cover image The Nightmare Man

The Nightmare Man

Michael R. Fisher. Knightsbridge Pub. Co., $21.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-56129-110-6

Fisher's sequel to Cries from the Darkness is an entertaining, quick, albeit unexceptional thriller. Returning is California ex-cop Ed Cody who, with the help of his sons Patrick and Damien, struggles to recover from the kidnapping and subsequent murder of his wife. The round-the-world trip Cody and his sons have undertaken is interrupted by a letter from the daughter of Cody's longtime friend Tommy Creager. Creager has been fatally shot in New Zealand and his daughter wants Cody to discover the killer. Cody agrees and is soon embroiled in what appears to be a gang war among New Zealand's underworld. Cody's extrasensory ability to ``see'' things--the result of a head wound--leads him time and again to underworld kingpin Griffin Brown and his bizarre family. As Cody's visions become more hideous and frightening, he realizes that New Zealanders are not the only ones in mortal danger--Cody and his sons are facing perils of their own. Although the parapsychology motif is largely unbelievable, the surprising resolution (which does not rely too heavily on this device) and likable characters combine for a diverting read. (Aug.)