DEAL ON ICE

A book is boring when the author doesn't give the listener enough information for the listener to feel invested in the well-being of the main character. A plot is boring when the author doesn't give the listener enough information to anticipate the solution to the crime or crime series. When the author keeps the listener blindfolded until Chapter 24, as in the case of DEAL ON ICE, the listener simply doesn't care who died or why, even if the problem in the book is caused by a relgious Goldfinger type seeking to dominate the World Wide Web. There is no setting within a thousand miles of Omaha, Nebraska, like the one John Deal moves around in for an hour and a half of the story. At the core of the book, there is an estranged couple whose sexual coupling is realistically staged, and Ron McLarty also does angry women well. But, his sense of integrity to the performing arts requires him to read the book with a deep sense of weariness. Anyone who finds this combination appealing will enjoy this. M.D.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 02]