Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 24, 1995 TAG: 9509220134
SECTION: BOOK PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: REVIEWED BY KATHLEEN H. RATLIFF
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Fans of Patricia Cornwell's mysteries, and this reviewer is among them, will be instantly captured by her latest killer-hunt, running from New York City to Hilton Head, S.C., and other points between.
Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Virginia's chief medical examiner and FBI special consultant, is called on to assist in chasing down the most dreaded serial killer of her career, Temple Gault. This evil cunning maniac has a new kill - a naked, bald female found against a frozen fountain in Central Park - and he's running through the city killing as he goes.
Teamed with her longtime FBI and police colleagues Benton Wesley and Pete Marino, Scarpetta sets out to track down Gault.
With the help of Scarpetta's brilliant young niece Lucy, who has masterminded CAIN, the worldwide FBI computer network, the team devises a plan to catch Gault. They develop a computer program that enables them to watch Gault's every move as he tears through his path of alleyways and tunnels beneath the streets of New York. But Gault has an answer for this tactic, too.
Cornwell concludes this highly charged story with a dramatic scene, rife with thrills. Those familiar with her work will not be disappointed and may agree that this is her best novel yet.
Kathleen H. Ratliff is a former English teacher.
by CNB