The Edge of Sleep

ISBN: 9780399138805

出版社: Putnam Pub Group (T)

出版年: 1993-10

定价: USD 22.95

装帧: Hardcover

内容简介

From Library Journal Dee is a manic-depressive， persuasive， apparently bright woman; Ash is large and lumbering， slow of speech and mind. Together， they torture and kill young boys. Former FBI agent John Becker， himself a survivor of child abuse (and hero of Prayer for the Dead ， Putnam， 1991)， reluctantly joins his ex-lover Karen Crist， who still works for the Bureau， in the hunt for the boys' killers. This grim tale of emotionally maimed people is unredeemed by suspense; the reader knows from the beginning things that the agents are slow to discover and will be annoyed by overlooked clues discovered just in time. Of course Agent Crist is a single mother， terrified of the dangers that may face her own young son， and of course those dangers come to pass. There is simply no one to like in this story， except possibly the young victims; but pity does not substitute for the chill generated by a truly suspenseful narrative. Save your fiction dollars.- Elsa Pendleton， Boeing Computer Support Svcs.， Ridge crest， Cal.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information， Inc. From Kirkus Reviews Wiltse's studies of psychopathic killers have been getting more and more streamlined; this tale of a couple who kidnap and murder ten- year-old boys is the most uncomplicated and efficient yet. FBI agent John Becker， on ``medical extension'' since killing Roger Dyce in Prayer for the Dead (1991)， is lured back into action by his one-time lover， Deputy Assistant Director Karen Crist. After spending a night with the photos of the six victims who've been snatched from field trips and shopping malls， beaten， and smothered weeks later--a vigil that has all of Wiltse's trademark weirdness--he gets on the trail of the kidnapper he dubs ``Lamont Cranston.'' But he'll never find Lamont in time to save the life of Bobby Reynolds-- the latest kidnap victim in suburban Connecticut--because Lamont is a team that doesn't fit the FBI profile: Dee， a frustrated maternal type who loves boys so much that she grabs them， and who has such high standards for their behavior that she insists on stringent discipline; and Ash， her big， dim sidekick， a killer whose bond with the victims is so deep that he's willing to kill them in order to save them further pain. While Becker--considerably more muffled than usual--and Karen pore over the evidence and fall back into bed， Dee takes Bobby to the Restawhile Motel， calls him ``Tommy，'' tickles his feet， makes him swear he loves her， and shows him off at a local McDonald's--even as the elderly proprietors of the Restawhile bicker about whether anything peculiar is going on in cabin 6. All this is unconscionable， because we know that Bobby's not going to be the last victim， since Karen has a ten-year-old son of her own.... Wiltse skillfully works a narrow margin of storytelling here. Even though there's surprisingly little narrative development， the suspense is merciless， stomach-churning. -- Copyright ©1993， Kirkus Associates， LP. All rights reserved.