Gone, But Not Forgotten

Images of gruesome violence pervade this gripping tale of abduction and serial murder. Affluent housewives in Portland, Ore., are disappearing without a trace. In each case the only clue is a black rose and a note reading, ``Gone, but Not Forgotten.'' Upstate New York police detective Nancy Gordon arrives to tell Portland's DA of a similar series of murders she had investigated back East. After implicating powerful local developer Martin Darius in the crimes, Gordon herself disappears. When several mutilated bodies are found at a construction site owned by Darius, police take him into custody. Darius's newly retained attorney, criminal lawyer Betsy Tannenbaum--a zealous advocate of women's rights and a successful defender of battered wives--begins her own search, which leaves her wondering if Darius is a psychotic killer on the loose, or the victim of a government cover-up involving the President's nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Margolin ( The Last Innocent Man ) writes with breakneck pacing and just the right injection of lurid detail to make chills race down readers' spines. If his narrative is a bit choppy and some of the plot twists are telegraphed too clearly, he nonetheless delivers a top-notch whodunit with an explosive and satisfying conclusion. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selection; major ad/promo; author tour. (Oct.)