Product descriptionHard to findFrom School Library JournalGrade 4-7-Young, introverted Stanley Buckle befriends a local artist, Neville, and his distinctive cat, Vincent. With Neville's sudden disappearance, Stanley is amazed how the price of Neville's paintings skyrocket. He pieces together fragments of information from conversations overheard between greedy art dealers, and devises an ambitious plan to save his friend. As he arrives on the Orkney Islands, he begins an adventure filled with treachery and daring escapades. At the beginning of the novel, narrator Steven Pacey's reading is unimpressive, but he builds a rather distinctive repertoire of voices as the characters enter, one by one. Once Stanley arrives on the Island, these characterizations burst forth with Scottish trills and lilting cadences. Even the two voices he uses to distinguish Stanley as narrator, and Stanley as character become more pronounced. Pacey's theatrical talent brings this predictable mystery a sense of tension that is lacking in the print version. There may be some initial confusion for American listeners with such words such as "shone" (sounding like "shawn"), "spanner," and "croft." Teachers and librarians should be aware that the dialogue includes some ethnically sensitive references to "shooting apaches" and stereotypes of Italian hit men.Tina Hudak, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Riverdale, MDCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From AudioFileWhen Stanley Buckle meets Neville, a famous artist, he never dreams of the life-and-death adventure that awaits him. Steven Pacey recreates the beautiful Scottish and Orkney Island accents as Stanley and his friend, Ewert, rush to save Neville. The perfect counterpoint to serious Stanley, Ewert teaches himself to strike matches with one hand, as he's seen his hero, John Wayne, do in countless movies. The trick comes in handy when the boys are tied up. Pacey skillfully presents each character, including eccentric Uncle Gordon, the Interpol man with a steel wedge for a hand, and the hit woman disguised as a granny. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine--Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine