Mantle

Michael Butler Murray seems to channel the tone and style of a sportscaster as he narrates Tony Castro's last book about Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle. Murray's delivery is enthusiastic and lively, and he adds color with his interpretation of Mantle's Oklahoma drawl. Castro's final installment of his trilogy on the troubled ballplayer, based on his twenty-five-year friendship with Mantle, reveals surprising new insights on his personal life. Other sources include interviews with Mantle's widow, who died in 2009, and with his charismatic lover Holly Brooke, whom Castro tracked down. Castro treats Mantle a little too deferentially, but his passion for his subject is echoed in Murray's performance. D.B. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine