ISBN: 0736649379 Order from: Books on Tape
An interesting mystery, sometimes dragged out by slow pacing and a weak hero, which nevertheless comes to a satisfying conclusion.
Reviewed by David on January 11, 2003
Genre: Mystery (Amateur Sleuth)
Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of Cold Case. Alan Gregory is a clinical psychologist who occasionally helps to investigate crimes. A group of law enforcement professionals turns to Dr. Gregory for assistance during re-investigation of an old double murder which occured in the psychologist's home state of Colorado. Initially, involved in the periphery of the case, Dr. Gregory finds a number of disturbing discrepancies in the initial investigation, which lead him and the other ivestigators to a politically sensitive probe of a U.S. Congressman.
Full Review: This book, at the core, has an interesting plot with a surprising, but not unfounded resolution. The path to the resolution is detailed and believable. Alas, sometimes the pace becomes slow and narration wordy, which is exacerbated by the narrator who is frequently ineffectual. This is realistic, being that Alan is an amateur in criminal investigations, but it still causes some frustration during the somewhat wordy and introspective narrative.
The audio book narration by Scott Brick is competent, but it makes little distinction between character voices, making the listener rely on words for emotional and identification clues.
The book in general is satisfying, and the tense conclusion redeems the generally slow pace of the previous text.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 6; Characters: 5.5; Style: 4.5; World-building: 5; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 2000, Books on Tape, 2000, Audio cassette, 9 cassettes
ISBN: 0736649379 Order from: Books on Tape