SWEET AND DEADLY

This mystery is most notable for what it’s lacking—the Southern atmosphere that Charlaine Harris is best known for. Suzie Jackson portrays newspaper reporter Catherine, longtime resident of Lowfield, Mississippi, without a trace of a Southern accent. The innocence in her voice reflects her age but not her experiences as Catherine becomes embroiled in her second brush with murder—the first having occurred six months earlier with the suspicious deaths of her parents. As Catherine becomes, first, a victim and, then, a suspect, she’s surrounded by the residents of this small town, whose voices Jackson does imbue with a variety of Southern accents. Why the inconsistency? Further, the romance between Catherine and her boss falls flat due to Jackson’s hesitant delivery. E.N. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2010]