FLIRTING WITH PETE

Narrator Emond effectively performs two intertwining stories in Delinsky's latest. The product of a one-night stand, Casey Ellis has followed her father's career as an acclaimed psychologist from afar, although he has never acknowledged Casey as his daughter. When he dies and leaves his townhouse to Casey, she is stunned. Exploring the rooms, she finds a manuscript about a troubled teen named Jenny, who was physically abused by her mother and sexually abused by her father. The father served a six-year term in prison for murdering the mother, and as the manuscript begins, is about to be released from prison. The terrified Jenny looks to escape with a mysterious stranger named Pete. While Casey looks for clues to Jenny's identity and fate, and how it all ties in with her father, she simultaneously finds romance with Jordan, a gardener who turns out to be an undercover detective also tied in with Jenny. Emond reads in a warm, sympathetic tone, best at voicing Jenny, the vulnerable, anxious teenager. She does not create distinctive character voices, but she does deepen her voice slightly for the male characters and, during conversations, alters her voice enough to alert listeners to which character is speaking. Simultaneous release with the Scribner hardcover (Forecasts, May 5). (June)