The Loves of Harry Dancer

In this steamy, laconic thriller, Sanders, author of the four Deadly Sin novels, twists the classic triangle of love and intrigue into an intricate figure of corners, loopholes and, ultimately, dead ends. For reasons never stated, Harry Dancer, an investment broker, is the target of two rival clandestine organizations, the Department and the Corporation. Their competing agents are Sally, who uses her erotic skills as a weapon only to find herself falling in love with her victim; and Evelyn, who appeals to Harry's emotions but falls prey to her own sensuality. Both are foiled by Harry's memories of his wifewho died recentlyand, as failure looms, their dance becomes at once more frantic and more complicated. Sanders's terse prose style (he rarely pens a sentence of more than seven words and eschews the definite article) contributes a beat that drives the story along to its tense conclusion. January