The Bone Vault

The New York City series featuring ADA Alex Cooper and Homicide Detective Mike Chapman finally gets its due with Barbara Rosenblat's spot-on narration of Fairstein's fifth installment. The death of a museum intern leads Cooper and Chapman to the storerooms of the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum in Fairstein's characteristic behind-the-scenes settings. Rosenblat rattles off the banter between the cops and others with the astute skill of a veteran New Yorker. She is in her element, and the characters just shine--even the strange intellectuals of the museum environment are played with the right panache. The accents and vocal portraits are frosting to the smart pacing and interesting plot twists. Rosenblat and Fairstein are a team to listen up for. R.F.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine