ONE LAST CHILD Tallman's Valley Detectives, Book 1

Narrator Caroline Lee inhabits this mystery set in Katoomba, Australia. Teachers are setting up a picnic for 19 kindergarteners when five of them, including the granddaughter of homicide detective Kate Wakeland, mysteriously vanish. Lee's delivery of both the narrative and the dialogue is flawless--diverse emotions and local, Indian, and Chinese accents are spot-on. Listeners will be as dismayed as Wakeland when she's forbidden to participate in the investigation because of the family connection, but she's kept up to date on the search. Wakeland's beloved hospice-bound mother, who provides a vital clue, is Lee's best creation. After more than three years, four of the children are returned, making the pursuit of the others even more desperate. The impeccably rendered conclusion fits the gripping story. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2020]