Pursuit

ISBN: 0-679-45306-7 Order from: Amazon.com

A suspenseful plot and solid characters make for a satisfying experience, although the view-shifting and the lack of vulnerability of the protagonist keep the emotional involvement to a minimum.

Reviewed by David on January 27, 2002

Genre: Mystery (Suspense)

Synopsis: When the investigation of a vicious multiple murder bogs down, the father of one of the victims hires a very expensive specialist. Roy Prescott made a career of tracking down skilled, serial murderers. Roy is disliked by the police, both for his ruthless methods, and for his annoying habit of succeeding where others failed—and for killing his targets in self-defense.

But, along with police frustration, there is hope—for no one wants to let this killer get away. The killer is fast, skilled, intelligent and deadly. He killed before and will kill again. And he makes no mistakes. Except for killing a son of a man rich enough to hire Roy Prescott.

But even Roy may have met his match here. As the detective pursues the killer, the killer turns back on Roy. And in this deadly game no outcome is certain—except that there will be more corpses, and only one of them will survive.

Full Review: The author continues to show his skill in portraying ruthless, resourceful people and the deadly game that is played in the middle of civilians. The detail of life, and the plausible way in which both characters use normal means for their struggle—rental cards as well as knives, locks and computers, guns and greed—just make the struggle more impressive. The civilians usually don't even suspect the lack of safety in their world—until their lives are too easily ended.

Both the criminal and the detective are almost implausibly skillful. Despite initial impressions, there is a sigificant moral difference between the two, and the motif of moral ambiguity doesn't really work.

The flaws with this fast, tautly-plotted and skilled mystery lie in the lack of emotional involvement. While chilling with its plausible portrayal of the fragility of human life, the book creates little sympathy for Roy, both by lack of description, and by lack of vulnerability. In addition, the frequent viewshifting between the killer and the detective are jarring, and leach some of the suspense from the plot.

An enjoyable novel, this mystery is full of ingenuity and conflict, but lacks the sense of sympathy that was present in Perry's Jane Whitefield novels (Vanishing Act and sequels).

Overall: 6; Plot: 6; Characters: 6; Style: 5.5; World-building: 5; Originality: 6;

ISBN: 0-679-45306-7 Order from: Amazon.com