GOLDEN GIRL

Narrator Erin Bennett adds a bit of needed depth to the latest summer beach read from Elin Hilderbrand. When Nantucket novelist Vivian Howe is killed in a hit-and-run accident, she is allowed a few months to observe her family and village from "above." With a perky brightness, Bennett portrays the almost-perfect Vivi as she awaits the release of her newest novel--a book that will reveal old secrets. Bennett's characterizations of Vivian's children add interest: Her daughter fears another miscarriage, her second daughter fights a drug addiction, and her teenage son makes life decisions that don't include his clingy girlfriend. As the town police chief pursues the truth about who killed Vivi, Bennett's steady narration keeps the listener engaged in the whodunit. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2021]