The Red Message

Abrahams begins this thriller with a laconically presented, electrifying mystery: why did cuddly, brilliant mathematician, Berkeley professor Teddy Wu not show up at City Hall for his wedding to Beth Hunter? The answer is not made clear until the final pages, and in her search to uncover the truth and find Teddy, Beth travels in California, to China, to Taiwan, and then back to California. She fights Chinese gangs and battles rightwingers in Washington and leftwingers in the People's Republic who want to believe Wu is a defector giving away crucial mathematical secrets to the Chinese. Back home, Beth is helped by two endearing private eyes from San Francisco's Chinatown and the appealing General Ma, head of a Chinese security agency. This makes for fast-paced entertainment. (April)