NICE TO COME HOME TO

All Prudence Whistler, a 30-something spinster, wants is a caring husband, kids, and her own dress shop. What she gets are her younger sister, who is an unmarried mother, and a retinue of disturbed family and friends. Narrator Carrington MacDuffie inhabits Pru with gusto and heartache. The comparison to Jane Austen's SENSE AND SENSIBILITY is inevitable: Pru is the sensible heroine, and Patsy is burdened by too much sensibility. Most of the voices sound true, with the exception of Pru's niece, who sounds like a grown-up trying to imitate a little girl. But Pru herself is so convincing, evoking laughter and tears, that this flaw can easily be forgiven. M.T.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]