Black Plumes

A number of minor catastrophes occur at the Ivory family's art gallery. A priceless vase is broken. A special catalog is charred to ash. A painting on exhibition is slashed. When a body is found in a cupboard, the police are called. While Allingham is masterful at characterization, mood, and detail, she has chosen to add omniscient comments such as, "They went on their predestined ways, unaware." These do nothing to advance the story and, in fact, become intrusive. Nonetheless, Francis Matthews's performance will delight Allingham's fans. His rendering of Gabrielle Ivory, the 90-year- old matriarch who chastises the modern generation for its lack of moral fortitude, is elegant and graceful; his country constable is bumbling yet cagey. Matthews provides the necessary dramatic tension to an engaging, if predictable, plot. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine