Amazon.com Review
Lydia Chin--S.J. Rozan's popular PI--returns, this time on an undercover assignment into the mysterious world of ancient Eastern medicine. "Some men, losing what they once had, desire what the tiger has yet. They come to shops such as this, Miss Chin, to purchase that which they believe will restore them to their former state." That's right, we're talking aphrodisiacs. And while the Chinese characters politely speak in euphemisms, Chin's towering Anglo-American partner isn't one to mince words: "Tiger penises?... You have a client who wants us to smoke out an illegal load of tiger penises?" And so commences the chase. Using the bustling streets of New York's Chinatown as a backdrop, Rozan has set the stage for a dangerous clash of cultures, where the demand for black market animal parts pushes smugglers to murderous lengths.
Narrator Patricia Kalember presents The Tale of the Tiger in a quiet, understated performance that lets the intricate plot and complex relationships blossom at their own pace. At first listen, her reading seems a bit too studied, but she follows the path of least resistance until her voice and the text find a comfortable fit. (Running time: two hours, one cassette) --George Laney
From Library Journal
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.
