LOADED DICE

Las Vegas is the place, and Tony Valentine is the man hired by the owner of a busy casino to catch big-time gambling cheats. Formerly a cop, he knows all the villains and their ways, but his own way is muddled by a near suicide and the discovery that his own son is enrolled at a card-counting school. Paul Boehmer's reading fails to provide a human slant on these characters and their fears. He portrays the women as airheads who speak in high tones that deprive them of the listener's empathy. The males, too, have distinct voices, mostly of stereotypical gangsters. Boehmer's interpretation grates on the ears, ultimately making this light novel better for reading than listening. J.P. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 04/ JAN 05]