When Dora Conroy, a Philadelphia antiques dealer, purchases a curious selection of auction items - objects she judges to be humorous novelties, she unknowingly becomes the deadly focus of an international smuggler. When robberies and death surround her merchandise, Dora seeks help from her intriguing upstairs tenant, former cop Jed Skimmerhorn. They discover a shadowy path leading across the continent to the smuggler, a man who will stop at nothing to recover his hidden riches. Like the treasures he craves, Dora and Jed find they are susceptible to his crushing grasp.
When she travels to an auction in Virginia, curio dealer Dora Conroy has no idea she's purchasing smuggled art treasures. Her new tenant, Jed Schermerhorn, must protect her from thieves bent on retrieving the booty. Sandra Burr treats the characters in the story as if they were exaggerated cartoons. Dora's sister, Lia, speaks in a voice so high as to squeak and shriek by turns. Dora's parents, identified in the text as about 50 years old and vibrant, sound closer to 80 and demented. When Jed and Dora make steamy love in antique beds, the performance sounds like a fairy tale read to preschoolers at nap time. Only the sadistic smuggler sounds evil enough to be real. As for the rest, Roberts fans, beware of a disappointing listening experience. R.L.L. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
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Suspense and romance begin when Dora buys art at an auction. Dora's new tenant, Jed, comes to her defense during a break-in and gets more than he bargains for. Sandra Burr easily highlights each character with distinctive voices. Lighthearted banter between Dora and Jed, at times turning to sarcasm, is well read. Burr's voices for Dora's parents, actors who have a flair for the dramatic, are never strained or overdone. Descriptive writing and natural, easy-going presentations bring images of characters quickly and easily to mind. C.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Nora Roberts is truly a publishing phenomenon. Today, she is one of America's leading novelists, with many #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling novels to her credit. Her books are published around the world, made into films, excerpted in national magazines and translated in over twenty-five different languages.
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