Worst Fears Realized

A cop's worst fear is a convicted criminal bent on exacting revenge. This is the predicament of Stone Barrington and his former partner, Dino, as the murders of those close to them begin. Ferrone finds the perfect voices for the police, as well as for the other characters. His women's voices are positively silken, and where called for, passionate enough to border on the erotic. The narrator wisely chooses to deliver an understated and unhurried performance, allowing the author's words to impart the drama, tension, and abundant action. S.S.R. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine

August 30, 1999
Woods's breezy and irreverent brand of detective fiction, full of mischievous asides, plays especially well as audio drama. He's in top form here, having returned to his popular hero, Stone Barrington, a retired cop-turned-investigator who works in tandem with his ex-partner, Dino Bacchetti. Barrington, a lady-killer, is the ultimate smoothy, while Bacchetti, streetwise and jaded, is a rough diamond. Together, the two track a killer on a wanton Manhattan murder spree. He's left a trail of beautiful women with their throats slashed. What's more, the killer is waging a personal vendetta against the investigators, holding a grudge from a long-ago case they worked. Barrington, ever the flirt, gleans essential knowledge by wooing well-placed ladies along the way: amorous hijinks play against murderous mayhem. Narrating is veteran Broadway actor Roberts (he has read several previous Woods titles for Harper Audio), who spiritedly pushes his characterizations to the hilt. For Barrington, however, Roberts reserves a world-weariness befitting the fatigue of a lifelong dick who has seen all too many murders. Simultaneous release with the HarperCollins hardcover.