The Sleeper

Neatly plotted and pieced, this combination mystery/thriller features a lovely Russian emigree married to a British civil servant and living in London with him and their two small children. After 10 years, Olga Trent's quiet life is disrupted with the call she has been dreadingthe KGB has assigned her an assassination, forcing her cooperation by threatening her childrens' lives. Desperate for a way to refuse, she decides to confide in a friend of her husband's; discovering him dead from a gunshot wound, she declares herself responsible, taking the opportunity to put herself safely behind bars. The narrative switches its focus to the police and their unofficial investigation into the crime. The questions of who was meant to be Olga's victim, who murdered her friend and why, and who ordered the police investigation, build to a suspenseful crescendo. Dewhurst ( Playing Safe , The House That Jack Built ) offers complex and satisfying, even if telegraphed, answers to all. (Nov.)not clear if she confesses to being a kgb assasin or the murderer of