cover image Don't Look Down

Don't Look Down

Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer, . . St. Martin's, $24.95 (373pp) ISBN 978-0-312-34812-0

A one-eyed alligator and a pre-Columbian collection of jade phallic symbols figure into this nutty swampland romp from Crusie (Faking It , etc.) and Mayer (Operation Dragon-Sim , etc.). Lucy Armstrong takes a break from doing dog food commercials to take over a full-length feature shoot in the Savannah River swamps, where she finds half the crew is missing, her ex-husband in charge of stunts and a nonsensical script. Meanwhile, Green Beret J.T. Wilder, stunt double to the lead actor who secretly works for the CIA, thought this gig would be easy money, but he soon finds himself embroiled in a money laundering scheme while trying to catch an arms dealer for the Russian mob, tracking a spy through the muck and resisting his growing desire for a woman who looks like Wonder Woman—Armstrong, natch. Plenty of big guns, helicopters, clichéd gender dynamics and light repartee follow—and it's all in good fun. Readers will be happy to get a bit damp. (Apr.)