From Publishers Weekly
Chemist Derek Thorn, his student and paramour Sylvia Cooper, and Sylvia's former boyfriend Mark Little stumble across clandestine, government-sponsored chemical weapons experiments while investigating the mysterious death of Derek's sister. When the threesome's search for the truth is stymied by an official cover-up, the conflict between their evolving romantic triangle and their opposing political and moral opinions brings events to a mesmerizing, tragic climax. In this ambitious work, Rose attempts to blend intrigue and action with amatory interludes and philosophical debates. Except for a few awkward transitions and one or two heavy-handed conversations, he pulls it off with considerable style and verve. The English seacoast settings and thoroughly British tone make this riveting thriller especially captivating for Anglophiles. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up-- After animal-rights activists break into a high-security laboratory run by the British Ministry of Defense, mysterious deaths start occurring. Sylvia and her ex-boyfriend Mark find a body, suicide note, and a stolen vial of something called T42, while Sylvia's university advisor , Derek Thorne , coincidentally becomes involved when his sister is reported as having been killed in a car accident at a nearby beach, though no body is found. Sylvia, Mark, and Derek, determined to investigate the ensuing cover-up, discover that the Ministry has created a chemical weapon that can wipe out an entire city with a single drop. Their romantic triangle (Sylvia is now sleeping with Derek) complicates their actions and eventually leads to a rash and dangerous attempt to blackmail the authorities by threatening to release T42 on an unsuspecting public. This absorbing thriller has a good plot but weak characters; their actions and thoughts are presented but they never come to life as people readers will care about, and their physical descriptions are disconcertingly given several chapters after they have been introduced. The novel is very adult in tone. As its strong point is its entertaining plot, it might have been more successful as a screenplay than as a work of literature. --Lyle Blake Smythers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
