THE WELL

Drought helps create the drama in Chanter's debut novel about an England that no longer has rain. Narrator Nicola Barber makes this suspenseful and somewhat paranoid story all the more haunting with her expert delivery. Her performance perfectly matches the alternately hopeful and despairing main character, who leaves London with her husband in an attempt to rejuvenate their marriage and inadvertently ends up with a property called The Well, nearly the only place in the country where the water runs freely--as do the troubles, soon enough. Chanter writes beautifully and constructs her story equally well. Barber makes it come alive, leaving listeners on the edge of their seats for hours on end, trying to piece together exactly what has happened at The Well and why. J.L.K. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2015]