The Last Draw

In this contemporary mystery set in Sweden, the details of the random murders of seven men are told through the chatty, off-hand narrative of husband and wife freelance journalists who follow developments with the hope of obtaining exclusive material for a book. Unlike traditional suspense formats, there is scant attention paid to physical evidence, clues or to subsequent investigations. Instead, the portrayals of the secret vanities and the banalities of the victims' last hours are both humorous and poignant. Unfortunately, the resolution of the plot is disappointing. The initial intrigue, created in part by the reversal of the female-as-victim stereotype, is punctured by an improbable confluence of circumstances and motive; the final confrontation with the murderer is anticlimactic. Peterzen sacrifices credibility and character depth as the murderer indulges in rhetoric in the guise of a confession. No indication is given of the psychological dynamics of the killer, even upon raising provocative issues involving the autonomy and power of women in society. (Oct.)