SIENA SUMMER

A predictable novel, with little description to transport the listener, is read nicely by Jan Francis. Young Poppy Brookes befriends a stranger, an injured WWI veteran and artist, in the woods near her home. He proceeds to run away with her sister, Isobel. Ten years later, and a lot of water over the dam, Poppy goes to Italy to visit her sister. There she discovers a mysterious Frenchwoman, an adorable child, her drugged sister, and a handsome Frenchman. Jan Francis does a fine job interpreting the various voices. She's a much better reader than the novel she's been asked to interpret. B.H.B. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 00]