MULHOLLAND DIVE: THREE STORIES

Except for their setting, Michael Connelly's three short stories set on Hollywood's spectacular Mulholland Drive have nothing in common. One takes place in the 1930s during a bloody poker game; the other two are love and murder stories that occur in contemporary times. Narrator David Collins doesn't miss a beat going from the gangsters in the poker story, “Cahoots,” to the tech-savvy LAPD accident reconstructionist in “Mulholland Dive.” “Two Bagger,” the story of a dirty cop, is something in the middle. The stories are engaging, albeit brief, looks at life on the Left Coast. Listeners used to Connelly's lengthy crime novels may feel a bit shortchanged, but Collins delivers. Collins has an even-paced, pleasant voice that manages to be tough and tender at the same time. M.S. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2012]