MOONRISE

Three narrators each voice a single character's point of view in alternating chapters of King's story, which was inspired by du Maurier's REBECCA. Protagonist Helen is spending her first summer in the North Carolina mountain home her new husband inherited from his late wife. Tansy, her predecessor's lifelong friend, and property manager Willa are on hand to meet "the bride." Only the chapters from Willa's viewpoint interpret men well. The narrators of Helen and Tansy exaggerate their Southern accents; each passage is spoken in such a slow drawl as to strain the listener's patience. Those chapters are so painful to listen to at times that even devoted audiophiles will want to read this in print. J.J.B. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2013]