narrators John Heffernan and Hannah Arterton deliver this mystery with aplomb. After 25 years, Paul Adams, accused of murder as a teenager, returns to Gritton, an English industrial town. Time and viewpoints frequently shift in this mystery. Listeners accompany Adams as he reluctantly visits his mother in hospice. Heffernan portrays him as kind and feeling guilty for leaving her there. Arterton genuinely portrays Detective Amanda Blake, a skilled investigator who fights insecurity as she pursues a modern-day copycat murderer. Both narrators emotively describe the depressing locale and its residents, who include the teens obsessed with the original murder. Lucid dreaming plays an intriguing part in the story, as well. Equally frightening is the local shadowy forest and what it portends. Audio is a must for this unusual story and its poignant conclusion. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2020]