ELMORE LEONARD'S WESTERN ROUNDUP The Bounty Hunters, Forty Lashes Less One, and Gunsights

Leonard's extraordinary stories stand alone well enough in print, but Peter Renaday's narration lends a whole new layer to Leonard's characters and breathtaking settings. Renaday's range of accents is so astounding that the listener wonders if this is a full-cast production. But it’s all Renaday. He shifts from a Southern black convict to an officious prison counselor to a Mexican captain—and everyone in between—with seamless grace and strength, underscoring Leonard’s exceptional narrative efficiency with his own. The only weakness in the production is the distracting and sometimes inappropriate musical selections that bookend each scene. As some scenes are rather short, the music becomes repetitive and undermines Renaday's powerful performance. A.H.A. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]