TOYER

Gardner McKay's hushed, chilling reading is perfectly in tune with this story's hushed, chilling ambience. A psychotic toys with women to get their guard down and then violates them in a way arguably worse than rape or even murder. The narration is both effective and problematic. With its occasional rushed, halting or mumbled dialogue, McKay's performance successfully mimics real speech, making this scary novel--with its fascinating theme of serial predator as media celebrity--even scarier. He especially nails the memorable closing section and the creepy ending. However, unless one is listening in a silent environment, even played loudly one loses bits of murmured dialogue or whispered internal thought in the scream of traffic and other real-life sounds. J.P.M. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 99]