Frame Grabber

A bold but murkily developed, up-to-the-minute crime scenario frames the second adventure of a refreshingly sensual and frank protagonist. Georgina Powers, a plucky and opinionated journalist for a British computer magazine, gets into trouble on both sides of the Atlantic. She has fallen for American David Jones, a married expert in virtual reality who has a taste for very rough sex, and even though she senses the danger in him, George can't pull herself away. Danks ( User Deadly ) doesn't present a crime and cast of possible perpetrators so much as she creates a gradual realization of evil and, along with David, a few slightly weird souls on the sidelines. Most troublesome is the conceptualization of computer techniques, with the high-tech vocabulary made even harder going for American readers by its being British rather than American. Readers will hope that Georgina Powers, a very fine heroine, will be better served in her third appearance. (Jan.)