THE RECYCLED CITIZEN

Because of the size and diversity as the Kelling family, the opening chapters of MacLeod's novel may be confusing for the first-timer to the series. However, the creaky start, stuffy with exposition, soon gives way to the charm, wit, and Holmesian logic of detectives Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, her husband, who is also an art critic. Through Mary Peiffer's able narration, we encounter the possibly psychic Cousin Theonia, an odd assortment of characters who frequent the senior citizens' recycling center, and a drug scheme that inevitably leads to not one, but two, murders. Peiffer's manner is matter of fact, her voice perfectly suited to the wry comments of the older, wiser members of the recycling center and the clan Kelling. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 02]