Final Exposure

In Carlson's disappointing debut, David Collier and his wife, Rebecca, give up their respective law and financial careers and move to a secluded beach house outside San Francisco, where they can pursue their respective artistic passions—writing and photography. Their dream life is shattered when a man named Bashaar shows up at the house, shoots Rebecca dead and wounds David in the leg as he flees. Determined to find Rebecca's killer, David discovers that several of Rebecca's prints are missing and realizes that her murder could be tied to her photography project, an overview of historic California mansions built in the 1930s. A visit he makes to one of the mansions Rebecca photographed uncovers a paramilitary Muslim group in training. Stereotypes about the Middle East and Islamic fundamentalism abound in a tale already burdened by an unconvincing hero and far-fetched plot twists. (Oct.)