cover image The Cadaver's Ball: A Novel of Revenge

The Cadaver's Ball: A Novel of Revenge

Charles Atkins, . . St. Martin's Minotaur/ Dunne, $24.95 (337pp) ISBN 978-0-312-34204-3

Weak characterizations and rampant implausibilities undermine this psychological thriller from Atkins (Risk Factor ). Sociopathic medical student Ed Tyson vows revenge after Beth, a gorgeous fellow med student, spurns him for his academic rival, Peter Grainger, whom she marries. More than a decade later, Tyson is dean of NYU's med school and has gotten Grainger a teaching position at that institution, soon after the latter survives a car accident that claims Beth's life. Using Ann Walsh, an attractive, mentally fragile young student who resembles Beth, as a pawn, Tyson devises a sadistic scheme intended to convict Grainger of murder and worse. Ann just happens to be the estranged daughter of a burned-out writer who just happens to be the former lover of the female detective assigned to investigate the murder meant to be pinned on Grainger. Tyson's simplistic motivations and the absence of a closing twist make this a routine effort at best. Agent, Al Zuckerman . (Oct.)