CAT'S EYEWITNESS

Kate Forbes did an effective job reading several Jessica Fletcher MURDER, SHE WROTE audiobooks. Here she doesn't need to mimic the inflections of a familiar TV voice, though her deliberate vocal pacing is the same. The story features another set of incisive women coping with several murders, this time involving a remote monastery in the Virginia hills and a statue of Mary. There's a great deal of banter about food and men in the dialogue, which is marked by shaded characterizations. The cats and dogs indulge in similar chatter, understandable only to them (the conceit of this series). It's often cutesy--but the story also offers a charming setting and an unusual plot. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 06]