The Philadelphia lawyer-turned-novelist has been a hit with her
three legal thrillers, each laced with an electric wit and
memorable characters. But she just can't seem to make it on
audio.
Her first novel, "Everywhere That Mary Went," was supposed to
be recorded by a Philadelphia company, but the deal fell
through. Her second novel, "Final Appeal," also went
unrecorded.
And now that her third novel has finally been released on
audio, the narrator is a flop. Karen Allen, who reads the
abridgment of "Running From the Law" (3 hours, $17) for
Harper, sounds as if she swallowed sandpaper. Entire words are
lost in her husky rasp. She'd probably come across fine in a
conversation. But not in a three-hour narration. It's hard to
believe she could sound worse if she gargled with scotch and
inhaled cigars. If one of my neighbors spoke like that, I'd run
over with a batch of chicken soup. Why on earth did Harper let
this through? All I can figure is that they wanted someone who
sounded gutsy; what they got was pure grit.
Then again, it says something about the story that I listened
with relish for the entire time. The action centers on a
smart-talking female lawyer, Rita Morrone, who has to defend
her boyfriend's father, a respected judge, first in a sexual
harassment suit, and then against murder charges when the young
woman dies.
The abridgment lurches from time to time -- something that's
hard to avoid when you condense a 256-page hardback to about
one-eighth of its original length. But over all, Scottoline has
given us well-drawn characters and a quirkily wonderful
thriller. Maybe next time, we'll get a narrator to do her
justice.
Running From the Law by Lisa Scottoline
2 cassettes. abridged. 3 hrs. HarperAudio. 1995. $17.
Copyright © 1996 Knight-Ridder Newspapers