FRIENDS AND STRANGERS

Narrator Kate Rudd conveys this story of friendship and privilege with impressive tonal changes. New mother and writer Elisabeth has moved to a small town in support of her husband's creative venture. Struggling to adjust, she hires a babysitter to help out. Sam, the babysitter, is enamored with Elisabeth's life, not seeing its lurking troubles. As the women share secrets and problems, their levels of prosperity are juxtaposed. Rudd navigates smoothly between them, ensuring that awe, frustration, clarity, and panic are fully depicted in her introspective pacing and intensifying tone. As the story reaches its conclusion, Rudd's delivery illuminates the substantial consequences that can come from even small decisions. S.K.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2020]