GONE

Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware mysteries are always fast paced and full of psychological angles. This one is true to form. While this production is abridged, without a direct comparison to the original, it's hard to tell what has been cut out. Scenes move seamlessly from one to another. John Rubinstein is solid as the narrator, but do all Southern Californians sound like New Yorkers? Rubinstein differentiates the main characters well, but he's weak on the minor ones, especially women. This is only a minor flaw, though, and doesn't detract from the overall work. Rubinstein is particularly effective at portraying one-half of telephone conversations and uses hesitations effectively in both the text and conversation. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 06]