SMILING AT DEATH

Nash’s crisp and mature British voice is perfect for this tale of serial murder in yet another quaint Cotswold village. Middle-aged mystery writer turned sleuth Melissa Craig is at the center of the action as she discovers one corpse with a painted-on smile and then tries to find out who perpetrated this and four other similar deaths. The locale has the usual complement of characters, all well portrayed, most of whom are hiding past connections with each other. Rowlands’s tight control of the plot is matched by Nash’s authoritative tone; one listens knowing that nothing will happen that Melissa can’t deal with competently. The excellent reading elevates an otherwise bucolic whodunit. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 00]