The Postcard

Tweens and their parents or grandparents may find this mystery ideal for shared listening. Narrator Lincoln Hoppe nimbly portrays a dichotomy of characters: a teen protagonist with stereotypical 21st-century angst and pulp villains straight out of the 1940s. Hoppe's portrayal of 13-year-old Jason reveals his boredom with being stuck in blue-haired St. Petersburg, Florida, where he's helping his dad settle his grandmother's estate. Hoppe conveys Jason's begrudging interest when he discovers that perhaps Grandma was not only young once, she was also entwined in an exciting mystery. With his new friend, Dia, Jason follows a trail of vintage postcards with the tenacity of a gumshoe detective. Hoppe's well-paced, realistic dialogue adds credibility to the story's adults, especially Jason's stressed-out father. N.M.C. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine