BEDFORD SQUARE

A dead body left on the doorstop of General Brandon Ballantyne of Bedford Square opens a case for Superintendent Thomas Pitt that involves blackmail, embezzlement and murder. British actor David McCallum narrates this Victorian mystery with all the properness of the era. He portrays Pitt as deliberate and inquisitive and compassionate toward the victims of the crimes. McCallum's formal tone in his rendering of the upper-crust club members adds to the sense of privilege and power that the elite Londoners enjoy. Although the plot stalls in parts, McCallum is able to draw the listener into both the investigation and the setting of Victorian England. K.M.D. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 01]