ON THE ROAD
MAN WITH A SQUIRREL
By Nicholas Kilmer, Blackstone Audiobooks, 9 hours, $44.95. Read by Patrick Cullen.
An engrossing mystery set in Boston’s art world, “Man With a Squirrel” follows the adventures of Fred Taylor, knowledgeable assistant to an exacting though amusing art collector. Other vibrant characters include Molly, Fred’s implacable librarian lover, and Oona, the Hungarian proprietor of a junk store where Fred discovers part of a painting he believes to be the work of an 18th Century American master.
LUCKY YOU
By Carl Hiaasen, Random House Audiobooks, 3 hours, abridged, $18. Read by Edward Asner.
Not surprisingly, Edward Asner excels at playing the parts of journalist Tom Krome and his demanding newspaper editor in this fast-paced, madcap tale. When two parties win the $28 million Florida lottery, one of the parties–two militiamen with white supremacist leanings–steals the other winning ticket from JoLayne Lucks, a shrewd black woman who had planned to spend her windfall rescuing nature sites from shady real-estate developers. Enter jaded journalist Krome, who accompanies Lucks on a tour of Florida’s sordid side to regain her stolen ticket.
IN THE BATHTUB
SIN
By Josephine Hart, Dove Audio, 3 hours, abridged, $18. Read by Diana Rigg.
Diana Rigg, host of PBS’ “Mystery” series, adds a compelling element to this predictable novel of familial hatred and seduction. Ruth, the narrator, has always abhorred her virtuous, older “sister,” Elizabeth, who is really a cousin whose parents died in an auto accident. Throughout their childhood and into adulthood, Ruth seethes, at first committing petty crimes against golden-haired Elizabeth, finally working up to the grander transgression of seducing Elizabeth’s husband. Of course, there’s a comeuppance in store for Ruth, but by that time the listener may be too alienated from these unidimensional characters.
SANDBOX STORIES
TREASURE ISLAND
By Robert Louis Stevenson, Everyman’s Library Children’s Classics/Random House, 1 hour, abridged, $11. Read by Charles Dance.
A quick, action-filled abridgement of the 1883 classic, complete with nautical sound effects. Reader Charles Dance switches deftly from the measured tones of the narrator to the alternately gruff and whooping voice of the famous pirate with a penchant for rum.
