The Hunted

Heavy-handed and uninspired, this horror novel set in 1975 features a New Jersey pediatrician who conceals the fact that he conducted experiments on inmates at Auschwitz. The sinister doctor, who has changed his name to Emerson Thorne, apparently remains true to Nazism by driving a silver Mercedes and stating his preferences for German and Austrian composers. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Thorne, 11-year-old Jessie Morrison has been experiencing nightmarish ``spells'' that psychically transport her to a concentration camp and enable her to see through the eyes of a camp victim (how she came to possess this ability is never fully explained). Jessie's alcoholic mother and sadistic stepfather don't notice her odd blackouts, but a concerned neighbor takes her to Thorne for a medical checkup. A meaningful glance passes between patient and doctor, and Thorne knows he'll have to silence the child before she blows his cover. Luckily for Jessie, a revenge-minded Czech whose family died in the camps also knows the identity of the evil man. Ptacek, author of 18 novels and editor of the Women of Darkness anthologies, offers a transparent plot, predictable resolution and cliched characters in a silly book that exploits a terrible subject. (Jan.)