THE HANGING GARDEN

A dark and convoluted murder mystery set in Scotland features Rankin's Inspector Rebus, his doting father and his relentless bloodhound. Narrator Langton adopts a telegraphic, tough-guy mannerism that limits him to a near drone. He manages to drop it for dialogue, but there isn't enough to vivify the performance. On the plus side, he manages to give us authentic-sounding Scots accents that American listeners can still understand. Y.R. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 00]