Reviews

YA-- A novel that will appeal to both science fiction fans and to those of the macabre. Anthony Cross is man who crosses the line between genius and insanity. A brilliant scientist in the field of quantum physics, he enhances his abilities by dissecting the human brains of living victims. Protected by his lover, Charis Neale, and his fellow Nobel Prize winning scientists, Cross leads his double life. Homicide detective Kate Duval must track down the serial killer although she, herself, is under Cross's charming spell. The science is difficult for average readers to follow, but the horror theme is gripping, and the ending challenges the imagination.-- Katherine Fitch, Jefferson Sci-Tech, Alexandria, VA

While it is difficult to categorize this wide-ranging novel in relation to the author's previous Nightcaps , few readers will be able to put it down. It opens as a gruesomely explicit tale of contemporary horror, with a serial killer cleaving the skull and dissecting the brain of a young girl while she is still alive. This event occurs in Stockholm, where a brillant young quantum physicist has just received a Nobel Prize and, against the wishes of his beautiful assistant and lover, signed a contract with a mysterious American group to pursue his research in Los Angeles. Four years later, in 1995 Los Angeles, a similar murder brings black police detective Kate Duvall onto the scene, and the story becomes a standard thriller, containing the stock elements of police corruption and shadowy government agents, and focusing on the detective's growing involvement. The action scenes are leavened with complex discussions of quantum physics and the nature of reality, building toward a science fiction-like ending. The bad guys introduce some jolting deus ex machina turns, and there is one too many ``final'' encounter between the opposing forces, but this novel could nonetheless catapult Reeves-Stevens to the top ranks of thriller/horror writers. (Oct.)