These four unabridged mini-chillers culled from King's 1993 short story collection, Nightmares & Dreamscapes
, provide their celebrity readers with the chance to show off a different, darker side. Whoopi Goldberg delivers a crisp, straightforward rendition of “Suffer Little Children” that pits an aging teacher against a class she fears is being possessed by monsters. Tim Curry sheds his trademark arch tone to play “Crouch End” solemnly and sympathetically. And in the book's best surprise, Rob Lowe's rendition of the title story wrings every ounce of suspense from the grim revenge yarn. The only clunker is Yeardley Smith's reading of “Rainy Season”; her childlike nasal voice, so marvelous when playing TV's animated Lisa Simpson, is completely at odds with the material. (June)
