Trial by Fire

Narrator John McDonough's realistic performance powerfully characterizes fireman/pastor Nick Foster's crisis of faith when he learns his church has burned down. McDonough also captures Nick's anguish over a black man's body found in the ashes and alternates between shock and anger when an autopsy shows the cause of death to have been a bullet. McDonough portrays Issie, a tough, liberal female paramedic, with subtle tones of bravado and confusion. Nick isn't her type, yet she's attracted to him. McDonough skillfully depicts Issie's concern when her nephew, Jake, becomes a suspect because of his ties to a skinhead group that is under suspicion. McDonough's seamless narration portrays rising racial tension, murder, and the power of peer-group pressure in this captivating mystery. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine