A NEST OF MAGPIES

In a long, intricate, and winsome story, an East Anglican war widow purchases her family homestead, restores it, and falls in love again with her childhood sweetheart. The adventures and misadventures of family and villagers round out the plot. Marylin Finlay imparts subtle vocal shifts and varying shades of dialect to the story's many characters. Fran's loyal housekeeper, Sophie, receives the most attention in this regard, with Finlay's deft attentions rendering her strong and vulnerable, simple and wise. Finlay's performance is marred, unfortunately, by a loud background hiss on every cassette and a poorly engineered vocal tone that requires turning the bass down and the treble up to understand her at all. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 02]