Gone

An overly complicated novel featuring detective psychiatrist Alex Delaware and his cop buddy, Milo Sturgis, gets muddied in detail and an annoying performance by a usually talented narrator. A young couple fakes an abduction that turns to murder. The story jumps back and forth through time and introduces a plethora of confusing characters. Normally, the Delaware stories are riveting and John Rubinstein is a joy to hear, but not this time. He's fine doing Alex and Milo, but everyone else is a caricature. A Jewish woman sounds stereotyped; the halting speech of a retarded man is painful. The book itself cries out for an abridgment. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine


Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware mysteries are always fast paced and full of psychological angles. This one is true to form. While this production is abridged, without a direct comparison to the original, it's hard to tell what has been cut out. Scenes move seamlessly from one to another. John Rubinstein is solid as the narrator, but do all Southern Californians sound like New Yorkers? Rubinstein differentiates the main characters well, but he's weak on the minor ones, especially women. This is only a minor flaw, though, and doesn't detract from the overall work. Rubinstein is particularly effective at portraying one-half of telephone conversations and uses hesitations effectively in both the text and conversation. R.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine