THE DEEPEST SECRET

Kirsten Potter narrates this overlong family drama in a detached, precise voice. From the obsessive mother who does anything and everything to protect her terminally ill son, to the son who resents her smothering, to her neglected husband and teenage daughter, to the neighbors she strong-arms into adjusting their lives to her son's needs, everyone has deep secrets. The deepest secret is revealed early in this story, or is it? From Thursday, August 28, until Tuesday, April 15, the story slowly unwinds, with the narrator's clinical detachment making listener involvement difficult to maintain. Little suspense, unlikable characters, and a plot in need of trimming make this eagerly anticipated audiobook a disappointment. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2014]