DEADLINE MAN

A business columnist for a big-city paper has a routine interview, gathering information on a company before deadline approaches. When the subject turns up dead, his reporting instincts kick in. Malcolm Hillgartner’s narration is fine for the voices involved—those of assorted villains, newsroom colleagues, and an impressive array of girlfriends. And when the unnamed columnist tries to understand why he’s being pursued, the narration really adds to the tension as Hillgartner’s tone and pitch rise with the heightened emotions. The columnist relentlessly digs for the truth, all the while giving the reader an accurate description of a present-day newsroom. Both Hillgartner and the no-name protagonist get listeners’ hearts racing. M.B. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2011]