Sand Dollars

An excess of macho posturing and unexplained plot moves weaken the effectiveness of this second adventure featuring retired Naval officer John Caine (after Diamond Head, 1996). John leaves Hawaii for California when he is hired by Claire Peters to hunt down her husband, Paul, a software tycoon who has disappeared--perhaps in the company of a missing seven million dollars. Claire is quickly smitten by the rugged John, but John is overcome with chivalry--and by Claire's pal Barbara. Neither elegant nor logical, this story suffers from the author's florid prose (Caine's rear end manages to ""pucker"" at a suitably tense moment in the narrative). The money trail leads finally to Joe, Paul's sleazebag lawyer, and his partner, the sultry Lorena Garcia, who has lured many a hapless soul into unrequited lust and patently unwise real estate investment. At the close, following a Rambo-esque feat of savage mayhem, John gets a spiffy new boat, but Knief seems unsure if he should also get the girl. Knief show more interest in establishing John as a man's man who knows his way around a boat and the ladies than in sustaining the suspense of a challenging mystery. (Apr.)