The Successor

In this listless thriller, mild-mannered college professor Kent Cornett's life shifts into high gear when his research into the Mexican presidential race uncovers a deadly conspiracy hatched by one of that country's most prominent politicians. Cornett, recognized by American intelligence officials (who want to recruit him) as the world's top Mexicologist, travels south of the border to get the inside track on likely candidates. The Mexico City librarian who had assisted him with previous research disappears, but a mysterious ``friend'' slips him a package of classified documents containing a startling secret about one of the candidates. Widower Kent becomes romantically involved with pretty divorcee Gina Burns, who persuades her brother, the American ambassador, to send Kent's package home to Minnesota in the diplomatic pouch. National Security agents now watch Kent's every move, trying to protect him from the murderous Mexicans who want him dead. Camp ( Memoirs of a Mexican Politician ), a political science professor at Tulane University, fills his novel with authentic detail about Mexican government--indeed it often reads like a primer on Mexican politics. As fiction, however, it is marred by a weak premise, bland plot twists and campy dialogue. Illustrations not seen by PW. (May)