Soloman Organization

Neiderman's 23rd novel (after The Need ) is a fast-moving thriller with an up-to-the-minute premise: a secret conspiracy of men with politically incorrect family values. When Meg Lester finds her husband, Scott, in bed with another woman, she files for divorce and custody of their daughter, Justine, citing Scott's cocaine habit, his liquor bills and his unreliability at work. Scott, a whining mess who blames everybody else for his problems, is approached by Philip Dante, an insurance salesman who claims to have won an identical custody battle only through the help of the Solomon Organization, named from the fable of Solomon and the two mothers. Naturally Scott applies to the Organization for help, and naturally nothing is quite what it seems. When Meg is attacked and almost killed, Scott is framed for attempted murder and the kidnapping of his daughter, who has disappeared--as have Dante and everybody connected to the Solomon Organization. Although hampered by an initially unlikable main character whom the plot requires to be almost criminally gullible, this taut thriller ultimately proves to be an enjoyable read with an unfashionable undercurrent of anger against women who dare to live lives of their own. (Apr.)