Isle of Dogs

Battling through a complicated web of malapropisms, misconstrued innuendoes, and good intentions, Virginia State Police Superintendent Judy Hammer and her faithful lieutenant, Andy Brazil, try to stop a series of brutal murders and rescue the governor from his own sleazy press secretary. Michele Hall may mispronounce a NASCAR name or two, but her comic delivery is flawless, and put to constant use in this story. Hall gives us ditzy do-gooders, foggy seniors, tattling toll collectors, and first family foibles with equal skill and fun. Even a seeing-eye horse comes to life under her skilled interpretation of an unskilled attempt to direct him. Throw in a bizarre dialect from a nearly forgotten island whose people have kidnapped their own dentist, and you have a production too funny to miss. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

Judy Hammer and Andy Brazil are back in this black comedy reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen's wacky works. Patricia Cornwell presents us with a nearly blind governor who suffers from a "submarine" dysfunction, an island full of watermen, who speak an archaic dialect, and Dr. Faux, an incompetent dentist. Add Popeye, Hammer's kidnapped pooch, a seeing-eye mini-horse that doesn't understand commands, plus a group of murderous road pirates--and you have only a few of the elements which make this a major departure from her usual fare. Michelle Hall's voice is as sweetly melodic as a kindergarten teacher's. Unfortunately, this "prettiness" fails to convey the dark ironies of the novel's subtext. However disappointing the performance, Cornwell has managed to create a memorable assortment of oddballs. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

No Kay Scarpetta here (this is Cornwell's OTHER series), but plenty of gory details and psychotic characters with bizarre motivations are present in a story that combines black comedy and mystery. Becky Ann Baker reads this raunchy tale with a breathy mixture of foreshadowing and anticipation that leads the listener through a plot of murder and mayhem on a small island off the coast of Georgia. Character transitions are neatly done by the narrator as Andy Brazil and Judy Hammer are brought back to life from previous Cornwell novels. The Southern voices, especially those of the inept governor and his bumbling family, are realistic. The comedic lines and characters are also given their due, and the musical interludes of Southern blues add to the atmosphere. D.L.M. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine