The Gingerbread Girl

<p>In the emotional aftermath of her baby's sudden death, Em starts running. Soon she runs from her husband, to the airport, down to the Florida Gulf and out to the loneliest stretch of Vermillion Key, where her father has offered the use of a conch shack he has kept there for years. Em keeps up her running -- barefoot on the beach, sneakers on the road -- and sees virtually no one. This is doing her all kinds of good, until one day she makes the mistake of looking into the driveway of a man named Pickering. Pickering also enjoys the privacy of Vermillion Key, but the young women he brings there suffer the consequences. Will Em be next?</p><h3>Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Em has become a runner. Maybe it's to get away from her unheroic and all-too-sensitive husband, the memory of her baby, who died, or maybe even her passive life. Inevitably, her training provides the endurance she needs to escape the sadistic and psychopathic tendencies of the man named Pickering. While not venturing into new territory, King's novella has all of his trademark tension, violence and catharsis with a spackling of misogyny. Mare Winningham's determined tone adds to Em's strong character, and she also provides good pacing and tension that flows well with King's style. Her straightforward reading doesn't overdramatize the intense moments; instead, she lets King's words create those anxious moments. Her matter-of-fact vocalization of Pickering makes the villain even more chilling than King's text. Winningham's portrayal of this character will stick with listeners long after the end. <BR>Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.</p>