BABY BROTHER'S BLUES

Blue Hamilton and "General" Richardson keep the peace in West End Atlanta--Mafia style. Blue and his wife, Regina, are expecting their first child, so she's concerned about his safety. Meanwhile, "General" thinks he's found his true love reincarnated as a stripper. Cleage has populated her novel with strong minor characters who upstage Blue and the General. "Baby Brother" is Regina's ambitionless brother, who is home from Iraq on a five-day pass for his mother's funeral and who has no intention of returning and every intention of sponging off everyone he meets. Cleage's voice is pleasant and her narration smooth, but she spends forever on minor character development, causing the story to stall. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 06]