The Dancing Savior

Hunter (Homicide Game) sets his latest cop thriller on a Tennessee psychiatric ward where the main character, suicidally depressed police detective David Sage, has committed himself. Despite the promising setup and essential elements of a suspense novel, the story meanders, rather than builds, to a climax. In the ward, David meets Gaynel, a woman who dances all day and claims to be the Savior, a claim David believes. He hopes she can stop his recurring nightmares about Lyda Herrel, a recently paroled killer who was convicted largely on Sages evidence.. A decision he made while investigating Lydas case resulted in the death of Lydas baby; though hes been cleared of professional negligence charges, the gruesome details haunt David. The arrival on the ward of rapist Clifford Bigman, the son of a local congressman, forces David to play policeman again, inspiring other wardmates to stand up for themselves. David learns to appreciate his fellow inmates, like Edward, Davids delusional bunkmate who is afraid to enter society, and the sexually confused Raymond. Meanwhile, Davids African-American partner, Larry, covers the bases with their boss; Davids lover, Jamey, steals away from her husband to pay David conjugal visits; and a young nurse seduces him. The storys villains are unexplainably evil, and seem designed simply to disgust readers; Hunter crudely describes the morbidly obese and stupid Lyda, and it seems the only reason that Clifford rapes is that hes a monster. Other characters are more complex, but the suspense dissipates too tidily in the end, when, whether through Gaynels powers or not, Davids nightmares and their cause disappear in a puff of smoke. (June)