Sounds Like Murder: Clean American Fun

Christopher Newman

ISBN 10: 0375402020 ISBN 13: 9780375402029

Publisher: Random House Audio, 1998

Synopsis

Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler presents
Sounds Like Murder
Original, unabridged mysteries available on audio

1 cassette / 110 minutes
Unabridged
Read by Darrell Larson

"This is old-fashioned story-telling at its best.  Interesting and involving tales from some of the masters of mysteries."
-Michael Connelly, author of Blood Work


Three thousand acres next to Branson, Missouri, is a gold mine to the wealthy and eccentric Sir Reginald Hollister.  "Clean American Fun" could be the biggest theme park north of Disneyland.  There's one catch: when a woman is found murdered, all eyes and evidence point to Hollister.  But when two secret service agents arrive on the scene, suddenly politicians, actors, and an irreverent revered all have reason to dispense with "Clean American Fun."

Other titles in the SOUNDS LIKE MURDER series include:
Driving Lessons by Ed McBain
The Case of the Scottish Tragedy by June Thompson
The Poster Boy by Stephen Solomita
The Sedgemoor Stranger by Peter Lovesey
A Tale About a Tiger by S.J. Rozan

About this title

About the Author

Christopher Newman is the author of the thriller Killer.
"Newman is one of the best in the business." - Willian J. Caunitz

About the Reader
Darrell Larson's film work includes roles in Mike's Murder, Frances, and twice in a Lifetime.  He has appeared on television in Law and Order, L.A. Law, and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd.  He has previously read The Death and Life of Bobby Z for Random House AudioBooks.

From the Back Cover

"What a great idea! Stories to drive by. I loved them."
-Robert B. Parker

" . . . the greatest audio book idea in a long time."
-Palm Beach Post

"Mystery buffs take heed: Six stories, written specifically for audio, mark the debut of an excellent collection of whodunits. These two-hour stories [are] unbeatable for short drives." --The New York Post

From the Inside Flap

Award-winning editor Otto Penzler presents<br>Sounds Like Murder<br>Original, unabridged mysteries available on audio</b><br><br>1 cassette / 110 minutes<br><b>Unabridged</b><br>Read by Darrell Larson<br><br>"This is old-fashioned story-telling at its best.  Interesting and involving tales from some of the masters of mysteries."<br>-Michael Connelly, author of <i>Blood Work</i><br><br><br>Three thousand acres next to Branson, Missouri, is a gold mine to the wealthy and eccentric Sir Reginald Hollister.  "Clean American Fun" could be the biggest theme park north of Disneyland.  There's one catch: when a woman is found murdered, all eyes and evidence point to Hollister.  But when two secret service agents arrive on the scene, suddenly politicians, actors, and an irreverent revered all have reason to dispense with "Clean American Fun."<br><br>Other titles in the SOUNDS LIKE MURDE

Reviews

In this story, written especially for audiobook, a likable pair of Secret Service agents--reminiscent of Cosby and Culp in "I Spy"--visits a Missouri town where an old friend is accused of murder. This fun story is filled with crooked cops; a mammoth theme park; a greedy televangelist; and plenty of sex, violence and jealousy. Darrell Larson's straight narration is more than adequate. But when the script calls on him to deliver a wide array of characters--British billionaires, rednecks, bimbos, preachers, and tough guys--Larson lacks the vocal range to be up to the task. Nevertheless, CLEAN AMERICAN FUN is enjoyable, easy to follow, and certainly fun. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Drivers fumbling with cassettes will certainly appreciate unabridged stories by the best mystery authors, excellently read, two hours long, on a single cassette. Selected and edited by Edgar Award-winner Otto Penzler, the first six of these adult stories (the others are June Thompson's The Case of the Scottish Tragedy, read by Simon Jones; Stephen Solomita's The Poster Boy, read by Jason Culp; and Peter Lovesey's The Sedgemoor Strangler, read by Barbara Rosenblatt) deal with real-life situations in mature language. In A Tale About a Tiger, excellently read by Patricia Kalember, PI Lydia Chin is asked to infiltrate the illegal trade in animal parts that supports some pharmaceutical concoctions used in traditional Chinese medicine. Listeners learn interesting bits about Chinese American culture, traditional Asian medicine, and the black market in illegal animal parts. Besides all that, it's amusing and reasonably suspenseful. Driving Lessons, read by Barbara Rosenblatt, is a police story that uses careful investigative work and interrogation by Detective Karen Logan to establish responsibility for a vehicular homicide. This tightly crafted story will hold the listener's interest throughout. Clean American Fun, excellently read by Darrell Larson, puts two secret service agents investigating a rape/murder near Branson, MO, in conflict with the county sheriff and the community. There are some sharp physical confrontations in a parking lot battle and some awfully good chase scenes for an audio, as well as some nice comments on the concepts of entertainment, religion, theme parks, and society. Overall, this series appears to fit an appealing niche between the sometimes choppy abridged work and the lengthy unabridged novel; highly recommended.?Cliff Glaviano, Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., Ohio Felix in the Underworld by John Mortimer 6 cassettes. unabridged. 61/2 hrs. Chivers Audiobks. 1998. ISBN 0-7540-0127-X. $54.95.F Narrator Martin Jarvis turns in a fine performance of this engaging tale of a man who must learn the hard way that life is for living. Poor Felix Morsom. Once a Booker Prize candidate, the low-key, cerebral author no longer receives rave reviews or garners large sales. In fact, the only frisson of excitement in his dull existence is a slowly developing relationship with his publicist. When Felix is slapped with a paternity suit from a woman he doesn't even know, he disputes the claim but finds himself a murder suspect when the man handling the claim is killed. Mortimer, better known for his popular "Rumpole" series (e.g., Rumpole and the Angel of Death, Audio Reviews, LJ 11/1/96), artfully lampoons the publishing business and the legal profession, while Jarvis skillfully differentiates among characters, making the most of the author's dry humor. Part detective-fiction, part psychological drama, this is recommended for public libraries.?Sister M. Anna Falbo, Villa Maria Coll. Lib., Buffalo, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Audio
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0375402020
• ISBN 13: 9780375402029
• Binding: Audio Cassette
• Editor: Otto Penzler