THE KEEP

This shimmering layered tale is too literary to be called gothic, though it has all the elements. Jeff Gurner narrates the story of Danny, who arrives at a castle in Eastern Europe to help his cousin turn it into a luxury hotel and finds that the place’s mysterious and bloody history is alive and at work, and so is a never forgotten episode of adolescent cruelty that estranged the cousins decades before. But wait--perhaps this whole tale is being made up by a convicted murderer named Ray in his prison writing course, where respect for powerful storytelling becomes a life-and-death matter. Can Egan balance this complex structure and also satisfy our longing for narrative resolution? Absolutely, and Gurner and Geneva Carr give flawless star turns. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 06/ JAN 07]