The Fala Factor

Toby Peters's fans will be pleased with THE FALA FACTOR, a romp featuring President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's dog, Fala. Fala has been dognapped by a group of greedy, entreprenurial right-wing agitators and has been replaced with Fala look-alike. Mrs. Roosevelt hires Toby Peters to find and return the "first dog" before an international incident occurs. The story unfolds in California, and Buster Keaton appears in a few scenes. The book is read with energy and gusto by Tom Parker. Toby Peters is at his wackiest and is accompanied by his usual sidekicks, the dirt-attracting dentist, S. David Minck, and his landlady, the plucky and redoubtable Mrs. Plaut. As Mrs. Roosevelt appears in several scenes, much of the book's success as a listening experience depends upon a faithful rendering of her voice, which most Americans over 40 know well and which Parker manages skillfully. M.D.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine