cover image Killing Suki Flood

Killing Suki Flood

Robert Leininger. St. Martin's Press, $18.95 (311pp) ISBN 978-0-312-05453-3

Middle-aged truck driver Frank Limosin is on the lam from California police and maybe the FBI when he meets beautiful 18-year-old Suki Flood in this often diverting, but not-quite-believable first novel. Having sold the load of ball bearings he was supposed to deliver for $77,000, Frank heads for the New Mexico desert to hide out and plan his next move. With misgivings, he picks up Suki, whose car has broken down, and learns that she's on the run too, from a sadistic con-man boyfriend named Mink who has sent a few of his thugs after her. After being beaten up by the henchmen, who take Suki to Reno, Frank hitches from the desert to an airport, rents a plane and rescues Suki, who wants revenge. She and Frank start to gather evidence of Mink's financial misdealings, but are recaptured by Mink, who plans to torture them both to death. The grisly climax is followed by a facile, cop-out denoument. Leininger's crisp, snappy dialogue outshines his predictable plotting and inconsistent characterization. (Feb.)