GRIFTER'S GAME

Joe Marlin's life as a con man ends when he steals some luggage in which he finds a block of heroin and he falls in love with Mona, who is married, coincidentally, to the owner of the stolen suitcases. What starts as a tongue-in-cheek and cheeky narrative turns into a very dark story. Alan Sklar's gravelly voice begins in the tone of a stereotypical semi-villain whom the listener might grow to like. However, as the story progresses, becoming more and more sinister, Sklar's voice changes subtly. Unfortunately, he reads at too slow and deliberate a pace, unwarranted in a story that itself is slow and deliberate, with lots of thought and little action. S.S.R. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 05/ JAN 06]