Rift

Cody's ( Under Contract ) first departure from her series featuring private investigator Anna Lee proves again that she is a gifted writer. Poverty-stricken Ethiopia and its inhabitants are the vivid setting for this provocative thriller that showcases her deft, sparse literary style. Fay Jassahn, the narrator, is a young English freelance wardrobe assistant, who is completing a movie in Kenya in 1974. Deciding to visit Ethiopia, Fay agrees to deliver a letter across the border from a writer to his estranged lover, Natasha Beyer. Unwittingly, she involves herself in a game of dangerous intrigue. What begins as a romantic adventureand a means of proving her independencebecomes a nightmare for Fay. At the onset, her car breaks down and while seeking transportation, she encounters three wayfarers, Graham, Peter and Mel. Her decision to travel with these men, for safety, proves to be a grave mistake: one is an enemy. Fay also must confront the realization that she is an alien in a primitive foreign land, unable to speak the language and ignorant of the customs. Overwhelmed, beset by calamities, she yearns for the safety of Nairobi. Yet in the midst of adversity, the vulnerable but plucky Fay, who is reminiscent of Cody's Lee, learns some valuable lessons. (Nov.)