A BITTER FEAST

Caught in the cross fire between union organizers and rival rest-aurateurs, private detective Lydia Chin is trying to track down four missing Chinese restaurant workers. Although the recording is uninspired, the story itself is satisfying as it takes Chin and her sometimes-partner, Bill Smith, through a world of illegal aliens, drug smuggling and the Chinatown bureaucratic jungle. Agnes Herrmann puts on an effective Chinese accent, but the normal voice she employs for narration and for non-ethnic characters comes out sounding nasal, on edge, and slightly whiny. Chin's character has a fun, spontaneous quality, which doesn't come through in Herrmann's reading. Despite the mismatch, BITTER FEAST makes for an exciting and edifying listen. S.E.S. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 99]