DEATH FUSE

by Martin Russell ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 10, 1981

An entirely routine, small-scale London thriller--about a psycho who leaves deadly, inconspicuously compact nail-bombs in assorted restaurants, discos, and theaters. The cops--moody loner Chief Inspector Harry Cullen and his crony Bob Royce--have few clues, so they concentrate on the one or two survivors of the explosions who think they could identify the culprit. And meanwhile Russell (The Man Without a Name, No Through Road) follows the psycho around as he plants his bombs, kills off one of those witnesses (disguising himself as a woman), and develops a romance (for purely practical reasons). The case starts to break, however, when the psycho moves out of his flat and his landlady finds a clue in the abandoned room: the cops track down the psyche's quasi-girlfriend (whom he's tried to kill), and they must try to persuade her to Tell All before her lover/killer strikes again. Plain, predictable stuff--hardly enhanced by the implausible secret identity of the psycho (thanks to miraculous feats of face and voice disguise)--but competent enough in that familiar, clipped British manner.

Pub Date: April 10, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1981

Categories: FICTION