BORDERLINE

In Barr's latest, park ranger Anna Pigeon is forced to take stress leave from her job, and she decides to "get away" by taking a rafting trip on the Rio Grande. The journey, however, proves to be anything but relaxing as events both natural and man-made conspire to keep Anna and her companions scrambling for safety. As ever, narrator Barbara Rosenblat does an amazing job portraying the characters, whether male or female, young or middle-aged, beseeching or bratty. Her vocal gymnastics keep the listener attentive both when the story's pace slows and when the plot takes a wild turn, and her sense of timing makes funny moments even funnier. All this, and she can sing, too! Rosenblat is full of surprises. A.E.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2009]