Die for Love

Creating the character of Hattie, irascible doyenne of the Romance writing world of the 1970s, Liza Ross uses a memorable Southern accent and realistic voice. Ross precisely enunciates every word but still doesn't achieve good character differentiation. The protagonist, librarian Jacqueline Kirby, never acquires a unique voice. Perhaps it's the perfect pronunciation, so rare in real life, that keeps some of the characters from achieving lives of their own in this competent production. D.T.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

Librarian Jacqueline Kirby is up to her fancy hat in bodies, suspects and clues at the Historical Romance Writers Conference. The premise of a librarian at a book conference is a great setup, and Peters plays it to the hilt. Delicious stereotypes abound as each author tries to outdo the others. The narrator splendidly delivers the banter and wordplay of these wordsmiths. Peters is a natural for audio because conversation is central to her work. Conlin wonderfully portrays the array of characters but is particularly adept with older voices (perfect since there are many characters from a more genteel time). The narrative is almost extraneous to the dialogue, with Conlin managing to convey that as well. S.G.B. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine