From Publishers Weekly
Though propelled by a tantalizing premise-the investigation of a peculiar suicide-Perry's latest eventually droops under the weight of flat, unengaging characters and predictable plotting. Robert Mallon, a wealthy land developer, has retired early to the gentle climes of Santa Barbara. While he is gazing at the ocean one morning, a young woman, Catherine Broward, calmly walks into the water and disappears under the surf. Mallon rescues her, takes her home, and over the next several hours, the two develop a bond of sorts. Broward won't tell Mallon why she tried to kill herself, but insists she's now OK. The next day, she is found dead in a local park from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Mallon, crushed, wants to know why. He quickly finds several clues-a failed romance, an old murder-yet the most promising lead takes him far into the hills above town, to a self-defense training school, where Broward had spent a month, at great expense, gearing up for some sort of confrontation. On closer inspection, Mallon discovers that the school teaches clients not only how to ward off attackers but how to engage in an ultimate form of excitement-thrill kills. Perry's 13th novel (after the Edgar-winning The Butcher's Boy; etc.) again proves a showcase for his considerable talents-taut prose, finely crafted scenes, solid research. Yet his initially promising plot winds up following the most commonly traveled grooves, concluding with Mallon, hardly a skilled warrior, taking on half a dozen armed, battle-trained killers. It is equally disappointing when, along the way, Perry either kills off or writes out several characters who seem more intriguing than the bland Mallon.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A retired land developer and millionaire, Robert Mallon has been living peacefully in Santa Barbara, CA, for a decade. Then one day on the beach, he meets a young woman whom he saves from suicide. A few hours later, however, she shoots herself, and Robert feels that he should have done more to help her. Guilt drives him to hire his old partner and now a private investigator, Lydia Marks, to help him uncover what motivated Catherine Broward. They find that her last year included time spent at a California ranch specializing in teaching rigorous self-defense. A visit to the ranch is soon followed by an attempt on Robert's life, and he finds himself pursued over Southern California. Perry, an Edgar Award winner and creator of the Jane Whitefield mystery series, never writes the same book twice, and here he chooses a theme that most Americans would probably find implausible. However, in his capable hands the plot becomes totally engrossing and believable. The reader remains gripped in unending suspense and a shocking denouement. For all fiction collections. Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
