THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610280194
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY PRESBERG
LENGTH: 69 lines
OUT OF SIGHT
ELMORE LEONARD
Delacorte Press. 296 pp. 22.95.
Who else but a character from an Elmore Leonard mystery would accidentally take a female U.S. marshal as a hostage when he escapes from prison? Jack Foley does exactly that in Out of Sight, Leonard's latest crime novel.
Foley, a bank robber, orders Marshal Karen Sisco, who happens to be in front of the prison during the escape, to climb into the trunk of her car. He then climbs in after her, and Buddy, his accomplice, drives them away.
The ensuing trunk scene is typical Leonard. Instead of assaulting Karen, Foley reassuringly caresses her while they quietly discuss scenes from movies such as ``Bonnie and Clyde'' and ``Network.'' Karen is nonplussed: ``It amazed her, the guy was trying to make a good impression.'' Still, she has a hard time denying the attraction she feels toward him.
Karen escapes and can't get rid of her romantic thoughts about Foley. She even finds herself protecting him when her superiors ask about the abduction.
When Karen tracks Foley down, they declare a time-out from their cops-and-robbers roles and have a delectable romantic interlude. Leonard's storyline is irresistible: The U.S. marshal and the bad guy covet each other.
After their tryst, Foley becomes involved with some vicious thugs, and Karen is one of the law officers who catch them burglarizing a house. There's no perfect way to handle the dilemma of the romance and the criminal deeds, but Leonard's ending is plausible.
Although the plot of Out of Sight doesn't have the panache of some of Leonard's previous novels, like Get Shorty or Glitz, it doesn't matter. His characters are cool. When Foley and Buddy need money, they are unable to resist a bank brochure that asks, ``Looking for money? You've come to the right place.''
Leonard knows how to entertain.
TO THE HILT
DICK FRANCIS
G.P Putnam's Sons. 322 pp. $24.95.
Dick Francis, author of numerous horse racing mysteries, begins To the Hilt, his latest, with an intriguing assertion by his likable hero: ``I don't think my stepfather much minded dying. That he almost took me with him wasn't really his fault.''
These words are uttered by Alexander Kinloch, an eccentric 29-year-old painter who lives alone in the Scottish mountains. When Alexander's mother informs him that his stepfather Ivan has had a heart attack, he prepares to visit his parents in London.
In London, Alexander learns that someone has embezzled money from his stepfather's brewery. Fearing bankruptcy, Ivan asks Alexander to hide his most valuable remaining assets: a thoroughbred horse and a gold chalice. He also gives Alexander power of attorney in his personal affairs and the authority to make business decisions on his behalf.
Francis deftly increases the friction within the family with these acts. As Alexander painstakingly works with creditors and bankers to bring the brewery back to solvency, he is constantly thwarted by Ivan's daughter and his lawyer. They both fear that he will take over the business and steal her inheritance.
In a neat plot twist, the embezzler is found murdered, making it far more difficult to trace the stolen money. New motives and suspicions place Alexander's life in danger as he searches for answers.
Francis makes Alexander an irresistible hero, charming, honorable, flawed. This many-layered mystery increases Francis' already estimable reputation. MEMO: Shirley Presberg is a Norfolk writer. by CNB