'The Forest of Souls' by Carla Banks

Published by Soundings Audio Books:

ISBN 0-7581-5449-7 (9 Cassettes)

Read by Jilly Bond

Academic Helen Kovacs is brutally murdered, leaving behind a broken marriage, two children and unfinished research into the Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe. Her close friend and colleague Faith Lange attempts to piece together this research in the midst of her grief. The hostile attitude of Helen's husband and his resentment of her academic work also gives Faith problems and she is anxious over her increasingly frail grandfather. The arrival of journalist Jake Denbigh, interviewing him in the course of researching a book triggers memories of the old man's own past in war torn Eastern Europe.

Eastern European wartime connections are explored in some detail, through personal recollections, letters, academia and even children's stories. Jake Denbigh's research also opens up possible elements of her grandfather's history which Faith is reluctant to face. The personal effects of this history are stronger than academic thirst for knowledge. Carla Banks knows her subject well and creates a haunting tale, where ghosts of past events impact on events of the present.

Jilly Bond's rendition is interesting and she has a talent varying her voice according to character. However, she does seem to have an all-purpose Eastern European accent rather reminiscent of James Bond's adversary Blofeld, which doesn't quite do

justice to the work. A scare over Faith's grandfather also offers an uncomfortable amount of detail on a step-by-step basis.

The Forest of Souls is a multi-layered, interesting combination of contemporary crime and disturbing history. Carla Banks has spun an intricate web which draws the reader in and holds the attention until all the tangled threads are clearly visible.

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Mary Andrea Clarke