Reviews

Into his warped Philadelphia microcosm La Plante (Leopard, LJ 6/15/94) places a twisted, avenging bodybuilder who abuses steroids, valium, and crystal meth; a brutal, sadomasochistic doctor; and a drug-pushing, bulked-up control freak who fears for his livelihood. Capt. Bill Fogarty teams up with assistant medical examiner Josef Tanaka in order to investigate the particularly gruesome murders that stem from the shenanigans of this threesome. Fogarty's growing relationship with a woman coupled with Tanaka's impending fatherhood, however, result in added complications. Solid, gritty prose, thrilling tension, and inevitable violence; recommended for most collections.

Philadelphia police detective Bill Fogarty and forensic pathologist Josef Tanaka are back in another volatile mixture of sadism and suspense from LaPlante (Mantis; Leopard). A local doctor is discovered dead in S/M gear, every bone in his body broken; in his closet, the police find a videotape that shows two men torturing, raping and possibly killing a masked and bound woman. One of the men is the dead physician, and Fogarty strongly suspects the other is Horst Nickles, white-supremacist body builder, gym owner and peddler of illegal steroids. When a shady videographer is murdered, grotesquely impaled on his camera tripod, Fogarty becomes convinced that Nickles is the killer. When Fogarty learns that body-builder Jack Dunne, brother of the videotaped woman, is bent on revenge, the narrative spins into a triangular stalking game as Dunne, Nickles and Fogarty head to a spectacular and gory climax. LaPlante's quick-cutting speeds the action along, albeit often at the expense of characterization, and pumped-up, steroid-crazed heavies provide more than enough menace. Sharp-eyed readers may guess the plot's wild climactic twist early on; even those who don't are more likely to be annoyed than wowed. Still, the relentless pace and grim action should satisfy most La Plante fans. Author tour. (May)