I just finished listening to THE CLIFF HOUSE STRANGLER on Blackstone audio CD. I loved it! Carrington MacDuffie does a super job of bringing Sarah, her friends, and a few bad guys, to life. I couldn’t be happier.

Carrington and I have been exchanging emails for the past six months, and it turns out she was a good friend of Kate Fleming, the talented reader who narrated the first two books in the Sarah Woolson series. (Tragically, Kate drowned in a flash flood that hit the basement of her Seattle, Washington, home just over a year ago). Knowing that Carrington had been a long-time friend of Kate’s somehow made it easier to accept the change. I’d become so accustomed to Kate’s amazing voice and the great way she interpreted the characters, that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to accept a new reader. I needn’t have worried. Although Kate was definitely one of a kind, Carrington quietly brought her own style and insight to the story. Major relief!

I still remember the first time I heard Sarah speak the words I’d sweated and fussed over in MURDER ON NOB HILL. It was with a kind of awe that I listened to Kate actually voicing those words – making Sarah such a complete character. Writing the next two books in the series – THE RUSSIAN HILL MURDERS and THE CLIFF HOUSE STRANGLER – I’d hear Kate’s voice as I wrote the dialogue. It made it so much easier to put those words into my characters’ mouths.

Now, it’s Carrington’s voice I hear as I write TERROR ON RINCON HILL, the fourth book in the Sarah Woolson series. I’ll never forget Kate Fleming – not just because she did such a great job reading my books, but because she was a wonderful human being and friend. Still, I consider myself unbelievably fortunate that Blackstone Audio chose Carrington MacDuffie to read THE CLIFF HOUSE STRANGLER. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to take over where Kate left off.

Thanks, Kate. I’ll always be grateful for the wonderful style and excitement you brought to the Sarah Woolson books. And welcome aboard, Carrington. Wherever Kate is, I’m sure she’s applauding you for a job well done!

To listen to the Sarah Woolson audio books, contact www.blackstoneaudio.com