GRASSHOPPER

Writing as Barbara Vine, Rendell tells especially dark stories and focuses on the psychology of her characters. Here, as frequently happens in her Vine novels, the main character's life is irrevocably altered in an instant. As a teenager climbing electric pylons with her boyfriend, Clodagh Brown makes one mistake that leads to her boyfriend's death and to her own descent into de-pression and obsession. That ultimately lands her in a kidnapping scandal high atop the London rooftops. Jenny Sterlin's narrative pacing is splendid. Slow, reflective, and somber, she builds rapport between the listener and the first-person narrator. Sterlin voices the girl's suffering with pensive, melancholy elegance--her depression, fear, and severe bouts of claus-trophobia. Then, as Clodagh discovers freedom and friends, Sterlin eases her narration, making Clodagh lighter, brighter. Clodagh becomes an instrument played by Sterlin in a virtuoso performance. D.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 01]