LOOKAWAY, LOOKAWAY

It's a hot time in modern-day Dixie as the Jarvis-Johnston clan sins and steals their way through Charlotte, North Carolina, society. Scott Shepherd impresses the listener with his depiction of male characters, especially the self-congratulatory yet defeated Gaston Jarvis, who made a mint penning Civil War novels. Shepherd's vocalization of Charlotte's gay community keeps the listener laughing. Perhaps it's inevitable that his voice does not register well in the female range. Nonetheless, his performance does what no printed page can, eloquently immersing the listener in the harsh truths that Barnhardt's characters must face. To paraphrase the despised Jarvis matriarch, Jeanette, no one who has money got it honestly. J.J.B. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2013]