The Cutting Room: An Avram Cohen Mystery

The promise of Rosenberg's new Avram Cohen mystery is lost in an overheated, garish development that in turn leads to a lugubrious conclusion. After political enemies force him into galling retirement and months of inactivity, Cohen, former commander of the Jerusalem Police, accepts a longstanding invitation to visit fellow Dachau survivor Max Broder. ``Der Bruder'' is a successful Hollywood director who is finishing a film about the Holocaust, which includes re-creations of his and Cohen's postwar exploits as avengers. Cohen, who has deliberately tried to put the past behind him, arrives in L.A. shortly after Max's death, ostensibly a suicide. Nosing around, the Israeli detective collects various enemies: the studio head who won't release the movie; movieland's Jewish community, whose members don't want to focus attention on themselves; some Aryan Nation punks, and a mysterious white-haired sniper. Aided by Broder's rough cuts, the screenplay and his own war memories, Cohen sifts through a large cast of mask-wearing, secret-bearing Hollywood types to zero in on a notorious Nazi bad guy hiding behind the weirdest mask of all. Although stolid, crotchety Cohen provides a fine and powerful presence as he makes his way in a strange land, the final plot twist is over the top. (Feb.)