Seeds of Evil

This tightly controlled horror story by a prolific writer of the genre ( The Devil's Child ) saves a number of shocking surprises for the conclusion. Meg Marshall, mother of four-year-old twins conceived by artificial insemination, is deeply disturbed by their bizarre behavior. Olivia and Orlando are obviously telepathic, uncannily prescient, and display a dismaying lack of human emotions. After experiencing burns caused by her offsprings' riveting stares, Meg suspects that the children are capable of far more sinister acts. When Olivia and Orlando greet a stranger in the park as ``Daddy,'' Meg is thrust into a nightmarish series of events, beginning with her husband's apparently accidental death. She is thus free to marry ``Daddy,'' who is Ashley Webster, an enigmatic research physician specializing in experimental drugs. The baby born of their union proves to be a carbon copy of her older siblings, who are now showing murderous tendencies. Meg slowly understands Ashley's involvment in fertility clinics and his monstrous plans for the future. A robust cast of supporting characters and some ingenious plotting add to the suspense. (Aug.)