A Trouble of Fools

C.J. Critt gives Carlotta Carlyle a smooth voice which captures the Boston detective's wit and highlights Barnes's snappy dialogue. Carlotta gets wrapped up in Irish politics, a trunk full of cash and the search for a missing cab driver. We meet an array of colorful characters from punk house-mate Roz, to Gloria, the wheelchair-bound cab-dispatcher--each one brought alive with subtle tone and speech patterns. Heavy-handed characterizations could easily overwhelm these characters, and Critt wisely lets Barnes's text do most of the work. A great series for audio with lots of lively interaction, characters and Boston ambience. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine