THE DEVIL'S QUEEN

Catherine de Medici's obsession with witchcraft, sorcery, and Nostradamus begins when she’s captured by rebel insurgents as a child. Her talents for the dark arts further intensify after her political marriage to France's Prince Henri. Award-winning narrator Kate Reading seems like an ideal choice to re-create de Medici, the wife of one French king and the mother of three. Reading gives it her all, using every skill in her repertoire to breathe life into characters. She frequently over-emotes in dramatic scenes, but her deep, husky voice makes de Medici especially believable in the creepier, more sinister sections. Graphic scenes of sex and violence have been edited from this abridgment, and the result leaves holes in the story that make the characters less interesting. Reading works hard to make the story as engaging and dramatic as possible. A.R.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2010]