The Firebirds

Though coincidence and plot convolutions are pushed to the limit, the conclusion of Byrne's ( The Flames of Vengeance ) Mendoza trilogy offers an enjoyable passel of characters, some engaging, others satisfactorily mysterious. Studying in England in 1970, Lili Cramer falls for Andy Mendoza, member of a powerful banking family. An aspiring author, Andy is pursuing an unsolved mystery from the 1930s in which he suspects his family was involved: Amanda Kane, native of the same Massachusetts town as Lili, vanished the day her husband, an English baron, was murdered. After a whirlwind affair Andy drops Lili without explanation. Years later in New York Lili and her friend Peter Fowler, with the help of Spanish supporter Loyola Perez, plan to take over a publisher. When the publisher finds a white knight, Lili and Peter believe that Loy's bankers, the Mendoza Group, are providing backing. Thus when Andy surfaces in New York, Lili proceeds cautiously. While Byrne's tale is entertaining, it is too slight to bear the weight of the pretentious mystery of the Mendoza family's lost Jewish heritage. (May)