THE SERPENT'S TOOTH

A melodramatic novel of post-Edwardian angst among the British upper crust is apparently intended for a young female audience. At 13, tomboy Belle is sexually abused by a 60-something local bigwig. Thus traumatized, she grows up with this terrible secret and at last is forced to confront her demons. Anna Bentinck interprets this fare with verve and commitment. She contributes perhaps a little too much empathy, wringing her hands, as it were, over the fates of the various good guys and portraying the villains with more villainy than the author does. Never over the top, she wastes no subtlety on Belle, her friends, lovers, tormentors, and adventures. Y.R. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 06]