DEAD AIR

Sammy (not short for Samantha) Greene, journalist and controversial radio personality at Ellsford College, has a unique perspective on whatever is happening on campus. Narrator Barbara Whitesides clearly evokes the breezy, confident Sammy, who uses her special access to investigate odd incidents and to promote programs on campus. But this college has a lot to digest: demonstrations against its AIDS research lab, a bombing, questionable corporate funding, a religious zealot with a hidden agenda, four suicides (or are they?), murders, fires, and personal attacks on Sammy. Sammy’s use of a tape recorder is done well. The listener hears just what Sammy hears: clues and static. Throughout the story more sounds trigger insights for Sammy. It would have been fun to actually hear all those sounds. N.K.L. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2011]