THE COCKTAIL WAITRESS

Cain's lost novel doesn’t measure up to other classics like THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE but is still worth a listen. The heroine, Joan Medford, has some good qualities, but she makes bad choices, mainly marrying for money. Narrator Amy Rubinate evokes the early ‘60s perfectly, portraying Joan as a woman who would do anything for her young son. Though the listener knows she’s blameless, the police look at her with suspicion after man after man she's involved with dies. Rubinate makes Joan sound sexy while making it clear that she uses that sexuality as a tool to better her life. Rubinate conveys Joan's frustration as fate seems determined to destroy her planned mother-and-child reunion. M.S. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2012]