The Cold Kiss

Dean Koontz fans will find much to like in Rector's debut, a contemporary thriller about a couple on the lam. Nate and his pregnant fiancée, Sara, who each have reason for fleeing their pasts, end up in a situation straight out of Hitchcock on their drive from Minnesota to get married in Reno, Nev. While at a highway rest stop in Nebraska, Sara takes pity on a fellow diner patron, Syl White, who's coughing up blood, and persuades Nate to give the man a ride after his car won't start. When a blizzard forces them to pull in at an isolated motel, Nate and Sara are horrified to find that their passenger has died. After discovering White had almost $2 million in cash with him, the pair plan to conceal the corpse in the growing snowdrifts and use the money to start a new life. Of course, things only get increasingly complicated and violent. While some may find the end a copout, Rector takes a stock noir setup and makes the most of it through clever plotting and spare prose. (July)