THE COUPLE AT NUMBER 9

The two fine narrators of this compelling and intricate puzzle voice characters who don't know each other, and certainly don't know that they are caught in a single conundrum. Nathalie Buscombe's Saffron is overseeing a remodeling project at her beloved granny's Cotswold cottage when the contractors discover a pair of bodies buried under the patio. Elsewhere, likable, anxious Theo is estranged from his overbearing doctor father and increasingly troubled by some of his father's behavior. But what does Theo have to do with the long-buried bodies, and who are they anyway? Buscombe's portrayal of Lorna, Saffy's feckless bolter of a mother, is particularly winning. Kenton Thomas gives Theo a strong country accent, nicely illustrating how little he and Saffy have in common. And yet. B.G. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2022]