ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER

Though some diehard Christie fans may be a bit disappointed with the large role played by crime novelist Ariadne Oliver in this mystery, thereby reducing the importance of their favorite, Hercule Poirot, no listener should be even slightly displeased with the narration by reader John Moffatt. He is outstanding as he tells us about how first Oliver, then Poirot, gets immersed in finding the truth about a "double suicide" that occurred 12 years earlier. He handles Poirot's accent and mannerisms perfectly and consistently, even down to the sniff when the great detective meets someone who has not heard of him. Moffatt captures status differences among all sorts of folk, from French nannies to wealthy London dowagers, and uses pauses, laughs and stammers to superb effect. T.H. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 00]