BEARSKIN

MacLeod Andrews performs this thrilling story about the illegal killing of bears in Virginia's Appalachian Mountains. Rice Moore, who is trying to escape his past, tracks wildlife and refurbishes cabins on 7,000 acres of nature preserve while investigating the murder and mutilation of bears. Andrews's unemotional narration is perfect for a story that alternates between breathless descriptions of wilderness beauty and gut-wrenching violence against man and beast. Andrews uses a flat accent for Moore that sometimes imitates an Appalachian twang, while shifting to thick Virginian pronunciations when native mountain men speak. The barely emotional performance takes the sting out of the graphic descriptions of Moore's violent encounters while tracking bears, dogs, bees, and other creatures. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2019]