Some Predators Are Male

Quiet, unobtrusive Neil Pensom is a production assistant for a video company. Seaching out locations in the Netherlands, he is accosted by a woman who insists he's her husband; then he's kidnapped by thugs who claim he is a spy. He escapes and returns to his flat in Dulwich, to find it taken over by a seductive young woman who has hidden cameras in the bedroom. Pensom writes up the events that have befallen him and takes the story to private detective John Ransom; he wonders who would play cat to the mousy Pensom. A predilection for gambling and a take-off on Candid Camera figure in the resolution. Although Tripp is a prolific author (A Charmed Death, Cruel Victim), this tale, like its central figure, lacks verve or sparkle. February 4