Feline Friendship

Sexual politics pervade Dymmochis fourth Thinnes and Caleb mystery (after 1998's Incendiary Designs), which includes some anxious moments and surprising role reversals. When a woman is raped in Chicago's Lincoln Park, detective John Thinnes takes on the case. Thinnes, who hated working rapes, has a new partner, Don Franchi, a female detective with a chip on her shoulder. The expected conflict explodes, and the resultant friction puts them at each others' throats. Psychiatrist and police consultant Dr. Jack Caleb tries to mediate, but he has to cope with a conflict of his own. The tension, both interpersonal and police procedural, builds to an unexpected yet plausible climax. Though hardly a classic, this reasonably fast-moving and suspenseful thriller offers real insight into rape victim psychology. (Rape hurt the victim when it went down, and again when the cops investigated-no matter how careful they were. The offender usually preyed on strangers and went to great lengths to conceal his identity.) Besides capably delineating the workings, however perfunctory, of the police department, the author nicely evokes Chicago. Every neighborhood and tenement house fairly reeks of authenticity.