Helltracks

Made up of two seemingly disconnected stories (which finally get connected by the thinnest thread), this is the entertaining yet not fully satisfying horror debut by the author of Logan's Run. The first story concerns the sheep-ranching Ventry family of Montana--widower Paul, son Josh (who has ranching in his blood) and daughter Amy (who doesn't). One day, Amy hops a train for the bright lights of Cheyenne. She never arrives, but she does drop Dad a postcard from an isolated depot saying that she's boarding a black steamer train just after midnight. Of course, no steamers run in the area. Her father decides (correctly, as it turns out) that the steamer is responsible for her disappearance and becomes obsessed with tracking down the evil engine. The second story is told through the journal of Edward Michael Timmons, an attractive man with ""innocent charm"" who's also a colder-than-ice serial killer. Eddie considers himself a rational guy with a minor personality disorder--a compulsion to kill. With the help of pseudo-sciences like past-life knowledge and astrology, he thinks he can quit killing--just like he managed to quit smoking. The two stories finally merge in an unimaginative grand finale laden with supernatural special effects. Nolan delivers a technically proficient narrative; however, apart from Eddie, who's an extraordinarily rendered, fascinating monster, the characters are one-dimensional-- and even Eddie's story, after his final mistake, gets predictable. This bifurcated novel moves fast and never derails, but the ride it offers is bumpy. (July)