Eye to Eye

This poorly written mystery does not fulfill the promise of the author's first novel, Deadly Reaction. An unidentified doctor has decided to practice his own brand of euthanasia on unsuspecting senior citizens in North Miami Beach, Fla., using hypnosis to induce them to will themselves to death. Although the deaths are ruled accidental, one victim's daughter, Marilyn Meltzer, suspects foul play. She and her new husband, Hank (both debuted in Deadly Reaction ), private investigators, are hired to find out who or what has made one old man become a zombie. Marilyn hopes the hunt will turn up her father's killer as well. The case takes the Meltzers to Haiti, deep into the mysteries of voodoo. There they narrowly escape premature burial and zombiismok/eed . Upon their return to the States, they still must identify and then contend with the murderous doctor. Lazy descriptive phrases (e.g., ``a West Indian type doll'') cheat the reader out of helpful information. Elsewhere, too much detail slows the action. Morse has imagination but his narrative powers don't match it. (June)