It is always a pleasure when a reader is in sync with the material she performs. Such is the case with Frasier's fine reading of this exciting thriller by Frost (Twin Peaks
; The X-Files
). A small-time florist is shot and killed, and Los Angeles homicide detective Alex Delillo is assigned to the case. What at first appears to be a simple murder investigation soon blossoms into a gut-wrenching race to stop a madman from committing a terrorist act during the annual Pasadena Rose Parade. At stake are the lives of hundreds of parade watchers, including Alex's teenage daughter. Frasier gives her detective a professional, just-the-facts voice as she relates Frost's tight mystery plot, but injects a more intimate note when she's musing over her more personal situations. As the stakes and suspense begin to heighten, so, too, does the emotion in Frasier's performance. Unlike some narrators who have problems portraying a multitude of characters and often cross the line from character into caricature when voicing the opposite sex, Frasier uses a simple and subtle shift of inflection to differentiate the variety of people populating this audiobook and keeps the flow smooth and involving. Based on the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 10). (May)
