ESCAPADE

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, and Houdini's Pinkerton bodyguard team up at an English manor house to solve the mystery of the manor lord's untimely death. Helping the famous sleuths, or at least trying to, are an assortment of colorful guests, residents, servants, and constabulary. Jeff Woodman and Emily Gray alternate the first-person narrations of Phil Beaumont and Jane Marsden, the Pinkerton agent and a guest's paid companion. Both deliver admirable performances, including very similar portrayals of the other characters. Woodman's comic touch, however, has the listener laughing out loud. Satterthwait gives his sections the best material, and Woodman works it to perfection. While the ending comes as a surprise, the journey offers its own rewards. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 02]