cover image By Any Other Name

By Any Other Name

Katherine John. Thomas Dunne Books, $23.95 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-312-18547-3

John (Murder of a Dead Man, 1997, etc.) gives some mystery frills to what is essentially a work of romantic suspense. Found running down an English motorway clad only in jeans, a blood-splattered amnesiac is admitted to a hospital where young, widowed psychiatric registrar Dr. Elizabeth Santer and her boss, Dave Watson, try to restore his memory. Named John West by the staff, the man gradually shows signs of being either a highly trained military officer or a deadly terrorist--the latter prospect being especially worrisome since a world peace conference is about to take place in London. Although British military experts believe the man to be a terrorist and want to move him to a secured military hospital, Elizabeth has her doubts about their assessment. She likes him, and she manages to jog his memory with pictures of a Welsh town after detecting an accent in his speech. But John raises the stakes significantly when he makes a run from the hospital and takes Elizabeth hostage. Unharmed, she learns that Dave and two guards have been killed. The authorities say John murdered them, but Elizabeth knows better. Hoping to reawaken more of his memories, she stays with John as he searches Wales for his identity--all the while dodging the military police. At the end of this grueling story of survival, not only is John's real identity made clear but his true involvement with the peace conference is revealed. While the rewards prove ample enough for Elizabeth, they're not likely to satisfy more discriminating readers. (Aug.)