FULL DARK, NO STARS

Craig Wasson narrates two of the four frighteningly intimate horror tales in this collection, both of which have a male protagonist who commits a horrible act for gain and (perhaps) has a brush with the supernatural. Jessica Hecht handles the other, more bleakly mundane set, each featuring a woman who is driven to rid the world of a monster who has ruined her life and will destroy others if not stopped. Wasson has an earnest, intelligent everyman quality that appears to reflect the character’s inner nature at first but eventually serves as an effective contrast. Hecht’s warm, sweet voice perfectly fits that of a woman from a nicely settled life who is now brutally jolted from her comfort zone and making ruthless choices to restore a semblance of peace. A.B.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2010]