Successful photographer Mitch Coltrane is discovered shooting a covert mass burial masterminded by Bosnian henchman Dragan Ilkovic and narrowly escapes with his life. When he is back at home in the United States, the lives of Coltrane's grandparents and several friends are sacrificed before Coltrane guns down Ilkovic. Numb and edgy around girlfriend Jennifer, Coltrane finds solace in meeting an idol, photographer Randolph Packard, who dies shortly after he and Coltrane begin collaborating on a project. Coltrane thus has the opportunity to purchase one of Packard's estates, where he discovers a photographic altar to a gorgeous rising film star of the Forties named Rebecca Chase and becomes obsessed with the mystery surrounding Packard, Chase, and a young woman who is a dead ringer for her. Morrell (Extreme Denial, LJ 3/15/96) should have saved one of these plots for another novel. This overwrought effort stretches credulity, missing the perfect "angle."?Susan A. Zappia, Maricopa Cty. Lib. Dist., Phoenix

Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Thrill master Morrell badly misses the mark in his latest. Apparently he couldn't decide between two good plots, so he used both. Big mistake. The first half of the book focuses on Bosnian thug Dragan Ilkovic, who hunts down photographer Mitch Coltrane to exact revenge after his photographs serve as key evidence in Ilkovic's conviction for war crimes and murder. Then the story suddenly shifts focus when Coltrane, who has a perfectly nice girlfriend, finds a photograph of the most beautiful woman he's ever seen and decides he must find her; instead, he finds her stunning but evil daughter, who leads him on a terrifying chase to the wilds of Mexico, where he discovers she's a very bad person. Not to worry. Once he figures out she's evil, he and his girlfriend get back together, and everything's turns out A-OK. It's true there's plenty of the kind of material here that action fans crave: wild sex, bloody violence, and stomach-churning suspense. Unfortunately, the plot is rambling, confusing, and barely credible. Morrell's track record as a reliable producer of action thrillers (he created Rambo) will generate demand, but even fans may lose patience with this one. Order fewer copies than usual. Emily Melton