THE TAKEN

The discovery of a body that turns out to be a mannequin jump-starts an investigation headed by 62-year-old Hazel Micallef, a Canadian detective recovering from back surgery at the home of her remarried ex-husband. If this seems an unlikely scenario, it is, nonetheless, typical of the entire plot. Bernadette Dunne does her best with it, reading suspense into scenes where it’s called for; tension into conversations between Hazel, her family, and her police colleagues; and urgency into the hunt for a mutilated hostage whose hours are numbered. Likable characters are rare; certainly Hazel can be prickly, profane, and headstrong. Overall, Dunne’s performance is better than the bizarre and ghoulish story itself. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2010]