SHE'S LEAVING HOME

Narrator Cameron Stewart gives a bravura performance in the first book of Shaw's proposed trilogy. A girl's body is found near the Beatles' recording studio. At the same time, London criminal investigator "Paddy" Breen is in disgrace after a cowardly act. To redeem himself, Breen and Helen Tozer, the Murder Squad's token woman, set out to find out who killed the girl and why. Stewart's narration skill is truly impressive. He manages high-pitched squeaks and ominous rumblings as the two detectives attempt to solve the murder. With natural-sounding accents for all, he transitions between smooth narrative and rapid-fire dialogue. Characters and settings are multi-textured as Stewart takes listeners through "mod" London, mini-skirts, shiny white boots, racism, sexism, and more in this 1960s pop-culture mystery. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2014]