THE NEST

Stig Wemyss is terrific as Robin, an Australian teen facing more than the usual pangs of adolescence—with a missing mother, a confused love life, and a terrifying father who arouses tormenting images of violence that pop up like writhing snakes in Robin's head. Wemyss is also great as the gruff father but is less consistent with the female characters. He puts a bit too much campiness into the readings of some of Robin's own short stories, which are meant to offer insight into the teen and to provide foreshadowing of the plot. Both author and narrator draw one into the setting; the Aussie ski lodge and the life-threatening blizzard that takes place there are chilling. Wemyss is quite a character in the interview with Paul Jennings that concludes the book. So the curious listener will hear the narrator’s own voice and the author’s. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2009]