The Voice

Instead of producing pleasurable shivers, Connolly (The Pact seems bent on testing the reader's tolerance for sickening details. ""The Voice'' is a nameless man who sends cassettes and large sums of money to an American mercenary soldier, an Irish ex-convict and two other Europeans, all in disgrace at home. The taped messages offer wealth and adventure to the outcasts for their cooperation in stealing Ireland's ancient art treasures. The scheme depends on spreading a plague of rabies in Ireland. Starting with the minutely described scene of a mad dog mutilating a small boy's face, the purported thriller continues to dwell on unspeakable incidents. Readers whose stomachs and nerves allow them to stick with the story will learn what happens to the conspirators. (July 15)