The Fall Line

Jack Farrell is a man on the run in this first novel from an investigative journalist. A bank executive until he was enticed into laundering money for a South American drug operation, Farrell, having had plastic surgery and taken a new identity, has returned to the Utah ski area where he mastered the sport years earlier. But the same recklessness that led him into money laundering now prompts him to participate in a series of dangerous downhill performances for French filmmaker Inez Didier, who seems to thrive on watching others risk their lives. As the story of the ski tour into hell unfolds, Jack's past is revealed through two story threads. One details his memories of the tragic death of his only child, how he and his wife Lena drifted apart under the emotional strain of their loss and how he became part of the drug cartel. The other arises from Lena's diary, which Jack is reading for the first time, and offers a different perspective on events. What happened to Jack and Lena and why he is on the run are far more interesting than the various accounts of daredevil skiing exploits (including one in which the skiers are blindfolded). A final, dramatic run down the dangerous slopes of the Grand Tetons brings matters to a climax in this offbeat thriller, which could have benefited from tighter editing. (Nov.)