FREE FIRE

This installment in the Joe Pickett series is set in Yellowstone Park, where the murder of four young environmentalists has local law enforcement officials stymied. The perpetrator has confessed but can't be prosecuted because the murders occurred in a section of the park over which, according to federal law, no court has jurisdiction. When more murders follow, Joe discovers a connection to local competition for bio-mining rights. The flat though highly individualized voices David Chandler uses for the characters mesh well with the story, and the minor variations in tempo and volume capture the ambience of the Western setting. Chandler sustains the story’s tension and suspense throughout with a nuanced performance. S.S.R. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2008]