The interrogations drag on endlessly when Seattle resident Paul Sinclair decides to investigate what's behind the series of catastrophes that plague his family. His mother committed suicide; his six-year-old daughter died in a tragic hiking accident at the same place where his brother, Stephen, vanished without a trace on the day Paul married his wife, Ellie. If that's not enough, Paul's father's lover also disappeared en route to that wedding; and his father was later killed in what was staged to look like a suicide. When Paul discovers that he was adopted and that his true father was a serial killer known as the Pied Piper, the plot thickens--like cement. Yet Paul trudges through each dense narrative twist, obtaining clues that keep leading him toward the man he believes is stalking him, Ellie and their son. Interrupting this story is a series of strange dialogues between a sadist and his captive, who develop a psychological bond that's just as dubious as the long-time captive's ability to give a coherent, articulate statement the moment he is rescued. Although locations surrounding Seattle are nicely integrated into the plot, the tale grows so overloaded with information that readers may be impatient with these meandering descriptions. The full mystery unravels with many unpredictable obstacles and intriguing knots along the way, but the narrative stumbles when debut novelist Fergusson yokes his plot's resolution to a surfeit of psychologically improbable mistaken-identity contrivances. (June)
