THE CRIMSON PORTRAIT

It's 1915. A young British war widow agrees to have her estate become a military hospital for patients whose faces have been damaged almost beyond repair. When she falls in love with a patient, she is tempted to have his face remade to look like that of her dead husband. Josephine Bailey's smoky voice matches the mood of the story, and her pace is as considered as the writing. A bit too considered for this reviewer, who worried that the story would sink into significant pauses. It can also be difficult to track conversations among the doctors and patients, as Bailey does not clearly differentiate male voices. A worthy effort, but not quite as spellbinding as advertised. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 07]