Seduced

August 22, 2016
Early in bestseller White’s suspenseful fourth Hannah Smith novel (after 2014’s Haunted), the Florida fishing guide has to deal with the death of 80-year-old Harney Chatham, a former Florida lieutenant governor, in the arms (and bed) of her mother, Loretta. Smith reluctantly agrees to help the governor’s chauffeur, Reggie, move Chatham’s body to a more respectable place to die, the Chatham estate. Her involvement puts Smith at odds with Chatham’s widow, Lonnie, and introduces her to Chatham’s handsome grove manager, Kermit Bigalow, whose comments on the blight ravaging Florida’s oranges propel Smith on a high-stakes hunt for an ancient orange tree, whose fruit might be disease resistant, in a remote, tangled mangrove area called Choking Creek. There she encounters the giant pythons that are decimating Florida’s native animals, as well as lethal human snakes trying to beat her to the prize tree. White smoothly infuses an intriguing plot with timely environmental issues. Author tour. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.

Narrator Ren�e Raudman delivers a mixed performance of this mystery. Protagonist Hannah Smith is not entirely credible as a fishing guide and investigator who is looking for love. Raudman manages to deliver even the worst lines with some effectiveness. She portrays Hannah just fine, though, as she does most of the characters in this story of Florida's dying orange groves, pythons, greed, science, and an assortment of villains. However, her poor accents are a distraction. Ouch. Overall, a decent story is slightly improved by a decent narrator. G.S.D. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine