Double Edge

Hazy characterization and cryptic allusions to an earlier adventure (Cutting Edge) eventually build up to a taut game of psychic cat-and-mouse in Walker's latest. ""The Snatcher"" takes impoverished black boys from the streets of Houston and tortures them, though his attention span usually lasts about a week before he mercifully kills his victims. Lucas Stonecoat, a city detective assigned to unsolved cases, is currently investigating a hooker's death at the behest of her son, who claims to be a contract killer. He is assisted by psychic detective Kim Desinor (on loan from the FBI), who can enter a victim's mind, feel his or her torture, even develop sympathetic wounds--all to help unearth clues about the killer's identity. The book starts slowly and then explodes as Lucas, a driven man with chemical demons, struggles to keep a firm grasp on reality. Once Walker gets Lucas and Kim in tandem the chase is spellbinding. (Nov.)