cover image Always

Always

Iris Johansen, read by Janet Metzger. Brilliance Audio, unabridged, five CDs, 5 hrs., $24.99 ISBN 978-1-4558-3630-7

Singer Lisa Landon is performing at a club in the foreign country of Sedikhan and trying to escape both painful memories and her jealous stalker of an ex-husband, Martin Baldwin—who also happens to supply arms to terrorists. Clancy Donahue, head of security for Sedikhan, is out to capture Baldwin and decides to use Landon as bait, but along the way ends up falling in love with her. Although the book’s clichéd dialogue sounds even more trite when read aloud, narrator Janet Metzger treats it respectfully, reading with expression and emotion. She also ably differentiates the characters, adding a slight Irish accent for Donahue, a vaguely Russian accent for a housekeeper, and a deeper voice for the brutal Baldwin. As romances on audio go, this one is somewhat by the numbers; fans of the genre may enjoy it, but it doesn’t really stand out from the pack. A Bantam paperback. (Jan.)