IN HER DEFENSE

Stephen Horn knows how to spin a yarn, and veteran performer Scott Brick knows how to read one. Together they make Horn's legal thriller a pleasure to listen to. Morose attorney Frank O'Connell has lost his wife through divorce and most of his practice through pride. He is hired to defend an heiress accused of murdering her father's friend, a former Cabinet secretary. Though she admits the killing to O'Connell, who becomes her lover, he mounts an unusual defense and uncovers, layer by layer, a fifty-year-old secret. Not only is the plot remarkable, but the dialogue is as well. Brick's reading is engaging; he delivers the crisp lines with outrage, sarcasm, and tenderness as needed. Sometimes he fails to differentiate between characters, but it's a minor flaw, considering the overall splendid performance. A.L.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 01]