Daydreams

From the grisly, yet dreamy, opening scene to the bloody ending and its final, funny line, this thriller is smashing. New York call girl Sally Gaither is tortured and horribly killed. Some NYPD brass join with the Feds, covering up a Vice-Presidential scandal, to soft-pedal the case, which is given to detectives Tom Nardone and Ellie Klein of the Commissioner's Squad. They find their way blocked with unrelated makework and then with deadly menace from the Feds, who wreak inept, bloody havoc on a wide variety of innocents until they zero in on Ellie and Tom. The story's bleakness is relieved by brilliant characterization, a rocketing plot, humor and some touching moments. Details are often spectacular, like the call girl's quirky and love-filled ""truth letters'' to her daughter and the raunchy cop talk that's in Joseph Wambaugh's class. The main focus is on Ellie Klein, serious about being a cop but drifting and daydreaming through daily life and a casual lesbian affair. But Ellie's toughness surfaces and prevails at the very satisfying end. As Roy LeBeau, Smith wrote the paperback Buckskin series. Major ad/promo. (August 3)