Transgressions, Volume 1

Five short but meaty thrillers, written by five masters of the genre and read by three expert readers who firmly grasp the material--what more could an audiophile want? Standouts include a creepy Joyce Carol Oates story about a child kidnapping, read by Anne Twomey in a performance that is sensitive yet dramatic, and a new Lawrence Block story featuring his antihero Keller, read straight but with a twinkle in his eye by John Bedford Lloyd. Michael Boatman's engaging performance of the Walter Mosley story is also excellent, though the plot is a bit too complex for the length of the piece. J.P.M. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine


In a pice de résistance narration, John Bedford Lloyd demonstrates his versatility with three tightly drawn stories, each filled with a host of disparate characters. There's Keller, an efficient hit man who volunteers at a New York City soup kitchen until the lasagna offering gets downgraded to macaroni and cheese and he finds himself having existential thoughts in the aftermath of 9/11. There's John Ransome, a reclusive portraitist who finally meets his match in a $1,000/hour model. There's Scott, an insurance agent who called in sick on 9/11 and is now haunted by possessions colleagues left behind . . . possessions that suddenly appear and communicate the last moments of their owners' lives. K.A.T. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine