Cry Havoc

In an opening designed to manipulate the reader's emotions rather than draw them out, a savage dog ravages a toddler, and the overly familiar plot of this book is immediately apparent. Genetically engineered killer dogs are on the loose in this small Long Island town, released upon the unsuspecting populace by a disgruntled trainer with a Nazi past. It's only teenager Cathy Cooper, rebellious daughter of the town attorney, who seems truly to understand the nature of the threat. The novel's climax is predictably the confrontation between Cathy, her father, boyfriend and the dogs, and in a Boys from Brazil-like ending, the potential for more danger is implied. Sandwiched between scenes of dogs ripping into townspeople are the encapsulated relationships between Cathy and her parents. The story is told from varying points of view, with most of the characters barely fleshed out before the monsters appear. It is a plot and treatment that seems far more suited to a mass market format than to this hardcover edition. Ages 12-up. (April)