ANNABEL LEE Coffey & Hill, Book 1

Narrator Romy Nordlinger’s animated voice captures a variety of compelling characters in this unusual mystery, whose title alludes to Edgar Allan Poe’s poem of the same name. Nordlinger’s accomplished portrayals capture the story’s main characters: a frightened 11-year-old named Annabel Lee; her mysterious uncle, Truck; a Special Forces sniper called “Mute”; and private investigators Trudi Coffey and Samuel Hill. Giving the principals appropriate age and character traits, Nordlinger uses emphatic enunciation to create dramatic tension when Uncle Truck rushes the young girl to a military-style bunker deep underground, leaving a German shepherd that is trained to kill with her for protection. Nordlinger’s ominous delivery of Uncle Truck’s warning not to unlock the door for anyone—even him—is chilling. While this Christian suspense story features forgiveness, it’s far from a typical faith-based mystery. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2016]