THE PERFECT WITNESS

This legal detective novel boasts better writing than the Grisham model it resembles. Having given up criminal defense because of his guilt over a lost case, a conscientious attorney cannot escape representing his dissolute former partner on a murder rap. The case hinges upon a sexy psychopathic liar, the perfect witness of the title. The listener may at times wince at Ed Asner's narrating deficiencies--his growly, almost somnolent, pianissimo, odd rhythmic fluctuations and mid-sentence pauses. Yet, abetted by a suspenseful script, he exerts a certain hypnotic fascination. Furthermore, his voice is authoritative and his characterizations of women particularly fine. The effect is of a tiger, seemingly languid, but tense and ready to pounce. Y.R. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 98]