STARDUST

At first, this novel, which begins on a cross-country train ride from New York to California in 1945, feels as if it has too much back story to get out of the station. With war-torn Europe a recent memory, Kanon offers an account of two brothers, a possible murder, deception, betrayal, and espionage, all wrapped up in the bad old days of Hollywood. Narrator T. Ryder Smith does little to alleviate the sluggish start. At the outset, his cautious voice drapes a somber mood over the story. But as Kanon's deftly conceived puzzle pieces begin to fit together, the plot gathers momentum, and Smith's early choices make sense. Each of Smith's characters has a distinctive personality, and his narration conjures up a strong sense of place that reveals the darkness beneath the tinsel. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2010]