CAPE PERDIDO

When plans to pump the Perdido River in Soledad County, California, through an aqueduct system to North Carolina are revealed, the residents protest. It's not long before discussion turns deadly. Dick Hill and Joyce Bean narrate Muller's ecological thriller, rife with old secrets and new violence. Bean's performance is calm and soothing. Her characterizations are quietly drawn and believable. Hill embodies an assortment of provincial personalities with well-defined accents that range from gruff, grizzly locals to citified corporate raiders, although Hill is sometimes overly loud and jarring in his exchanges with Bean. However, both readers do especially well with Muller's descriptions of the pristine beauty of the Northern California coast. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 05/ JAN 06]