IN OFFICE HOURS

The challenge for narrator Alison Reid is to maintain a distinct voice for this novel's two female protagonists who work at the same London oil company. Both are involved in problematic relationships at work: Bella is involved with her boss, James, and married executive Stella is infatuated by her young Welsh trainee, Rhys. Overcoming the author's rhyming “Bella-Stella” challenge, Reid keeps the women distinct and adeptly conveys their obsessive loss of self-control, albeit with suitable British reserve. For the love interests, Reid brings a consistent accent to Rhys and has fun with the emotionally disconnected James, who is overwhelmed by desire one minute and in clipped office mode the next. A.B. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2011]