Thinning the Predators

A telepathic serial killer whose victims are serial killers and the FBI agent who has been tracking him for seven years mix it up in this energetic but derivative thriller, the authors' third collaboration (after Among Madmen and Lady L). David Vandemark was a lawyer until an elevator accident left him comatose long enough for his wife and kids to be slain by a serial killer known as Mr. Clean. The accident also left Vandemark able to read minds--a trait he put to use as a vigilante to hunt down Mr. Clean, who was the first of his 20 victims, and which has remained hidden from Ira Levitt, the fed who lives to take Vandemark down. Now Vandemark has a new target, the killer behind the so-called Latino Family murders in New York. But once he arrives in Manhattan, Vandemark comes up against a powerful conspiracy and meets a beautiful woman who helps him to remember the man he once was--with both events prompting him to go for help to agent Levitt. Brisk pacing and some slickly wrought violence will keep readers turning the pages. The narrative's reliance on pop psychology (love as the cure for obsessive split personality, for instance) takes the edge off the chills, however, and the authors' twist ending won't surprise too many readers; ultimately, despite its nifty premise, this is an exercise in formula. Film rights optioned by Amblin Entertainment; foreign rights sold to 10 countries. (Feb.)