The Boys from Santa Cruz

Back in 1985, FBI special agent E.L. Pender, who was pursuing a serial killer case in California, helped take down Luke Sweet, killer and maker of snuff films. Sweet and his transgendered partner, Teddy Swantzer, didn't survive, but Sweet's 15-year-old son, Little Luke, did. In Nasaw's engrossing fifth thriller to feature Pender (after When She Was Bad ), Little Luke tells his own horrific tale as he moves from one misfortune to another with a trail of bodies and a growing list of adults, including Pender, who must die. Now 25, Luke is presumed dead when an explosion destroys the asylum where he's incarcerated near Santa Cruz. Pender, alarmed when he hears of the murder of Luke's grandparents, returns to California to see if Luke survived. Nasaw throws a curve when a psychopath called Asmador begins going after the names on Luke's list. Pender is both hunter and hunted as he treks to a mountain retreat and a surprising climax. (Feb.)