Stalker

Faye Kellerman's new suspense thriller Stalker is as intelligent about police procedure as it is about family relationships. Cindy Decker is an ambitious young LA policewoman, mistrusted by her colleagues because her father is a senior lieutenant; when someone starts harassing her--following her car, moving things in her apartment--she is aware that it may be no more than a fellow officer with a streak of malice. But coincidences start piling up, connections to the kidnapping and murder of Crayton, a man she knew slightly from the gym, a kidnapping that may have a connection in turn to a series of car-jackings which have progressively escalated into violence against women. Cindy is an attractive flawed heroine--her determination not to go running to her father for help drifts towards foolhardiness and her piecing together of facts from separate ongoing investigations show real comprehension of the teamwork aspect of policing. Faye Kellerman also brings to this excellent thriller a real sense of place--the cliffs where Crayton died become more terrifying each time the plot takes us back there--and a cumulative suspense that comes not only from real jeopardy, but from characters about whom we care deeply. --Roz Kaveney