THE WINNER

This deliciously entertaining thriller has all the right ingredients: suspense, a strange but brilliant villain and a woman lifted out of poverty into privilege--but with a price. LuAnn Tyler is smart, beautiful, but desperately poor, working as a waitress and living with an abusive boyfriend and her greatly loved infant daughter. When a stranger offers her the chance to win millions of dollars in the national lottery, LuAnn's new life, which will ultimately lead her into danger as great as her wealth, begins. Frances Cassidy's narration is rich, sultry and powerful. Through degree of accent and inflection, she conveys the very different person LuAnn becomes, thanks to education and travel. Cassidy also perfectly captures both the streetwise Charlie (LuAnn's friend and companion) and the menacing Mr. Jackson. The suspenseful conclusion keeps the listener breathless, thanks to Baldacci's plotting and Cassidy's pacing and flawless emotional pitch. M.A.M. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 99]