VOODOO MOON

When an otherwise quiet Iowa town is shocked by a young woman’s murder, the residents recall the horrific fire that destroyed the nearby criminal mental hospital 25 years earlier. Rumors circulate about the possible involvement of a psychopathic rapist and murderer who escaped the flames and disappeared. Or did he? This intricate thriller, encumbered with multiple story lines, is not clarified by Bob Walter’s narration. His straightforward delivery blurs the main characters, and his distinctive pause after the first word of most sentences is distracting. Further, the somewhat one-dimensional figure of Robert Payne, private investigator and former FBI profiler, is not enriched by Walter’s unexceptional performance. Payne has the savvy and courage to solve the mystery, but he’s a bit lackluster along the journey. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2012]