McNally's Risk

Its quick pace and vocal clarity make this tale of murder and money easy and enjoyable to follow. In a light, jaunty baritone Boyd Gaines captures the light-hearted Archy McNally, who has been expelled from Yale Law for streaking and is acting for a third time as problem-solver for friend and foe. Gaines flattens his tone and broadens a Midwestern accent to create the local sheriff. For the villains he sharpens his voice. The women's voices are softer and breathy and, in one case, loaded with a Southern accent. The variety in Gaines's delivery enables the listener to identify the characters quickly and to delight in the details of Palm Beach society. M.G.S. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

There's no risk of boredom here. An entertaining performance is guaranteed. In this latest recording in the Archy McNally series, our hero, who works as an investigator for his lawyer father, is called upon by an immensely wealthy Palm Beach mother to inquire into the bona fides of her nitwit son's fiancée--a topless car wash attendant. (This is Florida, after all.) During his probe, Archy encounters bodies galore--all somehow connected to the bride-to-be. The comic lines are fast and furious. Adam Henderson plays the understated Archy as both tongue in cheek and exuberant of voice. He delivers not only a perfect Archy but a host of wacky-voiced characters as well. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine