British author Norman's terrifying third thriller (after Last Run
) to feature African-American homicide detective Sam Becket introduces a memorable villain, Cal the Hater, a psychotic male prostitute whose demented “epistle” of his “joy-giving” exploits is one of the book's highlights. The discovery of the body of a young Asian man in a rowboat off South Beach puts Sam and his Cuban-American partner on the Miami Beach, Fla., police force on the killer's trail. As creepy as Hannibal Lecter, Cal (short for Caligula) strangles and/or stabs his victims, then uses bleach to cleanse the wounds. Sam gets a break when his friend Mildred Bleeker, a homeless woman, reports seeing an “angel of death” near the crime scene. Meanwhile, Sam's white wife, Grace, and her visiting sister must contend with their blackmailing stepbrother. Norman keeps the pace taut as the action builds to a shock-a-roo ending. (Oct.)
