The Voice from the Grave.

Jessica Mann. 2002. Read by Penelope Freeman. 6 tapes. 7.5 hrs. Chivers Audio. 0-7540-0899-1. $54.95. Vinyl; plot, author, reader notes. SA

Dr. Fidelis Berlin, author and psychiatrist, meets a distraught woman at a book signing. The woman claims to be the author Leslie Cameron, but Fidelis has never heard of her. Leslie is angry because her writing career did not make her rich and famous. She also has just been diagnosed with cancer. This incident with Leslie means little to Fidelis at the time, so she is surprised to be named the only heir to the tiny estate of Leslie Cameron when she dies by violence some time later. Leslie has suggested from the grave that she is the victim of a learned and respected judge and a former boyfriend of Dr. Berlin.

Freeman gives this suspenseful tale a full-voiced reading, capturing perfectly Leslie's whiny voice from the grave, Fidelis' educated professionalism, Murdo's self-righteous protestations of innocence, and the angry voices of Leslie's other neighbors as they form a lynch mob. Mann's novel deals with love, aging, delusion, and race relations. This is fine piece of mystery writing, read with brio by a consummate professional Janet Julian, Grafton, MA