THE DRAMATIST

In the fourth adventure of drunken Irish policeman Jack Taylor, he's sober and no longer a cop. That doesn't prevent him from investigating the murders of two college girls, which police think are strange coincidences. Narrator Michael Deehy is expert at playing the snaky detective, but can the police really be that stupid? Deehy single-handedly creates Galway, down to the last brick. The doting landlady, the stout best friend, the pretentious professor are all real and convincing. But while the story is fascinating and perfectly delivered, it sometimes seems like a story told by a long-winded guy at an Irish pub with a pint of Guinness and a love of his own voice. M.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 06]