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Overview
Staff Sergeant Karl Alberg is back in his fifth appearance in this novel of psychological suspense. Alberg is taking some time away from the office when a neighbor asks him for help. Emma O'Brea is a devoted wife whose husband has mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind every one of his prized possessions, including his gun. As Alberg begins to investigate, he begins to feel that this marriage was not all wine and roses - and that Emma O'Brea may have other reasons for wanting her husband found. Meanwhile, across town, drugstore delivery man Eddie Addison inadvertently insults an attractive young woman who is a student at the university. Unable to forget the encounter and unable to forgive himself for upsetting the pretty woman, he becomes obsessed with the idea of making it up to her. Eddie is a simple-minded man who initially means no harm, but sometimes he reacts uncontrollably and violently to situations he doesn't understand. So when his efforts to apologize receive no response, he decides he must teach this student a lesson. Eddie soon finds himself trapped in a downward spiral of increasing violence, and eventually meets up with Emma O'Brea in a startling confrontation.Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
Forsaking the procedural leanings of her earlier novels featuring Vancouver, B.C., Staff Sgt. Karl Alberg, Wright ( Fall from Grace ) here traces two resonating plots of psychological dysfunction, criss-crossing them in the final sections to grim and unforgettable effect. Emma O'Brea wakens to find her husband Charlie pointing a gun at her head. A year passes. Charlie vanishes in a carefully rehearsed manner and Emma hires Alberg to make a freelance search. The sergeant, facing his 50s and his growing attachment to his lover Cassandra, finds out there may be more behind Charlie's disappearance than the man's simply being a cad. Meanwhile, across town, a young man named Eddie delivering groceries to Melanie, a college girl, loses his temper at her alleged insult. Depicting Eddie as none-too-bright, impulsive and crude, Wright also renders him sympathetic as the youth manages an apology; but angered anew at Melanie's lack of response, Eddie takes his woes to a friend who helps him plan revenge. Expertly bringing both plots into collision, Wright serves up justice in a swift and unexpected fashion. (Sept.)Book Details
Published
July 28, 1994
Publisher
Penguin Books Ltd
Pages
272
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780140171464