The Hunted

Illegal Russian immigrant Janna Drovana is by no means a typical 13-year-old. Lured to America with promises of a better life by her cousin Yuri Stoylar, the recently orphaned teen must abruptly come to terms with the ugly side of San Francisco. Sold into prostitution by Stoylar, Janna witnesses the merciless murder of her madam and two teen prostitutes by an IRA thug with a bad case of rosacea. Escaping with a few thousand dollars (stolen from the local diner), as well as the high-powered notebook computer of a pedophile banker with political aspirations--a theft that unwittingly embroils her in an international arms conspiracy--Jenna flees to her one place of comfort: Golden Gate Park. Hunted by Stoylar, the SFPD, an Australian assassin, the red-nosed killer and a Swiss intelligence agent, the youngster spends her days on the lam riding the merry-go-round and visiting the aquarium. Jennna's elusiveness at times seems a stretch, but Kennealy's (The Suspect) action never lets up, and this proves to be the book's saving grace. (July)