CLAIRE DEWITT AND THE BOHEMIAN HIGHWAY

Narrator Carol Monda is terrific in this second Claire DeWitt detective story. Her deep voice manages the detached, no-nonsense affect of Jack Webb in the old "Dragnet" TV series while still making the listener care about Claire. Claire is working on two cases. Her former lover, Paul, has been murdered in what appears to be a botched robbery, and she and her assistant, Claude, are investigating the disappearance of valuable miniature horses. Monda does everything right. Her men sound masculine. Women sound like women. And when she quotes Jacques Silette, Claire's detecting mentor, Monda's French accent is convincing. Flashbacks and nightmares flesh out Claire's backstory, and, as she becomes increasingly dependent on cocaine, Monda keeps a tight grip on a life flying out of control. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2013]