SUNSPOT

by Desmond Lowden ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 18, 1981

Psycho-killings at an English seaside resort: young girls in bikinis start turning up murdered and mutilated. So Lowden (Boudapesti 3) moves the focus around and around--from the cops on the case (one of whom is a young, music-loving, sensitive sort) to a dubiously large array of highly disturbed, highly likely suspects. There's the Polish fellow who runs the merry-go-round (he's previously been accused of peeping and fondling). There's a shopowner named Baxter who's gone bonkers watching TV and once nearly strangled his wife in a fugue state. There's a zonked-out rich kid who acts incredibly guilty--especially when he's found to have a bikini collection. Plus, there's stand-up comedian (and ex-con) Max: he's being blackmailed by a crook-on-the-run who claims to remember from prison days that Max was suspected of killing a young girl back then. Each of the suspects is cleared, however, leaving just Max--especially when another old crony arrives in town (a stunt diver) to add further incriminating evidence from Max's past. And the routine finale is the nice young cop's race to prevent Max (now disguised as an ice-cream vendor in a penguin suit) from killing yet again. Crisply written, often creepy work from a talented writer--but too fragmented to generate either much suspense or much real involvement with the large, slightly grotesque cast of characters.

Pub Date: Jan. 18, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Holt. Rinehart & Winston

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1981

Categories: FICTION