BAD COMPANY

by Liza Cody ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 30, 1982

The eagerly-anticipated but largely disappointing return of sleuth Anna Lee--the London operative (for Briefly Security) who offered charming company, quirky backgrounds, and a fair-to-middling murder-mystery in last year's Dupe. Here, however, though the amusing character touches still pop up, the kidnap/ordeal plot is short on mystery or suspense. Cody's beginning is bright and intriguing--as Anna and colleague Bernie spy on teenager Claire Fourie, whose divorced father (a warped sort) is out to prove his ex-wife a corrupting influence. But then, while following Claire, Anna just happens to witness the kidnap of Claire's amusingly vapid chum Verity--and is kidnapped along with her. And the rest of the novel alternates between the unpleasant (if unhorrifying) Anna/Verity in-captivity ordeal (which ends anticlimactically) and Bernie's attempt to track down the kidnappers: they're young would-be hoods--out to impress an underworld biggie by taking Verity hostage. (Her father is about to testify at the biggie's murder trial.) No mystery to speak of, then, and Anna never gets a chance to shine--but Bernie's underworld sleuthing features a few pathetic/engaging vignettes, and some readers may appreciate Cody's parallel (if undramatic) variations on generation-gap themes.

Pub Date: Nov. 30, 1982

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1982

Categories: FICTION