A PLACE OF EXECUTION

A landowner in an isolated English hamlet is hanged for the rape and murder of his 13-year-old stepdaughter. Thirty years later a journalist revisits the case with startling results. Essentially two books in one, the story has the expository nature of a police procedural and the gossipiness of a village "cozy" underlaid by sordid goings-on and the desire for revenge. Although Paddy Glynn does an old woman to a T, she doesn't give individual voice to the several well-rounded male characters. Rather, she uses her perfect diction and clear voice to carry the listener to the conclusion, where the saying "it takes a village" gets a whole new meaning. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 01]