Sweet and Deadly

This mystery is most notable for what it's lacking--the Southern atmosphere that Charlaine Harris is best known for. Suzie Jackson portrays newspaper reporter Catherine, longtime resident of Lowfield, Mississippi, without a trace of a Southern accent. The innocence in her voice reflects her age but not her experiences as Catherine becomes embroiled in her second brush with murder--the first having occurred six months earlier with the suspicious deaths of her parents. As Catherine becomes, first, a victim and, then, a suspect, she's surrounded by the residents of this small town, whose voices Jackson does imbue with a variety of Southern accents. Why the inconsistency? Further, the romance between Catherine and her boss falls flat due to Jackson's hesitant delivery. E.N. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine