The Monkey's Fist: 8

Paranoia and deception abound in this brisk, stylish thriller that's as artfully complicated as the sailor's knot of its title. When retired D.C. homicide detective Eddie Nickles (last seen in Pease's Playing the Dozens, 1991) is hired by the parents of the murdered Trevor Grehm to ferret out the killers of Grehm and his wife, he has no idea that the deceased were tied to a money-making front of the hyper-secret Special Projects Directorate of the U.S. government. Or that his attempt to trace a stolen ATM card will trigger an attempt on his own life. Soon, Eddie finds out that there's more to the murders than robbery. Were the Grehms rogue agents siphoning money from the front? What do the murders have to do with the sale of uranium-rich scandium from the splintered U.S.S.R.? And why does everybody want to get their hands on that ATM card? One thing is certain: Philo Machus and Wendy Berksmere, who run the Special Projects Directorate, have more then they bargained for in Eddie, whose streetwise simplicity can leapfrog over their conspiracy-riddled minds. Fresh dialogue, clever plotting and offbeat characters distinguish this intelligent, sharply told thriller, which may be Pease's best yet. 75,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; author tour. (July)