APPLE TREE YARD

Juliet Stevenson intuitively portrays a staid and dignified scientist. This clever setup belies the violent, passionate events that geneticist Yvonne Carmichael tips into action. She risks all for a spontaneous, deeply sensual affair that leads to horrific calamity, which is hinted at but not revealed with deliberate, suspenseful pacing. A violent murder is touched upon with brief sequences of a trial in the Old Bailey. Doughty delays detail on the defendant's dark crime, keeping the listener perplexed and anticipating. Stevenson, narrating Yvonne's story through her letters to her lover, tacks towards the gripping and shocking conclusion, then skirts away to soulful analysis of her infidelity, deceptions, and vulnerability. A.W. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2014]