Publisher's Weekly
Appel ( The White Jaguar ) here adds another to the virtual subgenre of murder mysteries about sexually repressed serial killers, but he brings little that is new to the table. Heroine Kate Berman is a familiar figure: a police expert--with an almost psychic ability to get into the mind of a killer--she was nearly offed in an earlier case and only reluctantly dedicates herself to this new one. Almost immediately, her involvement becomes both personal and threatening. The killer, even more of a superman than most of his fictional brethren, is wealthy enough to devote all waking hours to his deadly avocation and a virtuoso of disguise who rubs shoulders with his pursuers. After becoming enraged by a newspaper story that reveals Berman's role, he murders the daughter of Berman's housekeeper as a mere act of disdain, and kidnaps Berman's niece, holding her captive (an action out of character, given his proclivity for killing) in a secret room he constructs almost overnight. Appel somewhat redeems his predictable plot with one good twist-- the villain's blood lust is aroused by the husky ''cigarette voice'' of each victim, reminding him of the aunt who shortcircuited his youthful psyche.
Library Journal
Novelist Appel ( The White Jaguar , Eagle Pub., 1985; The Watcher Within , Fawcett, 1983) joins the rush to create a female super-protagonist. Kate Berman, a psychologist and expert on serial killers, is pitted against a murderer who leaves no clues at the crime scenes nor a hint as to why he or she is killing. Working with New York City Chief of Detectives Bill Casey, Kate gets close enough to rattle the murderer into focusing on her and her family. Although Kate and husband, Josh, an ex-medical examiner, enjoy a cloying relationship of self-appreciation, the book's other characters remain undeveloped, the plot seems vaguely familiar and unexciting, the ending is the typical ''male saves female,'' and the narrative grows disjointed and difficult to follow.--Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., Ohio
Genre: Mystery
Appel ( The White Jaguar ) here adds another to the virtual subgenre of murder mysteries about sexually repressed serial killers, but he brings little that is new to the table. Heroine Kate Berman is a familiar figure: a police expert--with an almost psychic ability to get into the mind of a killer--she was nearly offed in an earlier case and only reluctantly dedicates herself to this new one. Almost immediately, her involvement becomes both personal and threatening. The killer, even more of a superman than most of his fictional brethren, is wealthy enough to devote all waking hours to his deadly avocation and a virtuoso of disguise who rubs shoulders with his pursuers. After becoming enraged by a newspaper story that reveals Berman's role, he murders the daughter of Berman's housekeeper as a mere act of disdain, and kidnaps Berman's niece, holding her captive (an action out of character, given his proclivity for killing) in a secret room he constructs almost overnight. Appel somewhat redeems his predictable plot with one good twist-- the villain's blood lust is aroused by the husky ''cigarette voice'' of each victim, reminding him of the aunt who shortcircuited his youthful psyche.
Library Journal
Novelist Appel ( The White Jaguar , Eagle Pub., 1985; The Watcher Within , Fawcett, 1983) joins the rush to create a female super-protagonist. Kate Berman, a psychologist and expert on serial killers, is pitted against a murderer who leaves no clues at the crime scenes nor a hint as to why he or she is killing. Working with New York City Chief of Detectives Bill Casey, Kate gets close enough to rattle the murderer into focusing on her and her family. Although Kate and husband, Josh, an ex-medical examiner, enjoy a cloying relationship of self-appreciation, the book's other characters remain undeveloped, the plot seems vaguely familiar and unexciting, the ending is the typical ''male saves female,'' and the narrative grows disjointed and difficult to follow.--Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., Ohio
Genre: Mystery
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