Much Ado About Magic

Lady Lucinda Pembroke paints prophecies in her sleep. Having created a canvas of a dashing man on a horse with a sinking ship in the background, she finds herself suspected of framing said horseman for murder. Simon Prebble, master of romance, draws every possible nuance from this bodice ripper, investing every predictable paragraph with lust, irony, and suspense. His heroine sounds convincingly female, and her dashing hero, Sir Trevelyan Rochester, comes off equal parts scoundrel and heartthrob. Many listeners will find themselves drawn in by Prebble's seductive vocal talents; the fortunate few may be able to focus on the performance and ignore the paucity of plot. R.L.L. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine