The premise of Harper's grisly thriller is so derivative it's almost amusing: a hero with a troubled past must catch a vicious serial killer, but to do so, he has to enlist the help of an equally vicious, insane genius currently being held in a maximum security prison. (Fava beans, anyone?) Despite the obvious debt to Thomas Harris, the book is enjoyable in its own right, largely thanks to a pair of likable protagonists: Trey Campbell, a corrections officer who has just returned to the job after a harrowing experience with a female inmate (a story told in Harper's previous book, Bad Karma), and Jane Laymon, a rookie police officer whose current case focuses on the Red Angel, a killer who ties bird wings to his young victims. Campbell discovers the connection between the killer and Michael Scoleri, a ruthless sociopath currently housed in Program 28, the last resort for the inmates at the sprawling Darden State Hospital. Somehow, Scoleri knows what the Angel is doing and who the next victim will be. Harper does what few writers in this genre do: he paints a vivid picture of his physical setting, giving it background and context. The final showdown is perfectly paced, although it leads up to a finale that, again, recalls Silence of the Lambs. (Sept. 2)
Forecast: Harper is a pseudonym for bestselling horror author Douglas Clegg. This fact alone will boost sales—as will blurbs from Richard Laymon and Jack Ketchum.
