TABULA RASA

When two children die under suspicious circumstances in a house fire, Arson Investigator Billy Nightingale and his brother-in-law, Police Detective Sebastian Bly, are called in to investigate. As performed by Anna Fields, Billy and Sebastian sound like square-jawed heroic types. As Edith Tuttle, the monster mother, Fields offers a psychotic, uneducated harridan. The author, a private detective and New York City arson investigator, provides insights into meticulous police work and forensics, but her lengthy explication on mothers who murder reads more like a research paper than a novel. The story ties up too neatly, and the characters lack credibility, but Fields keeps things edgy and well worth a listen. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 07]