Burn

Retired race-car driver Forrest Evers arrives in Phoenix to cover a race for a Detroit newspaper and scout out 10,000 acres of land his mother left him years ago. Neither task goes smoothly. Forrest's newspaper contact, Bill Barnes, is in his car when it explodes--it was dynamited while he was on his way to interview Bobby Roberts, a ``sleazeball'' lawyer with well-placed political contacts. Then, while visiting his inheritance, Forrest meets Sally Cavanaugh, a rock-throwing woman who huffily asserts that half of Forrest's land belongs to her father, Merrill. Forrest is not reassured when Merrill, who owns a big chunk of Phoenix, says, ``we can sort something out.'' Forrest is even less happy when he finds that one of Merrill's friends is Bobby Roberts. Although Forrest's attempt to use a Range Rover to terrorize Bobby into talking is as futile as it is stupid, Judd ( Monza ) generally keeps the story moving with ample high-adrenaline moments. Forrest and Sally, who becomes his unlikely sidekick, entertain as they uncover nefarious deeds and allow the author to make some pithy points about the difference between what is right and what is legal. (Oct.)