37 - Softcover

Maria Beaumont is 21, or 28, or sometimes 38--it depends on how good the lighting is. She writes books, and when she isn't doing that, she teaches street dance. And when she isn't doing that, she's working on improving the lighting.

Starred Review. Nothing could be more challenging for an audiobook reader than to take on the character of a voice-over artist. Fran Clark, a well-to-do Londoner burnt out thanks to two small children, an unfaithful husband and two unexpectedly pregnant friends, is in the grip of early onset midlife crisis and a career-ruining case of stage fright. Kate Reading's bravura performance nails down every character, including the mothers in a posh London district, a Germanic school administrator, many small children and Fran's charming but wayward husband, who is given a suave, sexy voice that ignites his thousand-watt smile. The grand finale finds Fran attempting to impress her children's friends and their parents by imitating the cast of The Simpsons, Bette Davis and a few politicians, all in a few moments' time, during which she switches back and forth to the reactions of her audience. Reading turns this amiable novel into a tour de force performance that is funny, fast-moving and fearless.
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