High Stand

Popular in his native England and in the U.S. as an author of suspense fiction and historical nonfiction, Innes's 27th book is a swift, bravura story. The rousing adventure is narrated by Philip Redfern, an English solicitor whose wealthy client, Tom Halliday, disappears after changing his will. Redfern joins Miriam, Halliday's second wife, in Klondike country, the site of the gold mine Tom inherited from his father. The fate of a majestic stand of cedar trees, bequeathed to Miriam's stepson Brian, is also an element in the plot. Brian tells about the curse pronounced by an ancient Indian, damning anyone who destroys the trees. Tom eventually is located but later murdered, presumably because a crew is decimating the cedar stand, and Miriam is abducted. Rescuing Miriam, Redfern escapes with her and meets U.S. agents, looking for cocaine stashed in the wilderness, awaiting shipment throughout the country. Innes appeals strongly to the reader with his forceful arguments against the destruction of natural resources, including human beings.(September)